יום שבת, כ״ו תמוז תשפ״וSaturday, July 11, 2026
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We face Holocaust denial, ignorance, and forgetfulness, as well as claims that the Holocaust was not a unique or particularly anti-Jewish event. It is therefore more important than ever not only to remember what happened, but to make a commitment never to forget.
While it is unfortunate that even observant Diaspora Jews can be corrupted by the moral values of their host countries, the greater tragedy is that they are not living up to their full potential in life.
Teaching a bigger Torah would not only succeed in bringing back more disconnected Jews but also in advancing the Hebrew mission of illuminating the world with the light of HaShem’s Truth.
If you want to understand the origin of something, search for the first time it is mentioned in the Torah.
Hashem’s manifestations of holiness serve as a model for how we can be holy.
Mankind are an incorrigible race. Give them but bugbears and idols -- it is all that they ask; the distinctions of right and wrong, of truth and falsehood, of good and evil, are worse than indifferent to them. -William Hazlitt
Our commentaries say that if a person has animosity in their heart towards another, it would actually be better to be open and tell them about it rather than to harbor ill feelings and transgress this prohibition.
Yehoshua was one of Israel's greatest leaders because he represented the ideal expression of the Yosef force - one consciously rooted in, guided by and completely subordinate to the Hebrew mission.
We are all shaken by the spilling of our brothers and sisters; innocent, holy blood.
Don't the korbanot themselves bring peace on their own? So why was it necessary for Aharon to bless the people with peace?
When an individual experiences yesurim – be they physical, monetary, or other forms of suffering – he should know that it is for his good. R’ Chaim Vital said: It is beneficial for one to be embarrassed for it is a rectification for his sins, and in that moment, it is as though he has died.
Israel is to participate in - and elevate - every sphere of national life in order to reveal the inner connection of all that exists to the Divine Ideal.
Israel was granted insight into HaShem's Divine plan for revealing Himself in Creation and bringing the world to its predestined state of perfection.
On Pesach we convey to our children the great lesson of hakol kol Yaakov, the voice is the voice of Yaakov.
It is my custom to pour the second cup of wine before the mah nishtanah. Most people do this. It begs the question though. Since the second cup is for maggid, and maggid starts by ha lachma anya, why don’t we pour it before this paragraph (which is indeed the minhag of the Shiboleh Leket and the Orchos Chaim).
Rav Kook teaches that in the natural world as it appears to us, the light of kedusha is hidden deep inside reality. It is often hard work to find it and extract it, and the day-to-day matters of existence as well as the events of history seem to bury it further.
Before the Exodus from Egypt, when everything seemed stuck, when no solution had yet appeared on the horizon, the redemption began when the nation of Israel simply lifted its eyes towards heaven and cried out to G-d.
None of the four sons depicted in the haggadah could be taught in an identical manner; the results would be catastrophic.
Even had Egypt’s dominance on the world stage declined later in history due to natural circumstances, the Pharaonic worldview would have continued to dominate the thinking of man.
we need to first discuss the logical problem posed by chametz.
Hashem took us out of slavery because a slave can never truly give himself over to a higher cause as he is not the owner of the self to give.
Israel has dramatically returned to the world stage in what has so far been merely the introduction to a revolutionary process destined to free humankind from a global order that promotes injustice.
It was on the night of the Seder that Avraham was rescued from the four mighty kings. It was on this night that the Jewish people were saved from Sancherev and his 400 battalions. It was also on this night that Achashveirosh had difficulty in sleeping and the seeds of Haman’s downfall were sown.
When we heard that he was arriving, we all went out past the city limits to greet him. When the Chofetz Chaim saw me he asked me to come into the carriage with him. I entered the carriage and found him crying bitterly.
Every year, Jews in America join the rest of the nation in celebrating national Thanksgiving, on the last Thursday in November. However, we Jews have our own “thanksgiving” festival, it is called Pesach! On a regular (non-leap) year, Pesach is always preceded by parshat Tzav, (my bar mitzvah parsha). The Tur says that whenever there […]
After the presentation, I heard the latest news from Israel. But it seemed that in Italy tonight, we had somehow covered the current situation.
In the midst of our annual bout with chametz, in this week's Parshat, the Torah forbids us from sacrificing any leaven (שאר), or honey on the holy altar.
Shabbat does not only last 25 hours; Shabbat reverberates throughout the entire week and is meant to favorably influence our six days of work and other activities.
The laws of the korbanot open with a korban nedavah, an optional offering that was voluntarily brought by someone who wanted to show his appreciation of G-d.
Korbanot in Jerusalem produce a spiritual ripple effect that adds incredible blessing to the world – curing diseases, alleviating suffering & influencing random acts of kindness across the globe.
If there was a fire already upon the altar that descended from heaven, we must ask why there is a commandment to add a flame of our own to it in the first place.
The fact that Shlomo HaMelech was provided with a rationale for the Torah prohibitions actually contributed to his undoing.
In Heaven, everyone is programmed to praise Hashem. Thus, it is not so special that everyone is singing Hashem’s praises.
In order for Hashem to defeat the power of Pharaoh and Mizrayim and take us out of our predicament, He had to both overthrow the audacity of Pharaoh and elevate the spiritual sanctity of Israel at once.
During the seven years of plenty in Egypt and before the seven years of famine, the pasuk says that Yosef divided the land up into Kematzim, which Rashi explains as – stockpiling grains Kometz on Kometz, handful on handful.
Despite the importance and holiness of Pesach and Mishkan, the weekly, sacred Shabbat should not, and cannot be ignored.
Every vessel or item is only prepared once it has its final piece, a concept we know well from the prohibition to complete labors on Shabbat.
The mitzvot that the dominant nations are most fervently against, automatically require extra valor and self-sacrifice to fulfill. Observing these precepts takes on higher meaning as an expression of emuna.
The melekh does not actually rule over Israel but rather embodies the mission and aspirations of his nation to the extent that he becomes a microcosm of the entire Jewish people and his personal identity is absorbed into Israel’s collective national identity.
The Gemara teaches us in Masechtas Taanis that the day of rain is great like the day of the creation of Heaven and Earth.
God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice. -John Donne
At the time when a person opens his bundle to others, and shares his good fortune with others, he will merit blessing and his heart will be filled with joy.
There is a widespread custom to begin reading Shir HaShirim on the first of Nissan, in part because “the first shoots are seen in the land, the time of pruning has arrived, and the voice of the turtle dove can be heard in our land” (Shir HaShirim 2:12).
Hashem resorted to Plan B, which began by restoring unity within Am Yisrael, and only when that was in place directing the focus to where it was originally intended.
The Jews were doing well in Persia. Achashverosh afforded them equal rights and even invited them to his banquet. They did not need the Torah any longer to survive, and were doing just fine without it.
Why does Judaism consider counting people dangerous?
It would appear that we are hopelessly divided, especially at this time. But things are not always as they seem.
Following the victory over our physical enemies and the threat to our bodies, we must still overcome the spiritual obstacles placed in the physical world to dissuade us from achieving our destiny.
I believe the explanation for the front-seat positioning of Techias HaMeisim, the resurrection, is that it is the single greatest asset that a person has. Everything else is only temporal-for 120 years.
Through a heightened awareness of Israel's true inner essence, we can see past the sharp ideological divisions and appreciate the intrinsic unity beneath and beyond our surface disputes.
It is possible to teach a child a Divine crash course in metalwork or stone masonry overnight, but you cannot give a crash course in childlike innocence.
The Torah is based on the spot-on premise that basic features of the human condition remain constant throughout history
Before I left, my father – who saw in which direction I was heading – told me: Yossel, you’re going to Eretz Yisrael, and we will be separated. It is possible that this will be the last time we will see each other. Please, I beg you, come with me to the Rebbe of Slonim to get his bracha.
It’s enough to look at the picture of Hallel Menachem and Yagel Ya’akov Yaniv in order to appreciate the immensity of this loss. You see the sweetness and goodness that radiates from their faces.
Upon a surface reading of the text, Aharon appears to have lacked the readiness for ultimate sacrifice.
Nature that framed us of four elements, warring within our breasts for regiment, doth teach us all to have aspiring minds. -Christopher Marlowe
An individual may desire to do teshuva, but once he is in the “grip” of aveiros it’s more difficult; it’s as if he is handcuffed.
What’s a chesed tov, a good kindness? Is there such a thing as bad kindness?
What all of these expressions share in common is Hashem’s careful attention to the detail in every matter, concerning every individual and community of individuals.
The consideration the needs of the people of Israel are to be a focal point when the kohen gadol approaches G-d.
The notion of giving everything to HaShem illustrates the difference between the mentality of redemption and that of the exile.
Where are you right now? And, wherever that is, are you truly present with all your being? In the Torah portion we just read on Shabbat, there is a description of the ascent of Moshe to Mount Sinai as follows: "And the Lord said to Moshe: Come up to the mountain and be there." Why […]
We cannot change our basic human nature, but we can refine it with gold, with the purity of the Torah.
In some letters, the young man would want to discuss different points in the article; at other times he would ask me about Judaism in general. In each letter he would thank me and The Jewish Press for hooking him up with the outside world.
I’ve been asking myself how sophisticated is my prayer and, to be brutally honest, upon contemplation, I was very disappointed at my prayer accomplishments through the decades.
It’s interesting that the language used to describe the smaller stones, hewn (gazit), is identical to the prohibition against using metal implements to carve the stones for the mizbe’ach.
The Shulchan symbolizes material wealth, and everything connected with it relates to the morality of wealth and livelihood.
Whoever speaks Lashon Hara or accepts Lashon Hara, or bears false testimony is fit to be cast to the dogs...
Some things are hard to accept. The world is supposed to be a good place, mostly wholesome and happy. Yet there are evil acts that ruin everything.
In fact, the Hebrew slave must be allowed to continue in his chosen career, whether that be investment banking or phlebotomy.
Israel being a 'kingdom of priests and a holy nation' necessitates the sanctification of individual, interpersonal and national life so as to give earthly expression to the Torah’s lofty spiritual values.
It is very inspiring and gratifying to know that one has successfully guided an individual or a family to radically change his way of life and become an observant Jew.
When we take the time to thank Hashem for all that we have, or when we ask Hashem for continued health, this is living one’s life to the fullest.
The importance of the collection of the half shekel for the process of redemption derives on its surface from the acknowledgment of the importance of every Jewish person and our unification into a whole in the service of Hashem.
The Torah here does not say anything about what Moshe ate or drank during those forty days and nights.
The importance of going beyond the strict law cannot be over-emphasized.
At Sinai, Bnei Yisrael demonstrated that they understood what Hillel said: The essence of the Torah is love your neighbor as yourself.
Vast amounts of information compete for our attention. Every day we are subjected to a glut of news, but how many of us are moved by any of it to do something?
I believe Moshe was not praying for Aaron to be forgiven, but rather he prayed that the example that Aaron portrayed in building the Golden Calf would not impact on Aaron’s children.
The Torah is not a 'religion' relegated to the houses of study or prayer. Nor is it a set of rules meant to coercively modify human behavior.
It is not fair to expect that our Rabbi should be a lamdon like Reb Chaim, a master of parables like the Dubno Maggid, a storyteller like Rabbi Krohn, and a posek like Reb Moshe – all in the same person.
The first two days I calculated the portion of my punishment that I had already fulfilled. It was painful.
This terror seems to accompany the fact that Yeshayahu senses that he is to be sent on an important mission and, in fact, waits hopefully to be asked.
The commentaries teach us that the Torah is not a book of stories. It only details things that have a profound lesson to teach us.
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.
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.
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
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.
Does Hashem need to "look" in order to know if there is blood on the doorpost?
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.
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.
G-d does not enjoy meting out punishment, neither does He initiate it. Punishment is the automatic outcome of derelict human behavior.
July 10, 2026 
