יום רביעי, כ״ד חשוון תשפ״זWednesday, November 4, 2026
Follow Us
The right to a refund or to the return of the purchase price or the item, as the case may be, is subject to a time limit.
If someone remembers during Minchah that he did not recite ya’aleh veyavo during Shacharis, he must similarly daven Shemoneh Esrei twice during Minchah.
David ordered a bus. He divided the cost among the fifty friends and wrote on the sign that each person would have to pay $32.
Today there are many stumbling blocks that prevent people with disabilities from participating fully in services or even in Jewish education.
On the one hand, we see that Rivkah was right about Ya’akov’s potential. On the other hand, we will never be sure who was right about Esav.
By Rachel Weiss
The Jewish nation thankfully emerged from their spiritual slumber just in time...
People were stunned, but they got the message.
Devar Torah on Parshas Chayei Sarah from the well known, Rabbi Aba Wagensberg.
Do not deride those rabbis or seminary teachers who focus on learning, and by the same token, let us not label yeshivas and seminaries that are supportive of programs committed to learning and work.
The ongoing saga of the yarmulke wearing Dr. Simcha Goldman and the US Air Force
By dvora
After their short rest upstate, catching a few short hours of sleep, the father and son-in-law started the trek home.
Question: If a person was ill on Shabbos and unable to go to shul to hear Keri’at haTorah, must he have someone read it to him in shul upon his recovery. Sincerely, Isaac Greenberg
Hatzalah And Other First Responders ‘Your Life Takes Precedence …’ (Bava Metzia 62a)
Why does Lavan’s speaking before his father show that he was wicked? Disrespectful, yes. Rude, certainly. But a rasha?
However, when he agreed to sell it to Moshe, he was no longer interested in selling it to anyone else. Shalom cannot acquire it without Yosef's consent.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Neither Abraham nor Sarah had an easy life. They faced trials testing their faith, yet Rashi says Sarah’s years were equal in goodness and the Torah says Abraham had been blessed with everything-Why?
The reason it would be pronounced gashem is because it is the last word before a pause.
Yitzchak, did not go to Be’er Lechai Ro’ee to pray or meditate. Rather he was on a mission, and that mission was to return Hagar to Avraham in marriage.
"A father of philosophy, the father of the Hebrews and his slave get together,,," sounds like the start of an ancient joke but read on...
Why is the kever of the Isha Hashunamis a special place for tefillos?
Question: If a person was ill on Shabbos and unable to go to shul to hear Keri’at haTorah, must he have someone read it to him in shul upon his recovery? Sincerely, Isaac Greenberg
Avraham had many students, but there was only one who was truly devoted to knowing and understanding the ways of his teacher. That was Yitzchak.
While Torah is my life, I prefer to continue working rather than learn for a few years and create a glaring gap on my resume. That answer brings me rejection after rejection fro, potential shidduchim
It’s All In The Giving ‘Five Laws Require A Minimum Peruta’ (Bava Metzia 55a)
When he got to the yeshiva, he realized the bag with the sneakers had fallen off his knapsack. He retraced his steps, but could not find it.
I would assume that if Hashem appeared to someone, he would be obligated to remain in Hashem’s presence for as long as Hashem remained.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Why the binding? Why put Abraham and Sarah through the agony of thinking that the son for whom they have waited for so long is about to die? We cherish what we wait for and what we most risk losing.
By Naama Klein
I hurried downstairs and dialed my husband again. Baruch Hashem this time he answered right away.
What incentive does the seller have to salvage the object from fire if, at the end of the day, the loss is for the buyer?
Abraham was not an isolationist concerned solely with his own interests. Regardless of how despicable the Sodomites were, Abraham started a surreal negotiation with G-d to save them.
Isn't it surprising that Avraham who prayed for Sodom's salvation did not protest God commanding him to kill his own son? For the Netziv, this was actually exactly what God wanted from Avraham. Why?
By Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo
In biblical days, the prophets were astir while the world was sleeping. Today, the world is astir while the synagogues are sleeping. Blessed are the young people who are waking up.
Question: Is there anything in Jewish law that prohibits replacing an old, existing matzeivah (tombstone) with a new, better one? I would greatly appreciate your response to this question. A Reader Tucson, AZ
The Case Of The Conflicting Commitments! ‘A Breach Of Faith’ (Bava Metzia 49a)
Abraham is a model of the Individual, of the non-conformist, of the person who will take a stand for what is right though it is unpopular. Indeed, Abraham carved his own path.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
The most influential man who ever lived, does not appear on any list I have seen of the hundred most influential men in history. He ruled no empire, commanded no army, His name, of course, is Abraham
If the young man you’re dating is sincere, he has to demonstrate his commitment now, beginning with regular and intensive Torah study. My experience is that people who put things off rarely deliver.
Why did Yaakov act strangely by crisscrossing his hands when he could have simply switched Ephraim and Menashe’s positions?
Is there any way to measure the value of life? Is it worth a million dollars? Ten million? A hundred billion? Is it even possible to put a value on our existence?
Thus, if the ticket was issued to the owner, the driver has no obligation to reimburse him.
By dvora
I explained to him that Hashem does not give a person something to deal with that they cannot handle.
By dvora
I teach our students that nothing happens by chance and certainly that includes a raffle drawing. Hashem is running the world and everything that happens in it.
Why do we allow a Jew to shecht on Shabbos when there are other ways of providing the ill person with meat?
We meet two different Abrahams in the Torah text and the Midrash. The spiritual giant, hero, and Tzaddik of the Midrash is almost a phantom in the written text. Which is real?
While we read of tests of Avraham, it is clear that Sarah endured tests of her own. According to Ramban, she failed her test in her treatment of Hagar
B’chol dirachecha da’eihu, vehu yiyasher orchosecha – In all your ways know Him and He will smooth your paths
Rashi is troubled that thievery is being treated as the pivotal point of the world’s existence. There are many sins that are worse.
An engrossing tale of a complex shidduch issue-A wonderful shidduch except for one thing: The wonderful young man is not that observant. What should she do?
Ensnarement and Atonement ‘The Only Proper Guarding Of Coins Is In The Ground’ (Bava Metzia 42a)
Question: Is there anything in Jewish law that prohibits replacing an old, existing matzeivah (tombstone) with a new, better one? I would greatly appreciate your response to this question. A Reader Tucson, AZ
The Torah itself presents parallel narratives of the same stories, thereby showing that the same events can truthfully be constructed in more than one way.
The two were the same height and dressed similarly, so Shlomie could not discern who had taken the money.
As long as an individual is still alive and his possessions are still intact, they belong to him – and one may not steal them.
The Torah requires us to return lost property to its owner. It follows that if the lost property has no owner, there is no duty to return it and the finder may keep it.
What happened to Robert Najberg’s mother? I have no clue; I can’t find any information.
Edy turned around and saw that her sister was trapped underneath the trolley that had rolled on top of her.
The mention of kol is referenced in dozens of places in the Torah, and each time it appears, one is filled with wonder and amazement in its powerful and profound implication and meaning.
The Air Force’s defense was that the Constitution only protected a genuine religious law; not a personal preference. Wearing a yarmulke, they argued, was not the law.
While turning points do not often announce themselves with a clarion call, there are, nonetheless, moments in our lives when the potential for major change is evident.
Parshas Bereishis is not only the first but arguably the most difficult parsha in the entire Torah. Let's begin...
Our history demonstrates that there is no difficulty, no obstacle, we cannot overcome when we become one with our G-d. We need only allow the light of Hashem to lead us.
"Saper vedere," - knowing how to see - informs our lives. Have we changed with the opportunities brought by the holidays> Have we kept our new lenses?
Before there was physicality, there was nothing to measure, so there was no system to measure height.
That would be cheating the rightful party and an injustice. Some authorities write that doing so would be considered a taus b'dvar mishna, a mistrial, and the compromise is null and void.
The Difficult Choice ‘His Father’s Lost Object And His Rebbe’s Lost Object…’ (Bava Metzia 33a)
Question: Is there anything in Jewish law that prohibits replacing an old, existing matzeivah (tombstone) with a new, better one? I would greatly appreciate your response to this question. A Reader Tucson, AZ
What happens if two people are holding on to abandoned property and each claims to have found it first?
To not keep Shabbos and not honor her parents seemed too much of a price to pay for a job she didn’t really like.
With nothing pressing on their duty roster, Rabbi Avi was convinced by the boys to try to catch fish at the river nearby.
Though a woman helps her partner and remains his equal, she nurtures and thereby becomes a man's superior. Paradoxically, therefore, woman may be just a bit closer to the image of God than man.
By Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo
I believe that the Torah is often morally, deeply, and deliberately flawed, and that furthermore, God Himself intentionally made it flawed. It is the latter issue that I will discuss in this essay.
By Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo
The possibility of chidushm - looking into the same text with new eyes - is crucial. The call for new interpretations, not just repeating what has been said, is fundamental to genuine Torah learning
The Majority Rule ‘If The Majority Are Israelites…’ (Bava Metzia 24a-b)
By Naama Klein
Despite our age difference and the fact that they were newly married and we were expecting our fourth child, the newcomers and us hit it off well.
Question: I notice that in some synagogues I visit on Shabbat, some people do not fold their tallitot but rather leave them in their place unfolded. Others do fold them. I asked one person why he doesn’t fold his tallit, and he responded that doing so is not permitted. Is that true? I. Hager Brooklyn, NY
It was not enough for Moshe to die by himself, however; his separation from family and nation had to be total, even after his death. And so his burial spot would need to be hidden from all.
Sukkot is the most universalistic of all festivals. At the same time, however, it is the most particularist of festivals. When we sit in the sukkah, we recall Jewish history
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Sukkot is the most universalistic of all festivals. At the same time, however, it is the most particularist of festivals. When we sit in the sukkah, we recall Jewish history
How many of our promises are still throbbing in our hearts and how many have been put away with our Yom Kippur machzorim until next year? Commit to making this year COUNT!
By Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo
The Sukkah represents our life span on earth. For what is a Sukkah but a frail structure which we need to dwell in for 7 days and these 7 days represent man’s average life span of about seventy years
On Shabbos, says Rav Cohen, we exist in a world of mei’ein Olam Habah, a microcosm of the next world, a taste of Gan Eden.
The point of the dispute is whether we follow the Torah's terminology, that Shemini Atzeres is independent, or people's common parlance, that Shemini Atzeres is included in Sukkos.
The Physician’s Dilemma ‘It Came Into His Hand While Forbidden’ (Bava Metzia 21b)
Question: I am very appreciative and, if I might add, flattered that you answer and publish many of my questions. Due to your superior knowledge, I am always confident when I send in a question that I will receive a proper response. I wonder if you could address whether one should say Birkat HaGomel after flying even though flying is statistically safer than driving. Also, do women say HaGomel as well or only men? Menachem
Being happy isn’t an emotion we can turn on and off like a light switch. And how can we relate the effect of doing a mitzvah joyfully to the case of Reuven?
Why do we take the Four Species on Sukkos? What is their message?
The significance of the two identical sums, the one he had just lent his friend and the reduced fee for the moving wasn’t lost on Shlomo
Sukkot has played a key role in the reconstruction of the Jewish Homeland and the ingathering of Jews – and their transition - to the Land of Israel.
God’s foremost desire is to conduct a relationship with the Jewish people built on love and commitment. The song of Ha’azinu reassures us that the relationship will never die.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
The heart of Sukkot is to know that life is full of risk and yet to affirm it, to sense the full insecurity of the human situation and yet to rejoice in it. Chag Sameach!
Boundless Boundaries are the point of the imperfect structures we build as our Sukkot. The Sukkah is intended to provide the security we need to soar.
In this week's video, we close the entire Torah, and we ask ourselves, what lessons can we learn today? How can we be inspired by the Torah's messages, and fulfill our destiny as a people?
October 30, 2026 
