יום שבת, כ״ז חשוון תשפ״זSaturday, November 7, 2026
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Additionally, the day of Shabbos intrinsically carries with it a potential for spirituality and connection to Hashem that no other day has.
God doesn’t owe us anything, not even the breath we take.
Clearly, the sin was forgiven, so why couldn’t the Jews look at Moshe’s face?
When we understand that the greatest expression of God's might is God's compassion, we open ourselves to receive the gift of Lives of Compassion. Once we have been granted Lives of Compassion; compassion for others and for ourselves we can become a society united in compassion, and wickedness will evaporate.
It seems important for the Torah’s central prophet to have been someone with whom gentiles could identify. And being buried outside of Israel may well have been part of that
In light of these approaches, we can also suggest that by walking around Moshe was able to check out the true pulse points of the nation.
There are many issues that affect the occupants of this planet. The entire globe is one multi-dimensional chess game, and Hashem, the Ultimate Grand Master, maps out the moves of the year to come.
We stand in the final moments of 5777, prepared to transition to 5778, perfect moments to offer our gift to God, honoring all we have gained over the past year, and how we intend to apply that growth in the future, using the coming year to grow in ways yet unimaginable to us.
The ideal Jewish leadership is predicated on a steadfast commitment to the Torah and a resolute determination to enact the principles of the Torah in our lives.
Rabbi Aryeh Klapper on parshat Nitzavim-Vayelech
The Torah reveals to us, the good, the bad and the ugly of those who seek power and those who ultimately wield power.
Why are you running so fast and why are all these people following you?
How can the Torah command me to be happy? Being happy isn’t an emotion we can turn on and off like a light switch.
Moshe saw all the Jews as one whole, it was the ones in front of him who served as the representatives for all those who had lived and would live in the future.
Shema Yisroel, Hashem Elokeinu, Hashem Echod.
When a person sins, he is not planning ahead for his ultimate future. This is behaving like an animal. As such, a sinner is demoted from "Adam" to "Biheimah." But, when a person decides to do Teshuvah (repent), he is thinking ahead. Once again, he regains his title of "Adam."
A person is made in the image of Hashem, and it is an embarrassment to Hashem to leave His likeness hanging.
The year is coming to a close, and we now find ourselves in the final month before Rosh Hashanah – Elul. As we know, each month has its own avodah – its own distinct way in which we are supposed to serve Hashem for its duration. Let’s begin our journey and see if we can […]
The promise for long life only comes from 2 commandments; What's the connection between them?
Why is gluttony in one so young deserving of a death sentence? Rabbi Hirsch answers if the priority is the taste and quality of a meal and not the values and ethics instilled in the next generation, oblivion is the likely outcome:
There is a natural temptation to explain away the nasty and intemperate statements of the side we identify with, while setting upon the other side’s gaffes with ferocity. But in the end this asymmetry undermines our reputation for justice, and thus our capacity to persuade rather than overpower.
Everything you see – from the flower to the bee, from the oceans to the mountains, rivers and planets, the sun, the moon, and the stars – all just sort of happened. No designer. No creator.
The Torah's standard for convicting a criminal is set much higher than many contemporary systems of law, that accept one witness. In practice, that means the Torah prefers to let criminals off, rather than punish the innocent
What does it mean to be a student of Hashem? It means, at least in part, to study Torah for Him.
Leaders must be able to identify these existential, or Dunkirk moments, and act accordingly.
By Rachel Weiss
If we use this propitious time wisely, Hashem will forgive our iniquities of the whole year and grant us a new, clean slate.
While it is true that life is a battle, and exerting self-control is the primary vehicle of growth, Hashem created us to be happy.
Our attitude, how we see the world, how we perceive things, how we react, how we internalize the reality around us, that will determine whether we are blessed or cursed. It is completely in our hands.
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 addresses the sanctity of the Land of Israel
A society that structures its economic institutions to make all genuine partners fulfills the mitzvah of tzedakah. A society that institutionalizes dependence, no matter how reliably it provides for its dependents, has turned them into pierced slaves
We know Hashem metes out many life tests. But where have we seen that not having to struggle is a challenge?
Re'ei is about the opportunity to restore the 'Hearing To See; rejected by Adam and Eve, and again by Israel at Revelation. If we master the higher hearing of Eikev, we will be granted the clear Vision offered in Re'ei.
Is the source for saying Birkat HaMazon as obvious as we normally assume?
The questions have thus led us to at least two major hashkafic issues: the status of Jewish life outside Israel, and the connection between virtue and success in this world.
Sovereignty over any foreign land is insecure. -Seneca the Elder
Simply understood, this ballad is an ode to the Jewish woman - who is valorous in her great role of wife and mother.
Why does the huge, powerful horse submit to the will of the little, weak man?
The ninth of Av became a harbinger of the numerous tragedies we would suffer throughout the exile.
Drawing on the Maharal, Rabbi Fohrman gives us a novel approach to faith, and challenges us to rise to this level of intimacy with God and with each other.
As the Jewish nation and the Jewish state become more powerful, we have a greater responsibility to contribute more resources to developing nations. It would be a Kiddush HaShem.
PETA has a lurid anti-shechita history, They claimed Rubashkin the way the animals were slaughtered at Agri rendered them non-kosher. Rabbinic authorities and major kashruth supervisors deemed Rubashkin to be of the highest kosher standards--yet PETA declared otherwise.
Why was it so hard for Lot to admit subordination to Avraham
The mindset of risking one's life for the cause can only be acquired once the civilian mindset of self-preservation is unlearned.
By Rachel Weiss
How apt a reminder that this remorseful time will pass before we know it, and the next full moon will shed its light upon our universe on a joyful fifteenth of Av.
The Tribes of Israel knew that Moses would die because he told them. Why tell them and force them to confront their fear of life after Moses just BEFORE a major battle?
Yet it appears that if the shogeg killer would daven, his prayers might be answered, and the kohen gadol would die. Why?
The Torah is a book of great drama, why does the narrative ends with a seemingly-unnecessary story about a random conquest of some towns?
This week’s parshah, Matot-Masei- provides a powerful lens from the past to train on current events.
The reason we can’t even see the temptation is that we are judging the generation according to our social climate.
The Gemara says that anyone who mourns the churban will merit seeing the nechama.
Is Pinchas, the title character of this parsha, and Eliyahu, the prophet of Kings, really one and the same?
The challenge of these Three Weeks leading to Tisha b'Av? Learning to see the hope beyond the suffering,developing the vision of a healed world, so that we too can find the right words in our mouths to share our vision
Moshe was not able to see that Yehoshua was fit for the job. On some level, this seems strange considering their long-standing relationship.
Are they disparate events that coincidentally all occurred on the same day or do they perhaps share a common denominator?
Balaam, the dedicated thespian, could not overpower the prophecy of Moses because Moses was not a performer. Moses saw his role as building the stage on which his people, present and future, would perform.
Why did G-d use Bilaam to bless the Jews, if by doing so He enabled Bilaam to learn how best to attack us?
Lot and Avraham were related in their inner core, if not in what was open and visible to all.
Rashi tells us that because of this mistake, the Jewish people lost out on a great lesson.
Our portion is about lives in which we experience moments of greatness and moments of insignificance; accomplishments and failures; Torah is not only for the 'perfect' person; It guides and nurtures the rest of us as well.
The water supply in the wilderness had been dependent on Miriam’s presence. Hence, as soon as she dies, the Jews had no water. In turn, that lack brought about Moshe's disastrous interaction at the boulder.
Even the greatest of people must be wary of the dangers of their own passions and pursuits.
The entire group began laughing at Moshe, and with this Korach launched his revolt.
A father may not transfer the bechor’s right to a double portion to a younger son.
A nation lacking a consistent message will not flourish, and will ultimately lose its sense of safety and elevation. Even a beautifully motivated desire must be measured by its affect on the future.
In this week's video, Rabbi Fohrman points to two fascinating stories which force us to ask a theological question: what impact, if any, can we have on God? Is it possible for us to influence God?
Korach assembles the people against Moshe - but did they actually engage in, or threaten to engage in, disobedience? The text as we have it records NO active illegality.
By Rachel Weiss
Their heartache is unimaginable, yet they persevere with their life’s mission with a fervency and faith, seemingly fortified by the tragedy that rocked their world.
MacArthur was more than simply an expert in the writing and delivery of sound bites.
Clothes make the human: "Modesty is the conscience of the body." Honore de Balzac
Are pessimists just rationalists, and is hope just naivete?
I can empathize with the Children of Israel wanting to send spies to see the land they were to conquer. Once they could see with x-ray vision, "The entire people saw the thunder...the sound of the shofar" but now, no longer
Yehoshua and Calev's mistake was what they could have done earlier: They must have known their colleagues’ negative inclination. The Torah’s silence on whether they tried to change the mind of the other spies speaks to their own silence as well.
The case of yibum concerns the married man who dies without leaving any sons.
One reason commonly cited for anti-Semitism is simply jealousy.
Who are these twins and what are we supposed to learn from them? If we can answer this question, we will know our job for this time of the year.
Rabbi Fohrman delves deeper into the Priestly Blessing and its relevant lessons,
God wants us to complain about the spiritual things being denied to us, not about additional creature comforts.
Moses acted properly in his role of prophet but he failed in his role as a husband; he did not see Tziporah's suffering, her black cloud.
Did Moshe go to Ethiopia as an accepted Egyptian prince, or as part of his escape after killing the Egyptian? Was his marriage a genuine and consummated relationship, or a purely political alliance?
We must never forget that each person has his specific purpose...
The Even Ezra is teaching us a fundamental concept in growth: that we can shape our very reality.
One of the highlights of Parshas Naso is the Priestly Blessing. The text of this blessing, which the Kohanim bestow upon the Jewish people, concludes, "May God turn His face to you and give you peace" (Numbers 6:26). Our Sages speak very highly of the quality of peace. For example, we find the statement in […]
There are three very unique personalities we meet in this week's Parsha.
Three laws seemingly unconnected and out of place: theft from a convert; sotah; and nazir. Why are they here, in Parshat naso?
I look toward Shavuot as an opportunity to not only absorb the Torah's wisdom, but as a chance to apply its wisdom so well that God the Teacher will look at us say, "Yet more have I received from My students"
The Torah may be suggesting something different than we have ever expected: the way we ask God to treat us may also be the way we ourselves should treat our children.
One who teaches his friend's son Torah is analogous to the father himself.
The point is that they hold up a picture of that man. Not a picture of the Chasam Sofer.
Humility, as embodied by Hilel, should be among our community’s priorities as we develop the educational policies and personnel that will shape the next generation of halakhic leadership.
Revelation both Divine and self. Shabbat Shalom and Chag Sameach
By Rachel Weiss
The lush greens nourished by the healing rains of Iyar heighten our anticipation of the approaching Yom Tov that established us for all time as a holy nation, beholden to and beloved by our Creator.
True repentance requires a confession that enables the sinner to focus totally on his own errors.
This may sound myopic and cloistered, but it is based on a fundamental understanding of the human. To remain pure in an impure world, we need to create our own world.
In this week's video, we look at Pesach, Shmita and Yovel and ask, where do we see Shabbat, and why does it matter?
The laws of the Sabbatical year allow for some questioning even while demanding faith. How can one believe even while questioning?
Behar is primarily about ways to prevent Jews from descending into cycles of poverty; Bechukotai reinforces the laws of Vayikra by spelling out the consequences of following or not following the laws
Thoughts on Emor, Omer, and becoming a better you!
What is it that makes an ox special? In what way should we emulate it?
The lives of Jews in Mitzrayim were defined by misery and suffering. They had no rights. They had no life.
In this video, Rabbi Fohrman makes a fascinating argument about how Shabbat works and shows that there ARE Shabbatot in different realms.
November 6, 2026 
