יום רביעי, א׳ כסלו תשפ״זWednesday, November 11, 2026
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Every person has the free will to use his traits to become a tzaddik or a rasha.
Enemies' promises were made to be broken. -Aesop
This story illustrates the Rebbe Rayatz’s prophetic vision because, during the Holocaust, Rabbi Zalman Schneerson saved hundreds of Jewish families and children in France from the Nazis.
Being bound on Mount Moriah gave Yitzchak a connection with God that would be disturbed by living outside the Land of Israel.
In light of the fact that 25 years ago the doctors predicted that I would live only 3-5 years, I am glad to still be alive.
Together with my sister, Nechama Purishinskaya, who lived in Vitebsk, I obtained flour from various people, baked bread, and delivered it to the yeshiva. Zalman Kurnitzer [the yeshiva’s dean] paid me money for the bread.”
Eliezer’s prominence in this week’s parsha reminds us of a lesson too often forgotten, too many times ending up embarrassing the cause of Torah and service of Gd: our associates shape us, turn us into the people we become.
Avraham had to prove that he wouldn’t regret his achievement at Har HaMoriah.
While visiting Avraham, Hashem saw that he was unhappy without guests, so He sent three angels disguised as desert nomads to provide Avraham with the opportunity to do hachnasas orchim.
The Gur Aryeh, Devarim 22:9, holds that when a mitzvah is done, the mitzvah that follows is similar to the original mitzvah.
The single good character trait is our continued attempt at self-improvement, the attempt to elevate morality over nature.
Despite the investigator’s sophisticated pressure, Kagan almost never specified family names and addresses demanded of him, and those whose names he did give, apparently could no longer be found.
The Medrash Rabbah that says that Avraham Avinu asked Hashem to swear to him that He wouldn’t test him or his son, Yitzchak, any further.
For anything worth having one must pay the price; and the price is always work, patience, love, self-sacrifice -- no paper currency, no promises to pay, but the gold of real service. -John Burroughs
In fact – at its core – there is no better argument than Avraham’s. For his petition is asking for nothing else than what is good for God. For when God executes strict justice, He often “sacrifices” His own reputation for the sake of the truth.
After months of running away from the world, he could breathe a sigh of relief, of satisfaction and even joy.
In order to be successful in outreach, one must first accommodate the person’s physical needs.
The investigation has established that you took part in a religious ritual – circumcision. Do you confirm?
Of neighborhoods, benevolence is the most beautiful. How can the man be considered wise who when he had the choice does not settle in benevolence. -Confucius
Lot was never going to be Avraham’s heir, but a better choice would have spared him removal from the household,
"Even when flood waters are raging all around us and everything looks bleak, there is a Noah's ark that can save us. When a person feels low and downcast, the best advice is: 'Make yourself into an ark' (Genesis 6:14).
No matter the trials or tribulations we experience, we must not sink into depression.
‘Arouse the holiness of religion in the hearts of the young generation. Give the youth the idea not to forget religion, and that the persecution of religion is a temporary phenomenon, as is its [Soviet] persecutor, which is only temporary.’
If so, why was Noah commanded not to murder (and, likely, other old commandments) as well? Apparently, there was something not yet completely intuitive, and that was the sanctity of life.
There are many stories about his devotion to his students, his deep concern for everyone, his endless good deeds, and his fascinating educational approach.
The healthy, the strong individual, is the one who asks for help when he needs it. Whether he has an abscess on his knee or in his soul. -Rona Barrett
Kayin, a prophet, sank to the lowest level and committed murder.
Even those never arrested lived lives of constant fear and privation, deprived of basic necessities, often losing close relatives to arrest, exile, and summary execution.
The etrog and its "smell of the perfection of obedience to Gd’s command it symbolizes"
The most important time of life is the present moment since the past is gone and, as for the future -- who knows what it will bring?
What’s the point of asking his children to stay just one more day after which they will leave anyway?
Although every set of three leaves on a hadas usually grows from one base, R’ Acha opted for a less beautiful hadas in deference to his teacher.
Yet in spite of Moshe’s best intentions, it is obvious that his blessings – as we have portrayed them – had little effect on the Jews once they reached the Land of Israel.
This is the time for one-to-one relationships. Life is no longer a matter of quantity, but of quality.
Emunah is like produce starting to fill out but still far from ripe.
We are given an opportunity to sanctify the mundane in the spirituality of the sukkah.
Say thank you for all that you have, for the tremendous abundance in your life that cannot be taken for granted in any way.
The governor couldn’t believe the audacity of the man. He immediately called the police to arrest him.
No Jew need be intimidated by the imagined enormity of the leap from non-observance to observance. Moreover, every mitzvah a Jew performs creates a permanent bond with Hashem that can never be erased.
When we cannot fully understand God’s decision that accepting it shows our true allegiance to Him
I took counsel with my grandfather who has already passed away and with my grandchild who has not yet been born.
One of the most significant ways of making this world a dwelling place for the Divine Presence is by giving tzedakah.
The Chofetz Chaim answered: “Every Jew needs to know how great Hashem is.”
This is a big atonement for me. My conscience was tormented. The purpose in my publication of this story is to set an example for our youth that they should not steal.
The Beer Chaim says that one who gives charity has the power to even resurrect the dead.
...G-d deals justly with all beings whereas we – because we have not always acted properly during the past year – have much to be embarrassed about.
The egoism which enters into our theories does not affect their sincerity; rather, the more our egoism is satisfied, the more robust is our belief. -George Eliot
Can God justifiably blame us for something we don’t know?
When a Jew realizes his exalted inner essence, he becomes infused with joy at being a Jew, a member of G-d’s chosen people privileged to carry out His great plan for the world, so that every mitzvah becomes a joyous act.
One needs divine assistance and much personal effort to discern the Torah perspective in the affairs of the world.
For some people, Uman is the ultimate dream. They also deserve our empathy and should not be mocked or denigrated.
As the Jewish people start their national life, they were to remind themselves, visually and dramatically, of the bright line between evil and not
Why a new house? What about an "old house"?
Just as there are people who need food, there are people who need to be noticed - now more than ever.
Chassidus offers a refreshing approach. Although it takes the soul-searching of Elul very seriously, it emphasizes positivity.
Undoubtedly one will merit children so that all the souls are born sooner and Moshiach can come.
There is nothing wrong – and actually everything right – about loving God’s world. But to be significant, it must be a love grounded in enhanced awareness and appreciation of God.
The true challenge of our lives, as described in Sefer Devarim, is living with prosperity – in a society where everything is abundantly available.
The Angel of Death was unable to take Rabba bar Nachmani to heaven because he never stopped learning.
Just as G-d provides places of refuge – arei miklat – for someone who accidentally killed his fellow, so too He provides a special time – Elul – during which we can seek refuge from the effects of our sins.
The game is my life. It demands loyalty and responsibility, and it gives me back fulfillment and peace. -Michael Jordan
Shofetim reminds us of the necessity of institutions, inherently and always an infringement on personal liberty. Prophet, king, and court
The anniversary of Adam’s creation is so important that every year Hashem determines the fate of the entire world on it.
R’ Nachman of Breslov states that a Jew must disregard two days – yesterday and tomorrow.
Happiness comes when we leave the "I" and enter the "We." There is giving and no taking.
Whether in its variation or in its norms, the world around us provides countless ways to see God. But that will only happen to someone who is looking for them. In other words if we really want to see God, we must also seek God.
It's always possible to ask forgiveness and to forgive, and to begin anew.
In 2001, Indra Nooyi was named president of PepsiCo. Five years later, she would be promoted to CEO and, in 2007, she would become chairman of the company as well. She once spoke about the day she was appointed president and put in charge of running the $166 billion company. That night her parents happened […]
Rashi explains: “From the 15th of Av onward, whoever adds nights to the days by studying Torah adds life to his lifetime.”
If a person lacks yiras Hashem, his heart is subject to the wiles of the yetzer hara.
Every great person has first learned how to obey, whom to obey, and when to obey. -William Arthur Ward
Parshat Ekev draws our attention to the complex balance between Divine Providence and human effort.
The Lubavitcher Rebbe points out that this powerful exchange between the Jewish people and Hashem emphasizes our extraordinary special relationship with Hashem.
A Jew has the power to bring merit to all of mankind.
We are like poor people who do not know they are poor and how rich they could be.
The Tisha b'Av experience is a spiritual affliction, "Acedia," a "sadness, a disgust with life, which comes from our inability to get along with ourselves, our disunion with God."
Most of Devarim is Moshe’s series of parting lectures to the Jewish people. Two things about them are clearly felt – the first is that they are long, often abstract and sometimes even appear repetitive; and the second is that Moshe accordingly uses diverse tactics to keep the Jews listening.
On Shiva Assar B’Tammuz, the sin of the golden calf occurred. If we had not sinned on that day, Moshe would have come down from Mount Sinai without breaking the tablets and would have given them to us with great celebration.
Even though he knew it was possible he would forfeit his inheritance, he refused to dishonor the grave.
Most of us aren’t on this level and don’t actually see it, so what’s the point of telling us we’re being shown this vision?
The fame of heroes owes little to the extent of their conquests and all to the success of the tributes paid to them. -Jean Genet
What baselines have we accepted? What properly unacceptable behavior has become common, ordinary, the baseline we didn’t stop to notice?
You write the story of your journey through life. You choose whether to give pleasant or unpleasant names to the stations along the way.
Since the Torah – which is the epitome of truth – states that studying about the Beis HaMikdash is like building the Beis HaMikdash, it must be so, even on a physical level.
In a lecture delivered by Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto shlit”a regarding contemporary times, he describes the singular proven method to merit salvation in these days of evil * Torah and chessed safeguard one from all harm * The spiritual forces that battled in heaven throughout every war in history * Subjugating forces of evil in the […]
The Ari writes that in the future, the 22 letters of the aleph beis will descend and, through them, everyone will be resurrected.
The notion that all men are created equal is a modern myth. The truth is that all men are created differently
What do we do in the face of this corona that has not disappeared as we expected?
Yehoshua humbled himself with purity of heart for the sake of Heaven, and engaged in the menial tasks of setting up chairs and preparing the beis medrash.
Now is an excellent opportunity for whoever has not yet participated in this rewarding study to start, thereby uniting with hundreds of thousands of other Jews around the world.
Sometimes, life requires immediate action that cannot be fully predicted or prescribed.
A birthday marks the day one’s soul descended to earth to fulfill its unique Divine mission. It therefore is an opportunity to take stock of how well one is accomplishing one’s mission.
Each day of a person’s life in this world is a gift, borrowed time, to learn more Torah and do more mitzvos.
So I ask you, who’s stronger HaShem, or Trump, Johnson, the EU and UN?
Each tent faced a different direction so that no one could see into the tent of anyone else.
a different leader of the next generation steps up and takes action. That leader was Pinchas...True leaders like Pinchas don’t come out of leadership schools. When the time is ripe, they simply emerge.
November 6, 2026 
