יום שני, כ״ה אלול תשפ״וMonday, September 7, 2026
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Though history offers no hard and fast laws like we find in physics, it does provide us with some guidelines. One of the most important is that when it comes to making plans, “the enemy gets a vote” or as Winston Churchill put it: “However absorbed a commander may be in the elaboration of his own thoughts, it is necessary sometimes to take the enemy into consideration.”
It’s 12:30 on a Yom Tov, Monday morning. You are about to leave the synagogue for the third day in a row. As you look around, you notice, even as you try to ignore it, a certain wilting of the spirit. A belabored pace. How good you felt on Friday night, with the onset of Shabbat. An effortless serenity set in then.
Chaim had an old car that he would regularly rent to the fellows of his kollel for a nominal fee. Moshe asked if he could use the car for the afternoon to do a couple of shopping errands. "With pleasure," Chaim said. "However, before you take the car, I'd like you to read this statement of terms."
Question: We find coronets on top of certain letters in the Torah – namely shin, ayin, tet, nun, zayin, gimmel and tzaddi. What purpose, if any, do they serve? Menachem (Via E-Mail)
By Rabbi Yaakov Klass and Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum
An Expression Unique in Shas “I Am Neither Wise…” (Pesachim 105b)
Hashem appeared to Noach and told him the world had turned to wicked ways and was to be destroyed by a deluge. Hashem commanded Noach to build a teivah, an ark, so that he and his family would be saved.
It is important to note that not all names may be designated. There is, for example, a tradition that Ashkenazic Jews do not name their children after a living person. Yet, neither the Bible nor the Talmud make any reference to this prohibition. Indeed, just the opposite. The Lubavitcher Rebbe (Sha’arei Halacha U’Minhag, Yoreh De’ah, Volume III, p.298) notes that from verses in Genesis (See Genesis 11:24-26) it is evident that Terach (father of Abraham) named his son Nachor during the lifetime of his father, Nachor.
The Rambam writes in Hilchos Melachim 9:1 that Adam HaRishon was commanded in six mitzvos, and Noach was commanded in a seventh. Adam was commanded to not do the following: worship avodah zarah, curse Hashem, kill, gilui arayos, and steal. He was also commanded to set up a court system. In addition to those commands, Noach was commanded not to eat from ever min hachai (a limb detached from a live animal).
When we give to others we are only returning that which He gave us.
By Ann Goldberg
Meital and Aharon, married for several years, were thrilled to discover that Meital was pregnant. But within a few hours of their son’s birth, it was painfully apparent that things were far from all right medically.
After davening on Hoshana Rabbah, Mr. Hadar fondly packed away his esrog. "Maybe I'll fill it with cloves and use it for spices at Havdalah," he thought. "Or maybe I'll make jelly out of it."
Over the last several years, a number of European countries have outlawed shechitah (Jewish ritual slaughter). The latest, disturbingly, is Poland where shechitah opponents portray it as being cruel. Is there anything that we in the Jewish community can do to counter this trend? Jay Alt (Via E-Mail)
Designating proper names for one’s children is not always easy. When my wife, Shoshana, gave birth to our first child in Chicago – a girl – she informed me that according to tradition, the wife is entitled to name the first child. I didn’t agree, but recognizing that this was her tradition and not wishing to cause any controversy or anguish, I readily submitted.
By Rabbi Yaakov Klass and Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum
He Might Extinguish It ‘A Torch Is The Best Way Of Performing The Mitzvah’ (Pesachim 103b)
We really are a bunch of schnorrers.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Could we understand the history of Israel without its prehistory, the stories of Abraham and Sarah and their children?
Overtime proved to be as tense and white-knuckled as the fourth quarter. Halfway through, New London grabbed a defensive rebound and charging toward their basket when Monona’s forward poked away the ball and broke away. In a slick maneuver he managed to split the defense and went up virtually slamming it to give Monona Grove the lead.
By Naama Klein
The incessant loud knocking on the door startled me from my brief reverie. My husband had left to attend a chassanah in Yerushalayim just moments earlier, the kids were comfortably tucked into bed, and I was spending a quiet evening at home tackling sundry neglected tasks. The sudden pounding and muffled voices soon interrupted my plans for the lonely hours that beckoned. I hurried to answer the door while drying my hands on a kitchen towel haphazardly draped over my shoulder.
While we wish the nations of the world success and prosperity, we realize that this feeling has not always been reciprocated.
He was known as one of the most successful and wealthy individuals in the country, and his fame seemed to grow as quickly as his profits. He was the envy of his acquaintances, the bane of his competition. So when the accusations were leveled against him it was an absolute shock. He was accused of murdering a seventeen-year-old girl and the evidence against him was incriminating.
Question: In L’David Hashem Ori – which we recite from the beginning of Elul until Shemini Atzeret – we read the following: “Bikrov alay me’re’im le’echol et besarai – When evildoers approach me to devour my flesh.” Why does the verse use the word “me’re’im”? Why not use “resha’im” or “anashim ra’im” instead? Tzila Kleinbart Brooklyn, NY
When I started a conversation with the young man his responses were rather cynical but I wouldn't give in.
By Rabbi Yaakov Klass and Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum
The Letter Of The Law? ‘If He Was…Unable to Enter Because of the Camels’ (Pesachim 94a)
The Mishnah in Sukkah 34b says that an esrog of urla (fruit from the first three years after the tree was planted) and that of terumah temeiah are unfit for use in fulfilling the mitzvah. The Gemara (35a) explains that this is because one of the requirements of the mitzvah is that one must be able to eat the esrog. Since one may not eat urla or terumah temeiah they are unfit for the mitzvah.
Question: Is it proper for Orthodox synagogues to have their parking lots open on Shabbat?
Mr. Sender was the gabbai of Congregation Tiferes Yisrael. He was in change of aliyahs, would organize the siddurim after davening, and make the announcements. His special joy, though, was walking around the shul on weekdays with the pushka (tzedakah box). "Tzedakah tatzil mimavess," he would quietly declare. "Charity saves from death."
By dvora
The zaidie sat at the head of the dining room table. I was a small child and unaware that my friend Esther’s grandfather was the revered rosh yeshiva at Yeshiva University, Rav Moshe Aaron Poleyeff, zt”l.
Every Shabbos we look forward to the delightful seudos where we enjoy delicious food and drinks, sing zemiros, say divrei Torah, and spend wonderful time with our families. This coming Shabbos, Yom Kippur, will be quite different. We will spend most of the day in prayer and repentance, begging Hashem to forgive us for our sins, and we may forget that it is also Shabbos. However, from the fact that we ask for forgiveness “on this day of Shabbos,” we see that there is an integral connection between Shabbos and the atonement of Yom Kippur.
This shemirah is represented by the sukkah - a fragile structure made of cheap, flimsy wood, without a door, without a lock, without an alarm system.
The Yom Kippur video message of Rav Bina, the Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshivat Netiv Aryeh at the Kotel,
With the entire nation gathered at the foot of Har Sinai, Moshe Rabbeinu went up to receive the Torah. When he came down forty days later, the Jewish people were in a very different state from when he had left them. Through the influence of the mixed multitude, they were engaged in a form of idol worship. While it’s true that the vast majority of the people didn’t actively engage in the act, for such a people so soon after hearing, “I am Hashem Your G-d,” directly from our Creator, this was so egregious that it was considered as if they had each participated. The only hope was for Moshe to beseech Hashem for mercy.
Question: Is it proper for Orthodox synagogues to have their parking lots open on Shabbat?
Question: In “L’David Hashem Ori” – which we recite from the beginning of Elul until Shemini Atzeret – we read the following: “Bikrov alay me’reim le’echol et besarai – When evildoers approach me to devour my flesh.” Why does the verse use the word “me’reim”? Why not use “resha’im” or “anashim ra’im” instead? Tzila Kleinbart Brooklyn, NY
Yossi and Ezra shared an apartment. They had many things in common, which made them good roommates. One thing they shared that sometimes caused problems, though, was identical cell phones.
By Rabbi Yaakov Klass and Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum
Hashem’s House Is No Different ‘Everything…But To Leave’ (Pesachim 86b)
There is a mitzvah to eat on Erev Yom Kippur. The pasuk says that we should do ennui to our soul on the ninth day of Tishrei. The Gemara, in Yuma 81b, explains that the pasuk cannot be referring to the ninth day because we know from other pesukim that the ennui is on the tenth of the month. Therefore the Gemara explains that the pasuk is teaching us that whoever eats on the ninth day is considered to have fasted on the ninth and tenth days.
Obviously it is our choice to accept or deny that G-d is leading us on our path. Yet that choice will determine the meaning of our lives.
Approximately 30 days before Shavuos, my fondest friend, Joshua, a prominent diamond importer, invited me to his Fifth Avenue office. “Chaim, I want to show you a beautiful stone. Maybe you have a customer, and I am sure you could use the broker’s commission” (usually not more than two percent).
On Sunday, Jews will be refraining from food and drink from dawn until sunset to commemorate the Fast of Gedaliah.
"An animal also has an instinct to care for its young, but you are doing more than that. You are performing chesed, an act of kindness for another human being. Does it matter that he also happens to be your son?"
One of the beautiful customs of Rosh Hashanah is to eat an apple dipped in honey and other sweet foods as a way of asking Hashem to make things sweet for us in the coming year. People also wish each other a healthy and sweet New Year. However the best way to make the year sweet for ourselves and for others is to become “sweet” people, remembering to smile and treat each other in a sweet and friendly way.
Why do we call this Shabbos, Shabbos Shuvah? Is it because it’s the only Shabbos during the Aseres Yemei Teshuva? That can’t be the reason. After all, we don’t call this Shabbos, Shabbos Teshuvah. It’s specifically called Shabbos Shuvah. So you’ll tell me, shuvah, teshuvah—same thing, right? Both mean repentance. But we will see that the difference between teshuvah and shuvah is all the difference in the world.
"When we were liberated, we blew the shofar again and my father took it with him."
By Rabbi Yaakov Klass and Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum
Location! Location! ‘On and Off His Forehead’ (Pesachim 77a)
Hashem told Moshe to engrave the names of the twelve shevatim onto the stones of the Ephod as a remembrance. Rashi explains that this was so that the memory of Reuven, Shimon, Levi, etc. would be invoked when the kohen gadol did the avodah, and Hashem would then remember their righteousness.
The Mishnah in Rosh Hashanah 16a says that on the first day of the year (Rosh Hashanah), every human being passes in front of Hashem and is judged. The Gemara there (16b) says in the name of Rabbi Kruspadai that there are three sefarim opened on Rosh Hashanah – one for tzaddikim, one for reshaim, and one for beinonim. The tzaddikim are inscribed for life, the reshaim are written for death, and the beinonim must wait until Yom Kippur to see what the judgment on them will be. If they are “zocheh,” they will be inscribed for life; if not, they will be marked for death.
Question: In “L’David Hashem Ori” – which we recite from the beginning of Elul until Shemini Atzeret – we read the following: “Bikrov alay me’reim le’echol et besarai – When evildoers approach me to devour my flesh.” Why does the verse use the word “me’reim”? Why not use “resha’im” or “anashim ra’im” instead? Tzila Kleinbart Brooklyn, NY
Question: Why does the congregation stand every time the shofar is blown?
Rabbi Dayan asked Ruby and Zev to sit down. "Remind me what the issue was," he said. "It's been a while since we spoke." "Zev sent me a computer virus as an email attachment," said Ruby. "Supposedly, the file was a 'helpful computer program,' which he told me to install. The file was a virus, though; when I clicked on it, it attacked my computer! The repair cost $250. I think that Zev should pay for the repair.”
Avi and Rachel had always assumed, as most people do, that within a year or two of their marriage they would be blessed with a child. But, as we know, that isn’t always the reality.
Enjoy this” sweet” new idea for a “Sweet New Year”! A refreshing and very simple idea to finish off any Yom Tov meal.
I’m excited to introduce my new Sukkos decoration concept. I couldn’t help but notice the variety of interesting leathers and vinyls available on the market. Sorting through the many different colors and textures, it dawned on me that I could easily create Sukkos décor using one of my favorite combinations, leather and nail heads.
"A few months before I was born, my dad met a stranger who was new to our small Tennessee town. From the beginning, Dad was fascinated with this enchanting newcomer, and soon invited him to live with our family. The stranger was quickly accepted and was around to welcome me into the world a few months later.
Peter Drucker famously said, “Long range planning does not deal with future decisions, but with the future of present decisions.” Sadly, history is replete with examples of leaders who have not only ignored this principle, but who have lost focus of their immediate goals. By doing so, they not only fail to think about the second and third layers of effects, but they fail to consider the possibility of unintended consequences.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
The Torah scroll is the nearest Judaism comes to endowing a physical entity with sanctity.
Those who cannot find meaning in their countries of exile find it in this ancient city.
Monona Grove was headed to “State” and the Silver Eagle fans went insane. The coming games would not be played in monotonous high school gyms erected in the 1950s. They were off to the University of Wisconsin's colossal Kohl Center where they would play before a crowd of 12,000. The games would be broadcast to a statewide television audience of millions, as a battery of newspapers and stations would be begging for interviews. The Kohl Center was just a short drive from Monona, technically in the same city.
There is a famous pasuk in one of this week’s parshiyos, Parshas Nitzavim, which carries strong halachic ramifications.
After many grave warnings against leaving the ways of the Torah, Moshe Rabbeinu tells Klal Yisrael that learning and keeping the Torah is within easy grasp of each of us. “Acquiring it doesn’t require wings to fly to the heavens, and studying it doesn’t demand crossing oceans.” Rather, Torah is well within the reach of each person.
By Rabbi Yaakov Klass and Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum
Against The Tide? ‘How Do We Roast The Paschal Sacrifice?’ (Pesachim 74a)
Question: How should one properly do teshuvah during Elul as we approach the Days of Awe, the Yamim Nora’im? Zvi Unger (Via E-Mail)
Ruby and Zev were classmates but didn't get along well. One weekend, shortly before a test, Ruby asked to borrow Zev's notes and kept them the entire weekend, ignoring Zev's pleas to return them. Not surprisingly, Zev did poorly on the test. He decided to get back at Ruby.
It was a few minutes after sunrise. A new day had begun, and everyone was preparing for work, school and shopping for Shabbat. But the sun was setting slowly in our basement, as it was setting calmly for my mother-in-law. It was time for her to take leave of family, children and everything in this world.
"Only a Navi or a fool can say why it occurred - and we don't have Neviim any longer."
The story was about a mother who lost her husband and eleven of her children in Auschwitz.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
The ancients saw the gods in nature, never more so than in thinking about the harvest and all that accompanied it.
At the beginning of this week’s parshah the Torah discusses the halachos of bikkurim. When one sees the first fruit blossoming, he is to tie a red string on that fruit, bring them to the Beis HaMikdash, and give them to a kohen. While there, he must read a passage from the Torah found in the beginning of this week’s parshah.
Rabbi Dayan was learning the Daf in his study when his phone rang. "Hello, this is Shmuel," said the caller. "My children found some eggs in our backyard. They did shiluach ha'ken with the chickens and brought the eggs home. Can we eat them?"
At the end of a long prophecy of what will befall us if we don’t follow the ways of Hashem, the Torah seems to lay the blame on one issue: because you did not serve Hashem…amid gladness and goodness of heart when everything was abundant. It seems the pivotal point of these two extremes is based on simcha, implying that serving Hashem with happiness is critical to our success as a nation.
Question: How should one properly do teshuvah during Elul as we approach the Days of Awe, the Yamim Nora’im? Zvi Unger (Via E-Mail)
By Rabbi Yaakov Klass and Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum
Blood On His Hands! ‘It Is Praiseworthy For The Sons Of Aaron That They Walk In Blood…’ (Pesachim 65b)
By Naama Klein
Aseres Yemei Teshuvah. The mere mention of these three potent words invariably strikes fear into the hearts and souls of God-fearing Jews everywhere. Each weekday morning, the piercing cry of the shofar penetrates our collective consciousness and urges us to mend our ways, repent our transgressions and return wholeheartedly to our Father in Heaven.
We live in a time when something just six months old is considered outdated. Our generation strives for the most comfortable and easy way of life, and thus we are never satisfied with the “old-fashioned” devices.
Shlomo Veingrad has traveled further for his speaking engagements than even during his days in the NFL, crisscrossing America and speaking around the world.
The Torah lays out our attitude and approach to the different nations and tells us, “The Mitzrim cannot be totally rejected because you lived in their country.” Rashi is bothered by this mixed expression. If we are supposed to be grateful for the good the Mitzrim did for us, why use the expression “don’t reject them”? This doesn’t sound very appreciative.
Yair was always looking for spare jobs to earn some extra money. Before Pesach he would clean houses, before Sukkos he would build sukkahs, in the summer he would drive people to the mountains.
By Rabbi Yaakov Klass and Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum
Mazal Tov, Mazal Tov! ‘They Recited Shema Yisrael [In Response]’ (Pesachim 56a)
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Fathers shall not be put to death for their children, nor children put to death for their fathers -- how is that compatible with the idea that children may suffer for the sins of their parents?
Assign each of your children his or her inheritance so that there is less chance for any controversy when you and your husband have passed on.
Question: The famous Iggeret of Rav Sherira Gaon references Yerushalmi Kilaim 9:3 and Kesubos 12:3 and states that Rabbi Judah the Prince descended from Hillel who, in turn, descended from the tribe of Binyamin – not Yehudah. The Iggeret also discusses how the Mishnah was written and how Rabbi Judah worked on it. Had Menachem read this Iggeret by Rav Sherira Gaon – who, incidentally, was a direct descendant of King David – I don’t think he would have asked his question. Yehuda T. (Via E-Mail)
In this week’s parshah the Torah discusses the halachos of hashavas aveidah (returning a lost object). The Gemara in Baba Metzia 27b derives from the pasuk in this week’s parshah, which says that one who finds a lost object should hold it until he is derosh acheichah, that the finder must investigate whether the man who claims that the lost object is his is being truthful. The Torah accepts simanim (signs) that one can provide as proof that the object is indeed his.
By dvora
I returned to work after the pre-summer Memorial Day weekend and found on my desk a brochure sent from the American Friends of Kupat Ha’ir. It described a tragedy that had recently taken place in Eretz Yisrael. A tzedakah campaign had been created after the father of 13 children was suddenly killed in a car accident, leaving behind a wife and the 13 children – including a six-day-old baby.
“Presentation is very important. Judaism is not necessarily appealing to a lot of people and you want to make it as attractive as possible,” said Rabbi Chaim Miller, founder of the Kol Menachem publishing house.
“The generalities of the commandments necessarily have a cause and have been given because of a certain utility."
Does the title of this article sound familiar? Anyone over the age of 30 probably remembers a certain song by a certain boys choir with the “Shabbos Yerushalayim.” The song was released circa the late 1980’s, and you guessed it, it was sung by R’ Yerachmiel Begun’s Miami Boys Choir.
The Jewish nation as a totality was given the mitzvah of appointing judges. These judges were commanded to mediate with righteousness according to the Torah’s laws. One of the rules of a judge is that he may not accept a bribe because a “bribe will blind the eyes of the wise.”
It was summertime. Congregation Sha'ar Shamayim was relatively empty, as many of its members were away in camp or vacationing in bungalows.
By Rabbi Yaakov Klass and Rabbi Gershon Tannenbaum
Are We There Yet? ‘I Don’t Work On Yom Tov [Sheni]’ (Pesachim 52a)
Question: The famous Iggeret of Rav Sherira Gaon references Yerushalmi Kilaim 9:3 and Kesubos 12:3 and states that Rabbi Judah the Prince descended from Hillel who, in turn, descended from the tribe of Binyamin – not Yehudah. The Iggeret also discusses how the Mishnah was written and how Rabbi Judah worked on it. Had Menachem read this Iggeret by Rav Sherira Gaon – who, incidentally, was a direct descendant of King David – I don’t think he would have asked his question. Yehuda T. (Via E-Mail)
Rebbetzin, I have seen families where cousins, aunts and uncles are not even invited to one another’s weddings.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
On the face of it, the test is simple: if what the prophet predicts comes to pass, he is a true prophet; if not, not. Clearly, though, it was not that simple.
September 4, 2026 
