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Grandfather Knows Best

In Print Yaffa Tova

The turmoil called everyday life whisked me along and before I knew it my children’s children were in that unrelenting ride of shidduchim. It was time for us to take a step back and allow our children to move into the driver seat, but once having driven down the road one’s antennas are ever sensitive for signs of new possibilities.

Falling Branch

In Print Rabbi Meir Orlian

During the evening, someone was riding a bike and crashed into the branch. He wasn’t injured, but that bike also was ruined. What’s the story with these bikes that were ruined by our tree? Mrs. Feiner asked her husband. I suppose that we are liable for them, said Mr. Feiner, but I’ll check.

Daf Yomi

In Print Rabbi Yaakov Klass

A Wedding Dance ‘It Is To Be Said While Standing...’ (Sanhedrin 42a)

Why Frogs? – Parshat Va’era

Parsha Rav Yitzchak Korn

Offhand, one could think of scarier pests than frogs.

Oral Matters: The Rechovot Hanahar Siddur

In Print Dr. Reuven Gafni

The name Rechovot Hanahar (Streets of the River), derived from its mention in Bereishit 36:31, was interpreted by Kabbalah as referring among other things to the period before Creation, and was also tied to names such as Nahar Shalom – one of the famous books by the Rashash himself.

Hamas: The Essence Of Darkness In The World

In Print Rabbi Mordechai Weiss

The entirety of the Gaza population, under Hamas’s rule, has become part of this deadly philosophy. One cannot ignore the reality that Hamas, as the governing body, has indoctrinated its people with a worldview that is grounded in violence.

Q & A: A Mechalel Shabbat In A Minyan (Part IV)

In Print Rabbi Yaakov Klass

Question: I live in a small community where it is sometimes a struggle to get a minyan together. When this occurs on Shabbos, it is extremely upsetting. I am so concerned that I was wondering – may we ask some of the non-observant Jews who live in the neighborhood to join us to complete a minyan? Name withheld Via E-mail

The Status Of A Fetus In Halacha (Part IX)

In Print Rabbi Shmuel Reichman

Even a katan has enough da'as to qualify as a rodef; by engaging in this type of act, the katan shows that he has at least some form of da'as.

Too Much Love/Hate As We Ponder The Inauguration

In Print Rabbi Aaron I. Reichel

Kinas sofrim (the envy of scholars) can actually be a good thing; it’s the Torah phrase for healthy competitiveness in the learning of Torah, to fight for the truth.

Freedom And Truth

In Print Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l

Outside the promised land Jews in the biblical age are in danger if they tell the truth. They are at constant risk of being killed or at best enslaved.

The Language Of Redemption

Parsha Avraham Levitt

It is possible to be enslaved but not to suffer brutality, and also to be tormented without being a slave.

The Subversive Jewish Wisdom Aristotle Would Not Hear

Redeeming Relevance / Rabbi Francis Nataf Rabbi Francis Nataf

While I respect many of the moral accomplishments of the West, I believe that Judaism still has much to offer in critique of the West’s many remaining failings.

Classified Information

Parsha Rabbi Dovid Goldwasser

When a person is beleaguered with problems that disrupt his avodas Hashem and his Torah learning, he may ponder why he is suffering when his friend – who is not as devout – enjoys the good life, is well-to-do and at peace.

What’s Your Potential?

Parsha Rabbi Moshe Meir Weiss

Reb Moshe asks, Why would we need someone coming out of a coma to teach us something so obvious?

Promises of Geulah

Parsha Raphael Grunfeld

How often in ancient and contemporary Jewish history have we seen things become desperate before they improved? And yet we persevered and survived. And with this perseverance, our faith in G-d as our ultimate savior survived too.

How The Past Inspires Faith In The Future

In Print Rabbi Reuven Taragin

The very experience the Avot lacked, their descendants had. The Jewish people in Egypt had the history of Hashem’s interactions with the Avot to build upon. He had fulfilled His promise to give the Avot the land of Israel, and they had successfully inhabited it.

Why Strive For Greatness?

In Print Rabbi Shmuel Reichman

Hashem was internally good, but He was not actively expressing this goodness by giving or doing good unto others. Hashem chose to express His capacity for doing good unto others by creating man, upon whom Hashem would bestow the ultimate goodness.

Well-Staffed

In Print Eliezer Meir Saidel

This staff was given by G-d to Adam HaRishon. It was then passed down from generation to generation, to Shet, Chanoch, Metushelach, Noach, Shem, Avraham, Yitzchak, Yaakov and then to Yosef.

Too Good to Be True: When Perfect Testimony Raises Red Flags

In Print Rabbi Simcha Feuerman

This raises an important question: When should leaders and authorities confront and rebuke immoral behavior, and when is it wise to remain silent?

The Pilot Within

In Print Rabbi Dani Staum

Sometimes we may wonder why we need to daven so much. Isn’t praying three times a day on a weekday a bit much?

Parshas Va’era

In Print Rabbi Yaakov Klass

When You Think You Are Alone – You Are Not

In Print Susan Myers

I was terrified of the fall that seemed inevitable. Suddenly I felt my hands holding onto a handle which I had not seen before. Now holding onto the handle I was able to steady myself. The crisis was over. Days later I thought that Hashem put my hands on that handle.

Long Couch

In Print Rabbi Meir Orlian

On his way home from work, Mr. Appel pondered the issue. I sense that Mr. Berger is really disappointed, he said to himself. Is it right of us to refuse him?

Daf Yomi

In Print Rabbi Yaakov Klass

D’tzach, Adash, B’achav ‘Everyone Is Qualified To Judge’ (Sanhedrin 36b)

Introductions – Parshat Shemot

Parsha Rav Yitzchak Korn

Which father?

The Rebirth Of The Yerach Ben Yomo: The Ishei Yisrael Siddur

In Print Dr. Reuven Gafni

Nowadays, stressing the shva na is an accepted and fairly common element in many siddurim. But when Ishei Yisrael appeared, it wasn’t common at all.

I Fear We Are Losing Our Way

In Print Rabbi Mordechai Weiss

In Israel, elections are held on a national level with voters casting ballots for political parties rather than for individual candidates. This system, while effective in ensuring that political parties gain power based on their collective support, undermines individual representation.

Have you heard of PTG?

In Print Sivan Rahav-Meir

Torah Shorts: Parshat Shemot: The Diamond in the Cesspool

Parsha Rabbi Ben-Tzion Spitz

Each of us is like a diamond, and each of us has the potential to be brilliant. -Simon T. Bailey

Q & A: A Mechalel Shabbat In A Minyan (Part III)

In Print Rabbi Yaakov Klass

Question: I live in a small community where it is sometimes a struggle to get a minyan together. When this occurs on Shabbos this is extremely upsetting. I am so concerned that I was wondering – may we ask some of the non-observant Jews who live in the neighborhood to join us to complete a minyan? Name withheld Via E-mail