יום שבת, כ״ז חשוון תשפ״זSaturday, November 7, 2026
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Opportunity dances with those who are ready on the dance floor. -H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
And so Moshe’s ultimate message here, according to Netziv, may be that even if the curses are fulfilled, that is no reason to abandon God.
For the remainder of Elul, as we continue to count down to Rosh Hashana, review your schedule regularly and make a conscious effort to have it reflect your values.
Do you know how to be thankful for what you have and to rejoice in it?
Honor is the reward of virtue. -Marcus Tullius Cicero
No matter our level in avodas Hashem, even the simplest person can be inspired by the largesse of Hashem’s chesed, wherein He cherishes every single good deed and thought of the person.
By dvora
In today’s world, Israel faces dangers. The turmoil and instability that abounds can be unsettling. Yet, as Jews, we can rejoice as our ancestors throughout history who saw optimism amid the darkness.
A huge white malach came into the courtroom, and Hashem turned to the millions of bad angels and proclaimed, ‘Dismissed!’
In Jewish tradition, noga tends to be ambiguous – it is a great demonstration of superficial beauty with a tendency to obscure what is essential.
Both transgressions - cheating with weights and measures and questioning Providence - have the same root, since they both indicate a lack of emunah in Hashem.
Exactly like Shabbat that arrives every seven days, the shmittah arrives every seven years and is meant to calm, refresh, and restart the entire economy
For the merchant, even honesty is a financial speculation. -Charles Baudelaire
It’s interesting to note here that in the West, the dove of Noach has come to represent peace, although this was neither the promise to Noach nor the sign of the promise.
One of the great challenges of our generation is protecting the gateways of our eyes. This is oh, so important, but it's only the beginning of our work with our eyes.
We too can access the powerful potential of these days – from the 1st of Elul to the 10th of Tishrei – and resolve to work on a specific area: from marriage, education of our children, learning, prayer, and character refinement to the relationship we have with our cell phone.
We falsely attribute to men a determined character -- putting together all their yesterdays -- and averaging them -- we presume we know them. -Henry David Thoreau
The Ishbitzer teaches that everyone comes into this world with Torah in his heart, cloaked in a disguise. We all have some special lesson to impart, some perspective that is uniquely our own, but is the opposite of what is readily apparent in our nature.
A leader is anyone who is on a mission, who empowers others, and who always looks for ways to contribute to the greater good. Leaders are great parents, great teachers, great friends. We are all potential leaders, we are all potential revolutionaries. We can all create change in the world.
The Zera Shimshon beseeches people to study his writings and promises that they will be granted family, life, wealth and honor in that merit.
My single biggest recommendation for this time of year is that people should make a ‘To-Do-Better List’ to have in their Machzor on Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
One might think that there's nothing we understand better in the world than ourselves--after all, we spend every waking minute with ourselves. But is this self-understanding really the case?
Patience, listening, concentration, waiting patiently, the capacity to be here and now and not to run ahead, the ability to fully experience the moment – all of these are significantly diminished in the digital age., But Shabbat..
‘There is one small problem,’ Moshe told him. ‘You will not be able to use this currency here.'
If their weapons do not suffice to destroy us, then they will turn to the treachery of falsehood and hateful speech to overcome us.
We drag ourselves back to shul, to yeshiva, to a shiur. We are on autopilot, trusting the algorithm rather than our spiritual instinct.
Free will - choice - is the root of teshuva. Teshuva is about reengineering our will, recreating our desire, rewiring our wants. It’s about the decision to be better, to be great,
Let’s remember that as Rosh Hashanah approaches that we’re not just asking Hashem to allow us to live another year. We beg Hashem that 5782 should be a better year: better health, better wealth, better marriage, better nachas, better friends.
All of us, the entire Jewish People, according to our various streams, down through the generations past, present, and future, belong to this unique holiness. We were born that way.
If we were so concerned about every patient on a ventilator, scrupulously counted every coronavirus patient and victim, and carefully adhered to social distancing and wearing masks – how could this pandemic not have taught us to have greater appreciation for life under all circumstances?
A practical suggestion towards making a reality of the Mitzvos behind the meaning of the word “Eikev": Write down the two Mitzvos-going to a Beis Midrash, and going to Eretz Yisrael-on a piece of paper and hang it on the fridge. Each day, look at it and ask, “What have I done today in order to try and make these Mitzvos more of a reality?”
Who will guard the guards themselves? -Juvenal
In a very real way, davening is one of the final frontiers of Jewish life. Many learn a lot, engage in significant charity and have fine families, but their prayer is still very subpar.
It is difficult to understand why prayer not in fact a definitive mitzvah in the Torah.
In other words, it is not our strength at all that gives us the victory, but the workings of God.
Hashem is our go'el, our redeemer. The congregation of Israel was banished from the marital home because she had betrayed her Divine husband, but He never severed from her and He has been waiting for her repentance so that she could return.
It is interesting to note that the Shulchan Aruch in Orach Chaim (Chapter 307) rules that whereas it is not appropriate to read certain types of literature on Shabbos, if they are written in Hebrew, they may be read on Shabbos.
"I want the very best." That's what we tell ourselves, isn't it? As human beings, we understand that there is a spectrum of quality for everything, and we want only the best. We desire the best relationships, teachers, friends, food, clothing, experiences, the best of everything. But what makes something the best? Sometimes, it's the […]
At some point, I stopped and said to myself: 'Wait a minute, what is going on with me?' I felt a sense of obligation and began thinking: I represent something, but I know nothing about what I represent.
I just learned that all the gold in the world is not equivalent to the magnificence of one word of Torah. How foolish I was to sell fifty percent of my Torah ... for his gold coins.
Constitutions should consist only of general provisions; the reason is that they must necessarily be permanent, and that they cannot calculate for the possible change of things. -Alexander Hamilton
The Esh Kodesh teaches that each of us has an aspect of the Divine in us when we make moral choices to act or refrain from acting in certain ways.
It is a matter of perspective - do you look at G-d or at yourself? To look primarily at oneself is to always want more, to covet.
The word meodecha in reality does not mean money. Rather, the word meod means ‘very much,’ as in the phrase tov me’od, it is very good. Thus, when we say that we are loving Hashem b’chol meodecha, we mean with all that is the very most dear to us.
Apparently, she is the oldest woman in Israel. So we came to celebrate with her, with the aunt who always fascinated us with stories about the pioneers, the different waves of immigration, and the beginning of modern settlement in our land.
It is sometimes difficult to understand, but when Hashem is “angry” at us or punishing us, He is acting out of love for us because He knows that we have to improve.
The second Temple was destroyed because of baseless hatred, represented by the fox, which the sages saw emerging from the ruins. With the cunning and guile of a fox, the evil inclination instigates and stimulates baseless hatred, dissent, and strife.
The Vilna Gaon told his disciples that Moshiach will come after the majority of the Jews in the Diaspora come to Israel. Thus, every Jew who makes aliyah hastens Moshiach’s coming, thereby transforming the fast of Tisha B’Av into a feast.
As if Our Life Depended on it
When grandmother grew up and had children of her own, another chapter of self-sacrifice began.
An error is the more dangerous in proportion to the degree of truth which it contains.-Henri Frederic Amiel
Included in this list are the incidents that took place at some of these encampments where the people saw the Hand of Hashem take care of their every need and desire.
One can be held accountable for any words his lips utter, even when he makes a statement and says bli neder (that he has no intention of making a vow).
I think we would suggest that a person who lives righteously deserves to be honored. But Ben Zoma knows human psychology and he knows that just because we see a person behaving properly doesn’t mean that we will honor the person.
It is a consolation to Yirmiyahu, although perhaps a small one, that he is also given many of the most explicit and moving visions of the ultimate redemption.
Life works the way that education works, which is about moving up from level to level as one matures and becomes more intelligent.
Have a Happy and HEALTHY Shabbos!
Only someone out of his mind would disparage and spurn someone for no reason at all.
The road to any success is no less important than the success itself.
For Everything There Is A Time And A Moment
There is an important teaching here for those who seek to have legitimate grievances addressed.
Four million people died worldwide, and despite everything, somewhere in New York City, a secretary at Yeshiva Darchei Torah was looking for the address of a family in Israel to return the small sum they paid for lunches.
Not only were they saved from an immediate death sentence, but they were able to survive the war with additional sustenance,
How can I curse, says Bil’am, that which G-d did not curse? What rage can I bring against those whom Hashem will not rage against?
Just like Bilaam, we grow angry and blame others for our failings, for our inability to realize our goals, we blame circumstance and fate for our shortcomings when it is really our inability to see that has caused our failures.
Even at the height of personal anguish it's still possible to demonstrate such sensitivity.
The Ammonites are not interested in learning the truth - they only want to destroy Israel.
Because of the War of Independence and establishment of the state, the event was postponed and never took place. My grandmother would always say that she somehow felt that her life was missing something.
Why must the heifer be red? Scripture likens sin to red because, when a person sins, he forfeits his blood.
R' Chanina was accustomed to experiencing miracles, and therefore he did not fear the bite of the snake.
Precisely because the work that the second-generation did take place was less dramatic and required human participation that it created its own more organic resilience, making it a better model
We believe in nonsense and promote ridiculous ideas that can’t be rationally defended and refute themselves as quickly as we utter them.
The good influence a Jewish woman can have is most effectively exerted in her home, the strongest fortress for moral values.
If we hold him by the hand, who will remove him from our protection?
By Guest Author
Before summarily dismissing Korach, let's first allow him to speak and examine his claims – perhaps they will allow us to understand whence his self-immolating uprising.
Rashi explains that the Torah coupled these two incidents together on purpose, in order for us to notice that the spies saw what happened to Miriam, but did not learn a lesson from it. In his words: "And these wicked people witnessed it, but did not learn their lesson."
In the case of Yaakov, there was already a covenant with Hashem and mutual expectations.
They thought that if Hashem was sending them to scout the land, it must be that there were alternatives to invading and conquering it.
Bigness is measured from the chin down, but greatness is measured from the chin up. A person may be the biggest and tallest player in the NBA and still be a mental midget.
Why twelve? If what is really important is the number ten, God could have theoretically created anywhere from eleven to nineteen tribes, and we would still have had decision-making with a majority of ten...
When my father visited Russia, Jews there asked him: 'How many are marching for us in America?' He was embarrassed to tell them how few there were.
Rav Ovadia said, “So for me it’s permissible, but for you it’s prohibited?”
He that can work is born to be king of something. -Thomas Carlyle
The true mark of humility is the ability to accept criticism and be a tolerant person, even to those who mistreat and verbally abuse you.
By Guest Author
Why do we need both Hashem and Moshe to inform us that we're moving forward once again? Wouldn't one method, presumably the divine one, be sufficient?
When Ahron saw the nesi’im give their gifts for the Mishkan he felt bad that his shevet did not have a part in the gifts to the Mishkan.
If the field workers assist us in fulfilling the mitzvot associated with agriculture in the Land of Israel, the caregivers assist us in the mitzvot associated with honoring our parents.
I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to suggest that the whole reason God created man, male and female, was for us to better understand our relationship with Him.
It’s more important for me not to disappoint a fellow Jew.
The Chasmonaim were punished because they wrongfully adopted a calling that wasn’t theirs.
It's not normal to permit a reality such as this, and those living near the Gaza border have put up with it for 20 years.
By Guest Author
In last week’s parashah, Hashem spoke to Moshe at Mount Sinai. Now, it's referred to as the Desert of Sinai. Is that the same place? Since the people haven't departed the mountain yet, it must be. Yet if so, why change the reference from "mountain" to "desert"?
After my son, Rabbi Eitam, was murdered with his wife in a terrorist attack, I told my students that no one promised me that G-d is an ATM machine.
From what spiritual impurity are we being cleansed and how does counting sefirah effect this cleansing?
Even before Matan Torah, Jews studied Torah. From the days of Avraham, there never ceased to be a Torah academy among them.
Since the commandments are all meant to engender some positive effect; when a commandment is not practiced, that effect will not be attained either.
The intent of the prayer is to teach us to give thanks for surviving potentially life-threatening situations.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe emphasized that Reb Shimon was completely secluded from the world for over a decade. Now, upon returning to civilization, he immediately searches for a way to help without waiting for anyone to ask him.
R’ Yisroel Salanter asks: Would escorting him and giving him provisions have prevented his murder?
By Guest Author
Why interrupt the halachic flow of Vayikra, a Chumash suspended in time with almost no dateable events, to tell us about a single foul-mouthed boor?
These three years are meant to atone for Adam's sin – the sin of impatience.
November 6, 2026 
