יום חמישי, ב׳ כסלו תשפ״זThursday, November 12, 2026
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After a couple of hours in the kitchen, the meat was on the fire, the chicken in the oven, and some kugels already out on the table.
In order for an admission of a debt or for the forgiveness of a debt to be effective, it must be accompanied by some overt manifestation of serious intent.
Question: My friends are getting married on Rosh Chodesh Sivan. I tried to convince them to do otherwise, as many people have a minhag not to attend weddings until three days before Shavuot. They told me they spoke to rabbis who allowed it. Is this right? May I attend? Name Withheld By Request
On Chol HaMoed some work is prohibited and some is permitted. According to some opinions, the work prohibition is biblical; according to others, it’s rabbinical.
He didn’t choose to be kind. He didn’t want to feel the pain of others. In fact, he tried his best to squelch this sensitivity.
By Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Judaism is about new ideas. It is dependent on fresh concepts deeply rooted in its tradition. We must be aware that if we do not apply new remedies we should expect new evils,
In commenting on the story of Nadav and Avihu, Aharon’s two sons who died while presenting a fire offering to God, Rashi does something very unusual. The famous exegete extraordinaire seems to contradict himself in very close proximity. First he tells us that Aharon’s sons were either guilty of being drunk while in the Temple […]
By Libi Astaire
The house is clean. The last bit of chametz has been burned. What happens next?
We have great difficulty accepting our role as Victor, rather than Victim. We apologize for how well our country functions, for our victories, and for our stubborn refusal to roll over and die.
By dvora
Today, over half of world Jewry resides in Israel. Despite wars, terrorism, economic boycotts, and isolation by detractors, Israel continues to thrive-- the realization of visions foretold long ago
With all the talk today about immigration, we asked some ofour rabbanim to answer the following question...
By Sandy Eller
Whether you decide to go formal and proper or playful and laid back, just remember that Pesach is all about transmitting a powerful legacy from one generation to the next.
A halakhic perspective on the Exodus
Every year it is incumbent upon us to recount the Passover story. But it is not only our collective history as recorded in the Haggadah we recall, we also have our own personal associations with Pesach
Some history, some fun facts, some Halacha and... Next Year in Jerusalem
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Judaism survives due to Divine Providence and the foresight of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai who resisted cognitive breakdown, created solutions for tomorrow's problems, who did not seek refuge in the irrational, and who quietly built the Jewish future.
An Implacable Foe ‘Therefore Those Who Speak In Parables Say…’ (Bava Basra 78b)
If the chametz has already been legally nullified and physically burned, so that it is neither owned nor possessed by a Jew, why is it necessary to sell it to a non‑Jew?
The mitzvah is called sippur yetzias Mitzrayim – telling the story of how Hashem took us out of Egypt. Why is there an emphasis on the telling?
Mr. Leiner checked the calendar, and saw that April 13 came out on Chol HaMoed. I was considering taking off that day, Mr. Leiner told his boss.
Question: Why do we sell our chametz. Wouldn’t it be simpler to just dispose of it? Why go through this charade every year? Malka Berg
In all of these situations, the person volunteering the admission is exempt from any payment.
He feels joy in his heart as he revels in the abundance of his bumper crop. And then he looks out at his neighbor’s field. Meager. Undergrown. Spotty.
Instead of commending this righteous individual for his proper ethical standards, he has been attacked by the left wing media!
This tragedy was in the forefront of my mind as my family and I wended our way, the week before Pesach, from Har Nof, Jerusalem to Sha’ar Yeshuv.
In this week's video, we explore a section of Talmud that teaches about the 4 individuals who would bring a Thanksgiving sacrifice - but one of these four doesn't belong. Who is it?
By Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo
It is perhaps this fact that makes Pesach so relevant for our own times: The realization that even at the time of the greatest of miracles, many years passed without God revealing Himself openly.
This is one of those posts that falls into the category of “If only I had the power to……..”
Our sages write that one of the reasons the second Beit Hamikdash was destroyed was because of blind hatred.
By Guest Author
IDF religious ideology is being hotly debated in media and between politicians and National Religious rabbis. Jewish education programs run by the IDF in conjunction with Torah groups are essential
Open your eyes. Read and absorb the Haggada and realize, at the end of the seder, when we say “Next Year in Jerusalem,” we commemorate not just the Pesach of the past, but the Pesach of the present!
Appreciate that Pesach is NOT meant to end on the seventh day, but at Shavuot. With that in mind, we need to work harder to accept making the days of sefirat ha-omer into days akin to chol ha-moed
After living as slaves for so many years, we could now be transformed into avdei Hashem - Hashem's slaves.
We have lost the idea of what it is to give ourselves to Hashem with totality and completeness.
By Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Perhaps the institution of sacrifice is grounded in deep symbolism, the meaning and urgency of which escapes our modern mentality.
The reason the defendant must pay the money or return the item if he admits that he borrowed the money, stole it, or had something of value deposited with him but does not know whether he repaid the money or gave the item back, is as follows.
Question: Must one spend great sums of money and invest much effort in making one’s home kosher for Passover? Not all of us have unlimited funds. Anonymous
Must A Typical Sale Be Generous? ‘A Seller Sells Generously’ (Bava Basra 71a)
Rebbetzin Jungreis, a”h, continues her discussion of Jewish homes-the pain and tragedy in some; the joy and love in others. This week, the Rebbetzin focuses on the love of Jewish mothers.
So am I deserving of honor? The body I occupy sure is; just look at what it can do. But I am that little guy inside – small, insignificant, unimportant.
By Ann Goldberg
But, that morning my cold had developed into something far worse and I just knew I wasn’t going to get to the bris.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Why should unintentional sins require atonement at all? What guilt is involved? Had the offender known he would not have done what he did. Why then does he have to undergo a process of atonement?
Glass cannot be kashered or used at all on Pesach because it is made of sand and is halachically considered earthenware.
Mr. Taub tried a few more times to contact Benjy, but was unsuccessful.
How can we say that we are waiting for Mashiach in any month other than Nissan?
Vayikra, "He called," ends with a mini-Aleph, teaching us that Moses could hear the Call because he learned at Sinai to listen to the other side of silence, the world's smaller sounds and the people he led
In this video, Rabbi Fohrman contrasts the Torah's perspective of power and justice to the philosophy of Richard Nixon's famous line - "When the president does it, it is not illegal."
There is likely some connection between the prohibition of chametz on the altar and the chametz which is more likely on our minds as we rid our homes of this most challenging foodstuff.
On Shabbat we will read of two events that took place on the first of Nisan.
By Rachel Weiss
The comfort and chizuk these wives offered their husbands, uplifting their morale, did not escape our all-seeing Father in heaven.
Anyone from any tribe can rise to greatness so long as he or she has the vision, drive, and talent.
Other nations were created through conquest and an amalgamation of peoples. We, the Jewish people, were born in the cradle of family, Abraham and Sarah, created our very first home. Thia is why the epidemic of splintered families is an epic tragedy.
The ongoing legal saga of whether Dr. Simcha Goldman could wear his yarmulke while serving in the US Air Force
In recognition of the good that was performed in the past we reward this dog with the meat of the animal that he did not protect.
I can't accept that, said Mr. Mann. If you are not willing to honor the contract, we need to take up the issue in beis din.
Question: Why there are four special Torah readings between Purim and Pesach? Also, why do we call each of those four Shabbatot by a special name, e.g., Shabbat Shekalim, Shabbat Zachor etc.? Additionally how did the division of weekly parshiyot we read every Shabbat come about? Celia Gluck
Hung Out To Dry ‘A Roof With A Parapet 10 Tefachim High Is Not Included’ (Bava Basra 63b-64a)
While this is a beautiful illustration of the giving nature of a tzaddik, there is as subtle message here: the man stole a spoon from the Chofetz Chaim. How was that possible?
If chametz became mixed with non-chametz on Pesach, the mixture is prohibited on Pesach even if the ratio of the permitted non‑chametz to the forbidden chametz is 1,000 to 1.
By Naama Klein
Our first six children had been born in the Holy Land, but ironically every one of them married and set up home in the United States.
The UN condemns Israel on a constant basis for crimes it has not committed, and continually attempts to recognize the Palestinian claim to the land (with the exception to the Trump administration as we will shortly discuss).
So too a person who admits he stole part of the money claimed, or who is confronted by only one witness who testifies to the theft, remains eligible to take an oath.
Both the mishkan and Shabbat are in this week's parsha. What is the thematic, conceptual connection between the two?
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
In the sanctuary, the specific domain called “the holy” is where we meet God on His terms, not ours. Yet this too is God’s way of conferring dignity on mankind.
From the beginning of the building project, the financial and physical contribution of all Jews was sought. There was a need to show that the Torah’s tabernacle was where all Jews stand equal before God
In this week's treasure from Rebbetzin Jungreis' {zt"l) archives she shares a letter from a family in turmoil. This time it’s not the children who rejected parents but a parent who rejected her child
The Red Cow which was completely burnes symbolizes the eradication of one's past.
A Matter Of Priority ‘Lands Shown By Hashem To Moses Are Subject To Tithes’ (Bava Basra 56a)
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
The Sanctuary as a human construct, mirrors the Divine creation of the universe. Each creation culminates in the Sabbath placing the sanctity of place in subordinate position to the holiness of time.
By Dena Estrin
One point stood out from those stories: in contrast to the Koran, the great figures of the Torah were not beyond reproach. There was always room to be better.
The fact that two witnesses testify that the defendant borrowed the amount in dispute from the plaintiff does not discredit the defendant or disqualify him from taking the Shevuat Heiset oath of denial.
It is difficult to begin to do teshuvah as if the geula is imminent when we do not really think that it will happen.
The prohibition of chametz on Pesach means that chametz may not be eaten or enjoyed, may not be owned or possessed, and must be removed from one's premises.
Question: Why there are four special Torah readings between Purim and Pesach? Also, why do we call each of those four Shabbatot by a special name, e.g., Shabbat Shekalim, Shabbat Zachor etc.? Additionally how did the division of weekly parshiyot we read every Shabbat come about? Celia Gluck
In this video, Rabbi Fohrman focuses on a bizarre question that Moshe asks God, "Why God, should you be angry at your people?" and reminds us that God and the nation of Israel are attached by destiny
In addition, a customer who had been negotiating to buy Mr. Weiner's house managed to convince him to sign a sales contract for significantly less than he had initially asked for.
Klal Yisrael was living in the desert. They neither worked for a living nor had any use for money. All their needs were taken care of.
By Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Rabbi Cardozo responds to a letter concerning his article on Rav Soloveitchik (zt"l)
Paradoxically, the sin of the calf ended up strengthening Moshe and the Jewish people with a new consciousness.
A very sad reality exists today: Not only contemptuous children who are abusive and denigrate their parents but parents-and extended family- very often guilty of the same negative behavior
By Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Jews have been an ever-dying people that never died, experiencing a continuous resurrection, like the dry bones Yechezkel saw in the valley. Purim, like the Jewish nation, will never cease.
Question: If someone heard Megillat Esther in shul and later reads it at home for his wife and family, must he recite the blessings? Menachem
The irrevocable consequences of taking a false Modeh Bemiktztat oath of partial admission would deter him from employing such delay tactics.
Barry brought over the motorized bike, and Saul put it away in a spare room. A month later, Barry returned. A week passed and he did not come to pick up his bike.
What Was She Thinking? ‘I Did So Only To Please My Husband’ (Bava Basra 49b)
He was used to my premonitions. So I called my labor coach she said she would bring her car close to where I was staying.
The whole purpose of any holiday is for one to separate from the vanities of the world and [cling] to Hashem and His Torah.
Donald Trump’s election was a complete surprise to many. In fact every poll predicted that he would lose. How were they all so wrong?
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
In parshat Tetzaveh, for once Moses, the hero, the leader, the liberator, the lawgiver, is offstage. Instead our focus is on his elder brother Aaron who, elsewhere, is often in the background.
Granted, these might be additional reasons to celebrate, but isn’t life a much greater reason?
According to Jewish law and indeed any law, the best way to avoid such unpleasant situations is to be very specific in the contract of sale.
Whether it's cabbage or Kohenic clothing,the recipe of colors Scarlet, Purple, and Turquoise render impressive results.
Man is attracted to the short cut that the supernatural road provides; there is a place for the supernatural in God’s world. It is tucked away under lock and key not for us to use.
November 13, 2026 
