יום שישי, י״ד תשרי תשפ״זFriday, September 25, 2026
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The common translation of the opening words of this week’s parsha, Ki Seitzei, is: “When you go out to war against your enemy.” Actually the text reads “al oyvecha” upon your enemy. The Torah is saying that when Israel goes out to war, they will be over and above their enemy. The reason why Bnei […]
The love between Gd & Israel is deeper than marriage; beyond the infinite love of parent for child
Question: When a stranger approaches a congregant in shul asking for tzedakah, should the congregant verify that the person’s need is genuine? Furthermore, what constitutes tzedakah? Is a donation to a synagogue, yeshiva, or hospital considered tzedakah? Zvi Kirschner (Via E-Mail)
Since giving the machatzis hashekel will not change his financial situation, he is obligated to do so even though it is more than a fifth of his income.
Today, few people fast during the Days of Selichot, but the custom is to rise early to recite Selichot.
Each month is associated with a particular tribe. The month of Elul is matched up with Gad. What makes Gad unique?
Sanctions and indictment of the Jew, holding him to a higher standard, is as common and misplaced as ever.
To allow for free will, there are times when Hashem will allow a person the “opportunity to be the messenger.”
"There is a mitzvah to pay the worker on that day," answered Mr. Lerner.
Be happy. Be grateful. God knows what he is doing. It is all happening for a reason.
We get so busy living our lives, handling our day-to-day little crises that we forget to go that one step deeper and appreciate our lives.
Mighty Amalek deliberately attacked enemy's weakest members, despicable even by ancient standards
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
If we parents fail to honor responsibilities then society’s children will pay the price for our sins
Consider how our Heavenly Father feels when He sees His children adopting all other parents but Him
You may wonder, how can we be excited and joyful at a time when His Judgment, not Fatherly Love, reigns supreme?
Children resist authority and struggle against structure, chores, and rules. But deep down they feel loved when they are granted guidelines and limits.
Judges, essentially apolitical, fulfilled a temporary purpose and then returned to private life
Torah teaches that trees must be protected for the trees themselves, sake of man, & for life lessons
Question: When a stranger approaches a congregant in shul asking for tzedakah, should the congregant verify that the person’s need is genuine? Furthermore, what constitutes tzedakah? Is a donation to a synagogue, yeshiva, or hospital considered tzedakah? Zvi Kirschner (Via E-Mail)
By Rabbi Yaakov Klass and Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum
Que Sera, Sera? ‘He Daubed Him With Mud’ (Nedarim 89b-90a)
Mr. Steinberg ran downstairs to the ground floor. He saw that the table had fallen onto one of the cars sitting in the parking lot below.
By Naama Klein
Before divulging the reason for her call, she took quite a while to retrace the circuitous route that had led her to me.
Everything you see – from the flower to the bee, from the oceans to the mountains, rivers, planets, the sun, the moon and the stars – all just sort of happened.
It’s ironic that when we hear about Arab extremists attacking and killing Jewish settlers, there is quiet from these same left wingers.
The articles in this column are transcriptions and adaptations of shiurim by Rav Joseph Ber Soloveitchik, zt"l. The Rav's unique perspective on Chumash permeated many of the shiurim and lectures he presented at various venues over a 40-plus-year period. His words add an important perspective that makes the Chumash in particular, and our tradition in general, […]
When Moses ascended the mountain that first, fateful day of Elul, the shofar was sounded daily in the Camp of Israel, heralding his expected return.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Moshe wasn't the last of the prophets. How would Israel discern his true successors from the false?
Elul expresses the eternal almost incomprehensibly loving bond connecting Jews to HaShem
We can suggest that since Hashem Himself appointed Dovid there is no question. The rules are only in place for when we must chose a king ourselves.
340 American rabbis announced they support the Nuclear Iran deal and want members of Congress to approve it.
The Yale 5 were treated liked pariahs by their fellow Jewish students; their beliefs rejected
When we see the new moon at the start of each month, it is a sign from Hashem that we can renew ourselves spiritually.
The world is changing so fast and our youth are confronted with more information on a daily basis. There is nothing that we can do about it.
By Rabbi Yaakov Klass and Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum
Truth Or Consequences ‘Consecrating The Non-Existent’ (Nedarim 85b)
"I don't understand, though," objected Mr. Weiss. "If the Torah states that the loan should be remitted, how can Hillel institute that the creditor can collect, against Torah law?"
Question: When a stranger approaches a congregant in shul asking for tzedakah, should the congregant verify that the person’s need is genuine? Furthermore, what constitutes tzedakah? Is a donation to a synagogue, yeshiva, or hospital considered tzedakah? Zvi Kirschner (Via E-Mail)
Perhaps a careful reading of the pesukim in the parsha will shed light on this dilemma.
By dvora
Upon awakening, I noticed several messages on my phone wishing me “mazal tov” on the arrival of a little maidel.
Like the he-goat and the Temples, it is a guarantor for the Jewish People, to accept punishment on their behalf.
“When Hashem…will broaden your boundary as He spoke to you, and you say, ‘I will eat meat,’ for you will have a desire to eat meat, to your heart’s entire desire you may eat meat.” – Devarim 12:20 For forty years in the midbar the Jewish people ate mon. Guided by Moshe Rabbeinu, engaged […]
Why do Rabbinic laws seem different than Biblical? What does law have to do with God & spirituality?
Parshat Re’eh discusses our obligations upon entering Israel, Yerushalayim & our covenantal mission
Sadly, Jews refuse to embrace Torah & our unique role, and try to be like all the other nations
God's greatest gift for growth & coming closer to Him is "feedback;" Eretz Israel is set up that way
I take umbrage with the perspective that this is a "woman's holiday."
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Three moments, sharing the same message, made a deep impression on me: Greatness is humility.
3 Jewish rituals–family purity, ksahrut, and Shabbat-help us understand that mitzvot are our benefit
By Rachel Weiss
"Who said one must pray with a whole heart? Perhaps it's preferable to pray with a broken heart."
I take pride in being a disciple of the Rebbe. I love everything about Chabad Lubavitch and the wellsprings of chassidus.
We need to have the endurance Napoleon demanded from his troops.
By Rabbi Yaakov Klass and Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum
The Most Favorable Of …Times ‘Annulling Vows For The Sake Of Shabbos’ (Nedarim 77a)
People believe what they want to believe; We see this same phenomenon with the Iran nuclear deal.
"So there's no way to lend past the shemittah year?" asked Eli.
It is very exciting because the women are answering amen because it is a mitzvah, because it is agreeing with the statement that Hashem creates all our food for us...
Question: When a stranger approaches a congregant in shul asking for tzedakah, should the congregant verify that the person’s need is genuine? Furthermore, what constitutes tzedakah? Is a donation to a synagogue, yeshiva, or hospital considered tzedakah? Zvi Kirschner (Via E-Mail)
At the end of his exhausting second 40 day effort, again without food or water, Moshe was rewarded with a command to hew new tablets, as Hashem accepted his petition and forgave them.
The farmer understands he didn’t bring the rain. It wasn’t his acumen that stopped the pestilence.
The second parshah of Shema is referring to keeping the rest of the mitzvos, and there the Torah does not require that one spend all of his money in order to perform the mitzvos.
Is it because of merit or the promise to our ancestors that B'nai Israel gets to enter Israel?
In the Shema, Jews sense personal address but know deepest expression of loyalty to God is communal
By internalizing the Exodus, it is as if we ourselves were redeemed from Egypt.
Each Shabbos we add the tefilla of “Ritzei” to Birchas HaMazon. In it we ask Hashem that on this day of Shabbos He should be pleased with us and save us. What exactly do we want to be saved from? Before we answer this question, let’s talk about this Friday, the 15th of Av. Many […]
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Amongst the greatest disagreements in Judaism is the understanding of the 1st of the 10 Commandments
We studied his seforim together, we listened to famous cantorial masters and we spoke of his illustrious yichus, his pedigree, dating back to the famous commentator, Rashi.
By Rabbi Yaakov Klass and Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum
The Day He Heard ‘One May Seek Revocation Of A Confimation’ (Nedarim 69a)
The director picked up the phone to Rabbi Dayan. "One of our counselors lost his check," he said. "Do we have to issue a new one or is it his loss?"
Why would Moshe Rabbeinu have thought that the vow that disallowed him to enter Eretz Yisrael was annulled simply because he was allowed to conquer and enter the land of Sichon and Og?
Question: When a stranger approaches a congregant in shul asking for tzedakah, should the congregant verify that the person’s need is genuine? Furthermore, what constitutes tzedakah? Is a donation to a synagogue, yeshiva, or hospital considered tzedakah? Zvi Kirschner (Via E-Mail)
By D. B. Estrin
Snow in Jerusalem! For many New Englanders like me, snow pulls at our nostalgic heartstrings like nothing else can.
Man has conflicting wishes and desires. Man has forces pulling him in competing directions.
Perhaps the admonition here is that we should not trivialize the events of the past by saying that they are irrelevant to the modern Jew.
By Tzvi Fishman
One must view the settlement of Israel in a positive light. Thinking otherwise is a grievous sin.
Reaching a stronger understanding of what Moses actually did to prevent him from entering the land
Anti-Zionism, today's anti-Semitism, has gone viral, tragically supported globally & by many Jews
The 10 Statements main point was not content but the encounter between G-d & His nation, Israel
Before going in, I had told R’ Nachum all of the things we were doing in Philly, and how it was very important to receive a good bracha on behalf of our newest venture, a Russian Kollel.
Question: When a stranger approaches a congregant in shul asking for tzedakah, should the congregant verify that the person’s need is genuine? Furthermore, what constitutes tzedakah? Is a donation to a synagogue, yeshiva, or hospital considered tzedakah? Zvi Kirschner (Via E-Mail)
By JNi.Media
(JNi.media) Tisha B’Av (Heb: 9th of the month of Av) is a fast day according to rabbinic law and tradition, commemorating the destruction of the First Temple in 586 BCE by the army of Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, and the destruction of the Second Temple in the year 70 CE by the Roman army led […]
Devarim often parallels the stories in Bereishit but in reverse & can be considered as a corrective
By Rabbi Yaakov Klass and Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum
‘Older’ By A Month ‘…Until The Beginning Of Adar’ (Nedarim 63a)
On Super Bowl Sunday itself, life seems to stop. Over one hundred million people watch the game. About half of the households in the country show it in their living rooms and dens.
Moses begins Sefer Devarim reviewing much of the 40 years in the desert & why he can't enter Israel
While they are definitely special occurrences, why are they cause for a new holiday?
By Tzvi Fishman
Torah wasn’t given to be kept in Sinai; Brooklyn or Beverly Hills-It was meant to be kept in Israel!
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
"When a king dies his power ends; when a prophet dies his influence begins" & their words echo today
In addition to the restrictions of Tisha B’Av, there are several restrictions that one may not perform during the week that Tisha B’Av falls in.
The word “shavat” in the first kina of Tisha B’Av morning indicates a sudden suspension and cessation of time that accompanied the Temple's destruction.
The two decided to approach Rabbi Dayan. "What is the halachic status of conquered territory?" asked Shalom.
The Jewish home was once a mikdash me’at. We must recreate that sanctuary to restore shalom bayis.
Words & expressions that don’t appear anywhere in Torah’s first 4 books suddenly appear in Devarim
Feeling Hashem's presence in our lives is the very purpose of the Beis HaMikdash.
Knowing and feeling that Torah is the only absolute truth will not only help us serve Hashem properly, it will also help us reach out to others. We can be confident that we are offering them the best product possible.
September 25, 2026 
