יום חמישי, כ׳ תשרי תשפ״זThursday, October 1, 2026
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By Dror Eydar
If we believe in our ability to resurrect ourselves and are loyal to it, the land will blossom and give us back love in return.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
After focusing on personal responsibility, Hillel transitions to social responsibility: When I am for my own self, what am I?
The normal use of ‘company’ or ‘workplace’ indicates an office, not one's home, even if the employee typically works remotely.
Facing The Consequences ‘Uncleanness Is Retroactive!’ (Nazir 16a)
There were those who opposed the Rebbe’s point of view. How can we invite ‘them’ to our table, with their Nehru jackets and long hair? They’re going to ruin our children.
Question: Every winter, we run into the same problem: those of us who sit closest to the windows have to suffer the windows being open because those sitting away from the windows, more to the center of the sanctuary, claim they are too hot from the heat of heating system. Do they have the right to impose their comfort at the expense of our health? Name withheld Via email
Even the world press spoke differently of this terrorist attack and explained what Shabbat is all about.
By using humor, he could bring home what simple study in a beit midrash could not.
At various historic points, a 'low soul' has prevented the children of Israel from successfully advancing our national aspirations and collective mission.
There is another important parallel between the parsha and the haftara – the miraculous victory over an apparently superior enemy with the aid of Hashem.
We see that the miracle of the Yam Suf was achieved through the righteous ability of conquering the temptations of one’s heart.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
What Shabbat gave – and still gives – is the unique opportunity to create space within our lives, and within society as a whole, in which we are truly free.
Abba Zayda filled each home with his towering presence, his laughter, his love of life, his never ending patience and his constant wisdom.
The ultimate paradigm of proactive chesed was Hashem’s decision to create the world. There was no external recipient when Hashem created the world, there was no “need,” and there was no external force pressuring Hashem to “give” the world existence.
Our job, as the Jewish people, is to live up to G-d’s instructions and vision and show the rest of the world how to do so as well.
If you would dig beneath the basement of my house, I’m not sure you’d find anything too intriguing.
The Hebrew and Latin terms for scribe are similar to each other in that both are cognate with the word for book in their respective languages (sofer and sefer, libellarius and liber).
At the beginning of every act of faith, there is often a seed of fear. For great acts of faith are seldom born out of calm calculation. -Max L. Lucado
It is a virtually universal practice to light a 24-hour memorial candle on the evening before the yahrzeit so that it burns throughout the yahrzeit. It is said that the soul derives pleasure when candles are lit in its honor.
The decision will ultimately be based on a variety of factors, depending on the reason for the parents’ disapproval. Perhaps their disapproval is temporary or based on unwarranted concerns.
My grandfather used to call me his precious little Michali and I cherished those words every time I saw him.
While the mann was an enormous chesed that Hashem did for Bnei Yisrael in the midbar, its main purpose was to be a lesson in faith.
By dvora
We met some other young women and discussed how we would spend our short time there. They unanimously chose to go to the Eiffel Tower and see it lit up at night. I preferred another destination.
If the parshiyos are pasul, that should be the sofer's problem! Mr. Rosenblum exclaimed. He wrote them. Please let me speak with him.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
When you work towards a learning goal, are you motivated for better grades, looking smarter, outperforming others?
In Short – Just One Day! “I Am Hereby A Nazir” (Nazir 5a,7a-8a)
Does Hashem need to "look" in order to know if there is blood on the doorpost?
Easy come, easy go. Only the Torah that we make sacrifices to learn remains with us years later.
The more we define ourselves as the actors rather than as the characters we play, the more our characters can actually succeed at fulfilling their unique roles in the story HaShem placed us in.
Question:. Every winter, we run into the same problem: those of us who sit closest to the windows have to suffer the windows being open because those sitting away from the windows... claim they are too hot from the heat of the heating system. Do they have the right to impose their comfort at the expense of our health? Anonymous Via email
When we look around at the trees and flowers in our land, we should not take what we see for granted. Shevat is not only a month of blossoming and renewed growth, but the realization of a dream that persisted throughout the generations.
Sheep and cattle want to eat; they want to spend time outside and with their young. But can it really be said that they wish to worship G-d?
On a chemical level, chametz is a conundrum. The existence of fermentation is not sufficient to define chametz.
Under all speech that is good for anything there lies a silence that is better. Silence is deep as Eternity; speech is shallow as Time. -Thomas Carlyle
With the plague of lice, the Egyptian magicians admitted that it was the finger of G-d they were seeing.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Jews became famous throughout the ages for putting education first. Where others built castles and palaces, Jews built schools and houses of study.
G-d does not enjoy meting out punishment, neither does He initiate it. Punishment is the automatic outcome of derelict human behavior.
Highly successful people do not immediately look at their phones upon waking. Instead of allowing external stimuli to guide their waking thoughts, they replace it with mindful, guided, and goal-oriented thinking, generating proactive momentum to their morning.
Of course, the good parent praises and rewards the child for a job well done. But, what about the math teacher who turned your child around?
In the end, justice will be served and all the nations who oppressed Israel will be punished, but Israel will at last be redeemed.
There is a mistaken belief that one should cease reciting Kaddish on the yahrzeit of a parent once fifty years have passed since their death.
While the term amidah is teleologically neutral and simply relays the notion of standing in place, the term nitzav implies standing for a specific purpose.
Most simply don’t have much to say to aveilim and that’s fine; it’s still a great mitzvah to visit with aveilim even for a short time.
If I had used my electric oven the previous week, after the original test, that leak behind it could have blown up the house and caused me serious injury.
Since the signature of witnesses on a loan document becomes void upon repayment, no inherent testimony remains about the second loan, whereas when the borrower resubmits an IOU to the lender, he obligates himself again, as if signing anew.
Que Sera, Sera? ‘He Daubed Him With Mud’ (Nedarim 89b-90a)
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
The use of Aharon as a model is illustrative. Pirkei Avot is filled with advice from many Talmudic sages, but most don’t invoke a Biblical precedent to prove their point.
Question: A number of years back, when I was still unmarried, I had yahrzeit, but in the shul where I davened they wouldn’t let me serve as shaliach tzibbur as they had a rule that no one unmarried was allowed to daven from the amud. Obviously, I could still say Kaddish, but I wanted to lead the services for the sake of the neshama. My question is: Did they have the right to deny me what I felt was my yahrzeit obligation to my departed parent? Mark Halberstam Esq. Brooklyn, N.Y. Via email
Axel Pflueger then turned to the head of the committee, acknowledged to be one of the most celebrated medical ethicists in the world, and inquired, What precisely are the criteria to determine one’s quality of life?
When G-d takes something from the body, he gives something else in its place. True, I am physically disabled, but I learn quickly and my memory is very good.
People are often disillusioned by their failures and the strength of their yetzer hara. Instead, we should appreciate how the challenges we overcome add to the value of our successes.
The Alter Rebbe is probably best known for his systematic exposition of Chassidic Jewish philosophy as set forth in the Tanya.
In truth, a more apt name would be “No Yeshiva Week,” as schools and yeshivas close while many students and their families go on pilgrimage to exotic locations,
It is through the story of Israel, as it unfolds throughout time, that humanity sees history as possessing Divine meaning and purpose.
Because Pharaoh has set himself up as a god, because he has come to believe that he is the absolute ruler of Mitzrayim, and because the people have accepted this upon themselves, what befalls Pharaoh will affect all of Egypt.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
The well-being of the soul is something inward and spiritual, but the well-being of the body requires a strong society and economy, where there is the rule of law, division of labor, and the promotion of trade.
This five-stage pattern exists within every process in life. Everything in this world, even that which appears chaotic, scattered, and disorganized, shares this underlying pattern.
I have not placed reading before praying because I regard it more important, but because, in order to pray aright, we must understand what we are praying for. -Angelina Grimke
Mincha relates to the years of middle-age, and Maariv focuses on one’s golden years. Thus, while davening, it would be proper to focus on one’s children and grandchildren during Shacharis, and upon elderly parents and grandparents during Maariv.
The legitimacy and credence of the person speaking is based on his personal identity and essence.
Consider: Pharaoh is stubborn, cruel, and difficult in every meeting. He claims not to know G-d, he increases the cruelty of his slavery when he is asked for mercy, he ignores the overwhelming and awe-inducing nature of each miraculous event, and he ignores the pleading of his more moderate advisers.
In his commentary to Sanhedrin 67b, however, Rashi says the Talmud holds that lahat is something performed by the practitioner himself, while lat adjures sheidim to act on one’s behalf.
It is explained that the reason one may not leave a sefer lying open is that there is an angel whose name is Sheid – an abbreviation for “shomer dapim” (guardian of [book] pages) – who causes anyone who leaves a sefer open to forget what he has learned.
The concept of both sides being correct flies in the face of the prevailing attitude and mindset of our society.
Our Sages say that the reason we whisper the above blessing in Hebrew is that we do not want to openly flaunt a blessing we “stole” from the angels.
If a person receives a summons to appear before a reputable beit din, it is halachically mandatory to show up. But some people, for various reasons, choose to ignore the summons.
The daily experiences do not, and are not usually earth shattering or traumatic. Any small event or disappointment, aggravations and so on, are sometimes even harder to get up from than from big traumas.
By Eliana Klein
In fact, one of my young daughters-in-law is a certified optometrist, so she likewise was able to weigh in, armed with professional clinical knowledge, instead of merely hearsay or anecdotal information.
To be honest, acknowledged Rabbi Kadosh, I am not sure how much the kesubah is worth in dollars. I see Rabbi Dayan over there, though. Maybe he knows.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
Students take what the sage says seriously. If he is not careful about how he says things, the students can misunderstand.
Truth Or Consequences ‘Consecrating The Non-Existent’ (Nedarim 85b)
Question: A number of years back, when I was still unmarried, I had yahrzeit, but in the shul where I davened they wouldn’t let me serve as shaliach tzibbur as they had a rule that no one unmarried was allowed to daven from the amud. Obviously, I could still say Kaddish, but I wanted to lead the services for the sake of the neshama. My question is: Did they have the right to deny me what I felt was my yahrzeit obligation to my departed parent? Mark Halberstam Esq. Brooklyn, N.Y. Via email
They are telling us something about special sights and sounds, flavors and fragrances, about tradition and family, about identity and longing, about an attempt at destruction and the triumph of the living.
Rebbe Nachman says, According to how holy and important the act is, the more barriers there will be in order to ensure that the act is done with the right level of desire.
The Torah teaches us eternal heavenly truth, wisdom and direction. Its study gives us the ability to free ourselves from contemporary fleeting perspectives.
The Alter Rebbe founded the Chabad movement stressing the requirement of Da es Elokei Avichoh, Know the G-d of your Father, with your intellectual faculties and abilities.
When slavery runs deep into the psychology of a person, it becomes difficult to express the crucial courage and self-sacrifice necessary to break the chains of mental bondage.
All events in history are driven by a chain of events dictated from Above.
There is a famous lesson taught regarding B’nei Yisrael in Mitzrayim that they had, over the course of their exile, descended to the 49th and penultimate level of corruption. Had they not been redeemed at that time they would have become irredeemable.
Great doubts deep wisdom. Small doubts little wisdom. -Chinese Proverb
Applying this ability to spiritual wisdom allows one to enter the gateway into the infinite, gaining access to the deepest and most powerful truths of existence.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Where did it come from, this Jewish ability to turn weakness into strength, adversity into advantage, darkness into light?
Although the Torah strictly forbids taking revenge and bearing a grudge, these are not transgressions that are punishable in a beit din
Apparently, God is only actively engaged when man is conscious of Him
As we explained earlier, “drawing water” and “lifting up” can actually be seen as one act.
Moshe became great because he went out of his palatial comfort zone and identified with this persecuted brothers.
There are some people who don’t easily cry. So, if they are motivated by a moving play or a poignant novel to cry, they should utilize those cries and extend them for the Temple.
When surrounded on all sides and too coddled, one becomes too stifled to grow and produce.
What is the major theme of this book? Why does it not conclude with the major event that changed all of history, the revelation at Sinai?
There's always something that we want from G-d. And Hashem wants something from us.
This fact seems to indicate that we did not build the pyramids, as it is unlikely the Egyptians would have fed enormous amounts of meat to their slaves.
The pandemic might mean these celebrations will be shared on Zoom, and hugs will be virtual, but we will pretend we are together for milestones. And, maybe, sometime during 2023, the pandemic will be history.
The borrower carries the greatest liability, even if the borrowed item died or broke due to uncontrollable circumstances, oness.
The Most Favorable Of …Times “Annulling Vows For The Sake Of Shabbos” (Nedarim 77a)
September 25, 2026 
