יום שבת, כ״ה אב תשפ״וSaturday, August 8, 2026
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The last month of the Jewish calendar is actually the most important – serving as preparation for the High Holidays.
I can probably read your thoughts: “Elul? I’m still in the Catskills! We haven’t even gone shopping at the Back-to-School sales yet!” That is true, but on the other hand, this week is Shabbos Mevorchim Elul, when we announce Rosh Chodesh Elul. Before you know it, we will be deep into Elul! Let us see how we can utilize this Shabbos to start getting ready.
We will bentch Rosh Chodesh this Shabbat and announce the coming month – Rosh Chodesh Elul yihyeh machar b’yom Rishon uvyom Sheini…
When we pray for Hashem’s return with the coming of Moshiach, the rebuilding of His House, the Beis HaMikdash, the restoration of His monarchy, the Malchus Beis Dovid, that is the ultimate ani l’Dodi, I am for My Beloved, for that is for Hashem Himself.
Elul is when we are supposed to put a halt on the wheels of habit and do some spiritual contemplating and penetrating soul-searching.
All of our nation’s suffering is rooted in the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. More precisely, our suffering is rooted in what the destruction reflects – distance between us and Hashem.
The year 2005 was the first time I ever truly felt the pain of Tishabaav.
This Tisha B’av, it is imperative that we constantly remind ourselves that Achdut Bnai Yisrael does not happen by itself. It requires hard work, continuous perspective, introspection, due diligence and a love for acheinu.
Because the words of Torah gladden the heart, studying Torah is forbidden when Tisha B’Av is on a weekday, except for passages in Scripture that deal with the destruction of the Temple and other calamities.
A central halachic and emotional theme of the day is to avoid diverting our minds from this national mourning.
I always feel sorry for Jews I know and like when I see them trying to disprove or convince people on social media that Israel did not commit genocide in Gaza or starve Palestinian babies. This is a fruitless exercise. There is simply no point at all in trying to offer rational arguments to an irrational mind.
The reason that the Left needs to promote the lie of Israeli genocide is that it absolves Hamas of the guilt of their actual genocide and it justifies their pledge of repeating it.
Chaos Theory deals with systems that are highly dependent and sensitive to initial conditions. Small variations in the starting point can lead to vastly dramatic changed outcomes. Those altered outcomes may only become apparent over time.
Most Israelis I have ever told this story to, finish the ending for me. Honestly, Israel and aliyah can drive you crazy…
August 7, 2026 
