יום שבת, כ״ז חשוון תשפ״זSaturday, November 7, 2026
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Cynical people always try to point out the negative.
27 years ago, on the 4th day of Adar Sheni, Menachem Begin passed away. Here are 3 enduring messages from his legacy.
Because sefer Vayikra is more difficult, we tend to look at it less. But because we look at it less, we also understand it less, which – in turn – keeps it difficult and less appealing. In a nutshell, that is what I call Vayikra Avoidance Syndrome.
“Also, you should know, that this rejection, as painful as it is for you today, upgrades you. It transforms you into people who know how to believe in themselves even when others don’t always believe in them." Encouragement to students applying to HS. Words of wisdom: Believe in Yourself!
So what is melakhah, and how is it different than avodah? And why is that only Moshe sees it that way. Finally, why is blessing something that seems to flow directly out of it?
Moses was stuck outside the Tabernacle with the people who built it. He understood at that moment the message of the Half Shekel, or, my fifty cents. He was not standing as the great Moses or the awesome Moses who could meet with God in Heaven. He stood outside as one of the people who all contributed a Half Shekel, fifty cents. It was at that moment that Moses became the most humble of men. I can almost hear the coins jingling in his pocket.
“The boy from Russia who was not accepted to study physics because he was a Jew is now part of a team that is sending off a spacecraft containing a disk with the entire Hebrew Bible scanned onto it and an Israeli flag.”
It is not enough to assemble one's people in one place. There must be a unifying mission.
The Mishkan we eventually had could have become the place where the Jews connected with Hashem more fully or strongly even than at Sinai, perhaps. After the sin of the Golden Calf, it could never be the place of innocent joy it was meant to be.
"The Lord settles lonely individuals into the House (Psalms 68:7)." His House that "dwells in the heart of each individual" is meant to provide a place for the lonely; those disconnected from themselves
The soul must be saved from panic, for panic can destroy it.
The world is round and the place which may seem like the end may also be only the beginning. -Ivy Baker
Directing us in the right direction like a compass, teachings on the Parshat Ki Tisa from Rabbi Weinberg
Paradoxically, putting on the veil would help Moshe connect with spirituality but when he was actually speaking with God, Moshe would nevertheless remove it.
The notion that we have wings and can fly, but fall to access them is genuinely spot-on.
Moshe was a stutterer and did not look for a leadership role, but he proved that one can lead even without charisma – through the power of faith, prayer, and a sense of mission.
I love and, am energized by, wrapping myself in my Tallit (Prayer Shawl), and tying on my Tefillin (Phylacteries) because of their message. I focused this morning on whether I had the ability to energize them, whether I could wear them as a celebration of my growth, and found myself vibrating with their energy.
The Urim ve-Tumim, introduced in this week's parsha, remind us Hashem never meant the Jewish people to make their way in the world based only on traditions of what we were once told.
To avoid misery, read the 6-steps to misery--and completely side-step these landmines
I can see how much I have and celebrate my plenty by bringing a small slice of heaven to others who have even less.
For most of us, sacred spaces help us to focus, whereas we would otherwise not focus at all. Hence they are worth the opportunity cost they create. But we are well advised to keep that cost in mind. The fact that we are able to focus on God in the synagogue does not mean we should forget God outside!
Long before social media posts and tweets, the Kotzker delivered messages in short, bite-size form. Here are just a few of his gems
Absolute truth is dangerous in the hands of people who do not realize how much they do not know. Just as I cringe when someone declares that he knows the reason for the Holocaust, I shudder when people authoritatively declare people they don't know to be heretics and sinners. Knowing that I don't know opens the door to listening and learning, an opportunity to discover more about God, people, and me.
What we spend time on says as much or more about what we truly value than what we might occasionally mention
If there is a great Creator performing these awesome miracles then I, Yitro, must serve Him and devote my life to that service.
Tu B'Shevat is a reminder once a year of the most important commodities: patience, continued labor, investment, devotion.
I finished reading that the Israeli chief rabbinate invalidating numerous conversions, opened the weekly portion, and enjoyed a hearty chuckle when I remembered that the portion of Revelation and the Ten Statements is named for a convert, a failed one, Yitro. Things sure have changed.
Without the excuse of not being completely sure about the truth of God and His commandments, there is still a doubt whether people will do what they know to be right and to their advantage.
Hakadosh Baruch Hu wants us to be passionate about our Yiddishkeit.
I am desperately searching for a filter that purifies the twisted Lishon haRah we use to speak of God: the positive attributes in which we unhesitatingly express our belief.
Miriam and the women who followed her recognized that Israel would be unable to move forward until they forgave God for their suffering and their fear. So they sang of God desiring to share His power with them so that they too would be able to "hurl horse with rider into the sea," as Israel does to Amalek in the closing scene of the portion.
Rashi might be reminding us Jews in almost every generation had to deal with non-Jews who challenged their faith, making it our job to hold fast to Torah, the Torah we already understand and the Torah we continue to work to understand.
It is in moments of illness that we are compelled to recognize that we live not alone but chained to a creature of a different kingdom, whole worlds apart, who has no knowledge of us and by whom it is impossible to make ourselves understood: our body. -Marcel Proust
It seems very likely that when the Jews put the blood on the doorposts, it was meant as a strong statement of protest against Egypt and about the holiness of life. In other words, whereas the Egyptians made even human life a commodity, the Jews were bidden to sanctify the essence of life even in animals.
Where is our Exodus? If the question is about miraculous salvation and the punishment of our enemies, I have no answer. If the question is a quest for experiencing greatness, the answer is the Mitzvot
Of course, we do not expect our elected leaders to be Moshe Rabbeinu---but wouldn't it be great if just one were great.
The Torah is teaching us a very important lesson regarding how to criticize and rebuke people.
Great loss to Israel and the Yemenite community.
God hears, and responds. God hears our prayers, and in so doing, gives voice to a powerful message of love. Can you hear it?
How would Jewish history have looked if the Jews had been able to hear Moshe, had fought through their shortness of spirit and harshness of work to be enthusiastic about the news?
The women believed that Hashem would free the Jewish people and they showed their belief by having children.
BH Baruch HaShem: B&H is a real Kiddush Hashem
We are sorely lacking signs from God today. They are lacking, since our courage and resourcefulness often end when we have no indication of what God wants from us. This is the tragic situation of God’s hiding Himself
The Tzadik, whenever he reaches some higher level, some spiritual accomplishment, doesn't want to forget for a moment that there's more, that he's incomplete, that there are infinite levels of progress that remain to a human being.
Yaakov's blessings conveyed to his children the characteristic at the epicenter of their being.
Each prayer, Shabbat, Torah study and Mitzvah offer us, in our imperfections, to connect with the Eternal. Jacob insists that we first reject the shame we've carried since Adam and Eve, and understand that there is a place in Paradise even for the imperfect.
This year, on the 10th of Tevet, on this sad day, we received news of the passing of Rona Ramon z"l, wife of Ilan Ramon, z"l, and mother of Asaf Ramon, z"l.
Much ink has been spilled on what Rambam meant and how he interpreted aggadic stories, and I have nothing of substance to add here. I instead want to point out he also sometimes takes as historical fact stories we might dismiss as homiletical.
Besides for heat and light there is a deeper understanding of fire we need to discover.
In Vayigash, Yehudah teaches us what attitude we should have in life: Sincerity
The quarks, atoms and molecules that make up our reality are constantly given life and existence by God. It is that divine aspect that also allows us to absorb these elements into our being and in some fashion that we have trouble comprehending, elevate the spiritual sparks of these items by consuming them.
Earlier commentators may well have still shuddered in awe when they thought of Ya’akov’s daughters – how could it be that they would exist and that we would not know about them?
Could Judah REALLY expect the Viceroy to grasp his subtle threats and insults when translated? He didn't.
It has been one year since the passing of Rabbi Aharon Leib Shteinman at the age of 104, on Chanukah Eve. Many stories were published about his wisdom, Torah learning, sensitivity and perseverance, but the most resounding message he left for us is embodied by the way in which he chose to leave this world: […]
Could Judah really expect the Viceroy to grasp his subtle threats & insults when translated? He didn't.
Neither Yosef nor the Chashmonaim had reasonable chances of success, nor did the founders of the State of Israel, who declared the State in spite of warnings of certain doom. They and others in our history have identified moments when seemingly futile course of action was the start of historic success.
Each Jew is on a journey and we each have our own rav, yeshiva, and mesorah showing us the way.
A commander, he told me, must view every soldier as a parent views a child.
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
November 6, 2026 
