יום חמישי, כ״ח אלול תשפ״וThursday, September 10, 2026
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Tuesday was the 23rd yahrzeit of Rabbi Moshe Tzvi Neriah, founder of the Bnei Akiva yeshivot, educator, revolutionary, author, Rabbi Kook's disciple, and Israel Prize laureate. Here are just a few phrases from the great legacy that he left:
On Parshat Vayeishev with a nod to Chanukah.
Given Reuven's less-than-altruistic motivations, the Torah could have given us a much more negative spin on what occurred. But it doesn’t. That is because the bottom line is that Reuven did the right thing. And that is what the Torah cares about the most.
Jacob was sending a message to his family and to us: Esau was of sufficient stature to merit angels to greet him. Jacob's years in the house of the scoundrel Laban taught him how to view his brother from a different perspective. He began to appreciate Esau's greatness,
Jacob's dream revealed to us that there is another dimension: a vertical one, a spiritual, hidden, top-down one, which we do not see.
Shechem becomes, for Rambam and Ramban, a lesson in society, government, and international relations.
If one wins the lottery and is instantly transformed from pauper to millionaire, although at first he can hardly give enough charity, he soon acclimates to his new lifestyle.
This weeek's parsha teaches us two pillars of life...
If I had Jacob's dream, I would not have been able to go back to sleep, and, I'd like to believe that I would have responded to the historic promises rather than make a conditional promise emphasizing bread and clothes. I would expect a "Thank You," from Jacob, instead of falling asleep and then playing "Let's Make A Deal,"
Understanding relationships leading to understanding the parsha
What motivates Chabad emissaries? Yitzchak's work is also our work – to dig wells. To believe that under the dirt and dust and all the layers, there is clear, sweet water. Even if someone seems indifferent, distant, and cynical – even wicked – that is just an outer shell. Inside there is a soul, there is life.
Sexual ethics are a practical lesson of monotheism, of a belief in the Creator of Heaven and Earth. Without a God, the contemporary Western idea of consenting adults doing whatever does not harm anyone makes perfect sense; part of what the Jewish people learned from our Patriarchs and Matriarchs was a broader perspective, which taught us to discipline our sexuality.
All Toledot - Relationships - begin with our relationship with ourselves.
The word captain refers to the tactical expertise necessary to actualize this vision.
Hatreds not vowed and concealed are to be feared more than those openly declared. -Marcus Tullius Cicero
"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...
Avraham showed himself to be a mentor for all peoples that God created. If he had previously kept his distance, he would now go to the other extreme of marrying a Canaanite woman, and fathering and raising her children.
The true purpose of a mitzvah isn't to earn a point and get a prize.
"The first man, Adam, whose greatness is unfathomable, nevertheless raised Cain, the first murderer. In contrast, Terach, who was an idol worshiper, raised Avraham, the founder of our nation and the one who established faith in One G-d. How can this be?"
It sounds quite nice, but I wonder whether Abraham had it easier than do we. He had a warning and a reason as well from the only reliable spiritual authority. God appeared to Abraham and told him that a storm was coming to Sodom because of her evil. As far as I know, God did not appear to anyone to warn that the East Coast would be punished for her 'evil'
As Avraham and Yitzchak went to the ‘Akedah, we admire their fortitude, not their faith, their having found the will to carry through on an enormously difficult task. Humans want to live; we all the more so want our children to live, especially a child who is the long-awaited answer to prayers, the one Hashem had promised would continue this parent’s ethical and religious revolution.
Sometimes we think we have more power than we actually do. Sometimes we think we have more knowledge than we actually do.
If we want to achieve personal greatness, we have to hold onto our goals and dreams.
A memorial to Rav Ovadia Yosef (ZT"l) in his daughters' recollections
Rather than just encourage aliyah for the young, Israel and professional Zionists in the exile, must make a concerted effort to encourage aliyah for the elderly. It will be the renewal of their lives, and that will be good for them, and for the Jewish people.
God just promised Abraham the land. Why is it that, though God keeps reassuring that this land is his, he refuses to settle down?
Listening to your biblical partner's voice
A society in which nobody cares about a person who falls down and dies, but mourns a stone that falls, is a society that has a problem; it cares more about physical progress than human life.
Why is there is no mention of dinosaurs, and other prehistoric animals, in the Torah?
There is a supernatural/metaphysical element to Nature, which we can ignore for long periods of time--Until we can’t,
Wishing you a great start to a great new year. Shana Tova!
The message is clear - there really is no such thing as a quiet day.
Stung by the splendor of a sudden thought. -Robert Browning
Why is the status or identity of this seemingly central tree not mentioned before Adam sinned. Was it permitted at that time or forbidden?
People of my acquaintance often treat belief as a sort of Pascal’s wager. As you may recall, Blaise Pascal, the seventeenth century mathematician, said a life of faith is the logical choice because the consequences of being wrong (eternal damnation, as his religious leaders told him) was so much worse than the consequences of foregoing […]
Time is not what you think. Dying? Not the end of everything. We think it is. But what happens on earth is only the beginning. -Mitch Albom
Moshe is about to pass away, Ari says, and leaves the nation one message: "Take responsibility!" Moshe focuses on the nation. This is the message Ari lived and left us with.
As it turned out, Mordy and Yissachar were the very last people who wanted to go on the zipline that day. Mordy went first and had a great time until…
Moses is warning us, in what was meant to be a song to be remembered throughout our history, to stay far away from all forms of idolatry--regardless of shape or ideology
Wishing that everyone will be remembered for life.
This week's parsha presents us with an example that balances the need to guard information with the need to reveal it on some level.
An inspired and inspiring list of "SHOULDS" for Elul--and the whole year
No matter how hard we work on ourselves, we can never be totally prepared for the challenges ahead. And that is actually a good thing. Not only would life be less interesting, but a great deal of its meaning would otherwise be taken away. As Rebbe Nachman said, “If you are not a better person tomorrow than you are today, what need have you for a tomorrow?”
Our repentance can retroactively cleanse the spiritual ledger. It can wipe the slate clean and allows us to start our spiritual accounting anew, refreshed, rejuvenated.
The more we realize our obligation to Hashem, the greater the joy will be when we fulfill that obligation.
l the parshiyot we read during Elul serve as reminders for how we can fix and improve our lives before the coming new year. The opening verses of each of these parshiyot point toward the direction we should go
Terumah thanks kohanim for their service and supports them (more so than bikkurim, which were a smaller percentage of the crop). It makes sense to allow each Jew to choose recipients, to thank him or them for all they’ve done.
We glorify God, not in numbers, but in expansiveness. We too, are bringing our First Fruits when we're not busy battling each other over what is ours or who speaks the truth. Our Bikkurim begin with affording room for people to explore and grow.
The Kobriner Rav says (mentioned in the Nesivos Shalom-Elul), if you want to become holy, if you want to begin doing teshuva, you must start with Shabbos.
The area in life which is most difficult to a person is why he was sent down to Earth. Man was sent here to overcome the tendency which bothers him the most. It takes a lifetime to overcome these issues, and that's why God gave us a lifetime.
Sports or Judaism--two top athletes made the right decision
Since not saying lashon hara is easier said than done, here is something to help you: Just remember what happened to Miriam!”
The wise Sages declared that every individual is related to himself! In fact, we are our own closet relative, even more than our own parents and children.
the Talmud explains that a judge must not take a bribe even if it is in order to acquit the innocent and accuse the guilty. Accepting a bribe is wrong even if the verdict issued is ultimately correct!
Our powers of self-justification mean money is as much a danger for us as for a judge. Given two options, we, like Rashi’s judges, will become sure, the claim which benefits us is also the truer claim. Like Rashi’s judges, we need to guard ourselves from slipping away from truth without realizing it.
This week's portion, Re'ei, speaks of our need for a sense of place, how difficult it often is to find, and how we must protect others' sense of place. It also guides us in how to manage the experience of no place
In view of the seeming sanctity that the Torah imparts to blood, why would it tell us to spill animal blood indiscriminately?
The myth of Narcissus is not a myth at all-127 people have died worshiping their own image.
The Nile misleads Egyptians into forgetting they are just as dependent on Hashem as we are, water issues or noIsrael’s “poverty,” its less consistent water, helps its inhabitants remember Hashem.
Rabbeinu Bechaye (on Deuteronomy 11:13 Ekev) explains that to serve God with all of our heart is nothing other than prayer, elaborating that there are 3 particular powers to prayer: the power to change nature. the power to save one from danger, the power to annul negative divine decrees
When Mashiach comes we will have a nechama, not just a consolation, but a brand-new vision of history.
Though I have heard many explanations about the meaning of this day ( Tisha B'Av)– senseless hatred and violence, ignorance and alienation – I had never heard anything like the explanation I received this week:}
The delicate balance of the Jews place in the world: The impact of interacting with other cultures
The author of the zemer is telling us that although we yearn for the Beis HaMikdash and know that the ultimate redemption is not yet at hand, there is one thing which can give us strength and comfort: Shabbos.
The Ari HaKadosh – Rabbi Yitzchak ben Shlomo Luria (1534-1572) – passed away 446 years ago this week. Here is a simple teaching from him.
The fifth and final book of the Torah, Dvarim, is filled with history, laws, articles of faith, as well as a vision for the future. Moses describes, among a plethora of items, the creation and comportment of a judiciary.
Most of Devarim consists of Moshe’s final speech to the people. Rashi and Ramban fascinatingly read Moshe as implying he faced MORE difficulties in leading them even than those we know from the text
When one vows to do something, or to refrain from doing something, the Torah views that pledge with tremendous seriousness. Violating one’s word is referred to as a “desecration of one’s word.”
The tribes of Ruben and Gad by being more concerned with their animals than with their own families, doomed themselves, eventually being left with neither. Indeed, the tribes to the east of the Jordan would be the first to be exiled and, seemingly, lost to Jewish history.
The contemporary question,how to balance family and work, is actually a biblical one,addressed by Moses in his subtle rebuke to the tribe of Re'uven.
The two and a half tribes--Rueben, Gad, and part of Menasseh-- listened to the accusations and realized that they were already being forgotten.
The Torah knows that we are likely to understand the journey in the desert as essentially one long trip. And so it tries to make us stop and realize that there were actually two journeys and not just one. The first ended with the death of Aharon; the second began with resistance from the Canaanite king
Shabbos is a window into the euphoric Messianic world when this world will be completely devoted to G-d, on all levels.
A gem from the Or HaChaim, one of the greatest Torah commemorated, whose 275th yahrzeit was last week
What would it mean to the world to suddenly have hundreds of millions of people, perhaps over a billion souls, identify themselves as Jewish, and show solidarity with Israel?
Rules for true leadership by the greatest leader of all.
Having 'real' vision permits an entirely different, improved view of events and the world.
To understand who Bilam was let us examine the interaction between Bilam and his donkey in this week's parsha.
The highlight of Prince William's visit to Israel is he merited to be the first British royal to make an official visit to Israel.
What has changed? The simple reality is that women in those days dressed modestly because there was a prevailing sense of propriety and self-respect.
Balak was furious. Balaam was defeated in his mind by a greater prophet, Moses, who would record Balaam's words and shame for eternity, despite not being present at the performances. Rather than perform his blessings or curses, Balaam projected a picture of the future with his ideas in it; he offers his vision of the End of Days (14) with all his hints to Israel's future failings hidden within his words of praise.
Pinchas unexpectedly saved the day. How did Pinchas help? Pinchas shifted the eventual divine justice from plague to targeted killings, so only actual sinners died
It is impossible to be involved in life without somehow sensing endings. We need not be permanently scarred by our beginnings, nor scared of what seems to be the death of a relationship.
Never in the course of history has the speed of change been so dramatic and apparent, or brought such extraordinary power and wealth to the average person.
The challenge of observing-especially-when understanding is elusive.
History repeats itself: Israel extends the hand of peace to a neighbor and is rebuffed
Displacement as motivation? Just ask Korach's sons.
Moshe's response to Korach expressed the very essence of what defines a true Torah leader.
What is the connection between the story of the spies and of Korach?
Seems men are puppets and women pull the strings.
Each nation has a specific role to fill in Hashem’s plan and we pray that through these offerings Hashem will inspire them to true service.
Self-censorship occurs when members of the decision-making team refrain from making suggestions that are counter to the prevailing consensus of the group.
One of the most important books you will ever read is your autobiography.
Change is good; being a "Changer" is better.
The paradoxical truth of a very, very good land--Israel.
"What's in a name?" Apparently, the essence of relationships...
Ultimately our job is not to overcome sin but to transcend the pitfalls and challenges of life.
This story is significant because Two-Gun Crowley wasn’t insane. He wasn’t a psychopath.
September 11, 2026 
