יום שלישי, כ״ו אלול תשפ״וTuesday, September 8, 2026
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How could Hashem imply that the essence of every Jew is good (made of pure gold like the menorah) if there were sinners among them?
Swimmers should be cautioned about the absolute need for proper supervision and the great danger of going solo to the pool. Also, remember that long exposures to the sun can be unhealthy. Use a sun blocker!
Why are the wagons referred to as a Korban?
The Kohen is the one who will accompany these three alienated individuals and, by so doing, become their connection to the rest of society.
Love is a portion of the soul itself, and it is of the same nature as the celestial breathing of the atmosphere of paradise. -Victor Hugo
A Jewish student from MIT visiting Israel told me, after describing the hypocritical protests on behalf of Hamas that took place on her campus: What our world needs the most now is faith, vision, and a clear moral compass.
When we think this Shavuot about the revelation at Sinai, let’s remember that the Torah was given surprisingly in the midst of billowing smoke and blackness.
I asked My people to bless Me when they are sated, and they responded by blessing Me even if they only eat a portion the size of an olive (or an egg). They do so because they recognize that everything comes from their Father in Heaven, and they seek to give Me great pleasure in all that they do.
Judging from the sources in the Talmud, there is more than a tinge of ambivalence about the non-Jews being left out of Matan Torah. Though the Talmud was written in the context of a nascent Christianity that preached a gospel to all men, it was likely more than this that prompted the rabbis to justify […]
May you and all the wounded have a speedy and complete recovery, Michael. We can only imagine how many wonderful heroic acts like this are taking place each day in rehabilitation clinics throughout Israel.
The real theme of this book is how to live so that G-d will plant His presence among us, so that G-d will be with us and among us.
History is not everything, but it is a starting point. History is a clock that people use to tell their political and cultural time of day. It is a compass they use to find themselves on the map of human geography. It tells them where they are but, more importantly, what they must be. -John Henrik Clarke
The reason a person without Torah can never be truly free is because human beings are slaves to their passions and desires.
It is the supporters of Torah who provide the artillery to those involved in Torah study to win the war of holiness in this world.
This is vital information for parents and educators, to know how to direct their children to the right school and the correct teachers.
The UN security council stood for a moment of silence in his memory. What exactly were they thinking about during that moment of silence, which was also observed by the U.S. Deputy Ambassador to the UN?
Whatever we expect with confidence becomes our own self-fulfilling prophecy. -Brian Tracy
Avraham was a righteous individual in a mass of wicked depraved individuals and civilizations, and he was one single light in the face of a growing darkness.
Hashem gives us opportunities to do teshuva. He delivers minor punishments to put us on notice. However, if these signals are ignored, then the suffering becomes more and more difficult.
Please, return us the real thing which is bringing our sacrifices in the Beis HaMikdash.
Since historical events like these have the potential to challenge our faith, they create a religious imperative to search for God’s loving hand even in the face of tragedy and sorrow. That is an important part of R. Akiva’s legacy as well as that of R. Shimon’s.
The question is asked: If the miracle of the blessing will already be obvious, as our pasuk indicates, in the sixth year – when the land produces a crop that is sufficient for three years – why would the people be worrying any further?
A banker is a fellow who lends his umbrella when the sun is shining and wants it back the minute it begins to rain. -Mark Twain
A beautiful example of how heaven is exclusively a place of peace can be found in a Gemara in Maseches Sotah. We are informed of a fascinating fact: Daily, in the desert, together with the mon fell women’s beauty treatments because that which beautifies a woman fosters more love and harmony in the home, which promotes peace.
If one who wants to be wise begins to believe of himself that he is special, then he will no longer be prepared to learn from everybody.
In a Tel Aviv train station, I stood looking at the stickers on the walls. A common theme emerging from these stickers? The importance of remembering to smile.
As we continue to speak less, we will continue to have less room for defilement… and for sanctity
In Chovat HaTalmidim, the longest chapter concerns the struggle against laziness in students of Torah that the Aish Kodesh describes as the greatest blight upon a young mind.
May the gods grant you all things which your heart desires, and may they give you a husband and a home and gracious concord, for there is nothing greater and better than this - when a husband and wife keep a household in oneness of mind, a great woe to their enemies and joy to their friends, and win high renown. -Homer, The Odyssey
The Sefer Rishon L’Tzion cites the Medrash Shmuel, in the name of the Meiri, that when a person causes a chillul Hashem it is because he was not careful with the honor of Hashem.
The ensuing requests also fit nicely for we follow this up with the request, L’ma’an yeichal’tzun yididecha – In order that You deliver Your friends.
Be Holy - It's quite a challenge to achieve, but where should one start?
This past week in Israel we marked Holocaust Remembrance Day. Only three years following the extermination of one-third of our people, the Jewish nation rose from the ashes of the camps to declare an independent state. Such a revival needs to be our focus at the present time.
The sages teach that derech eretz precedes the study of Torah (see Vayikra Rabba 9:3, among others); this follows from human nature wherein the physical needs must be met before the intellect can be developed.
Shabbos is not a statute erected to commemorate that G-d created the world in the past, but rather it is an acknowledgment of His involvement in it in the present.
An individual can make a difference, but a team can make a miracle. -Doug Pederson
To his shock and dismay, he realized that the Rav was none other than the beggar he had beaten on the street.
I’d like to offer a mighty challenge. The next time you go to shul to pray, tell yourself that you’re planning to use your mind as much as your mouth in the synagogue – for proper service of Hashem has more to do with the mind and the heart than with the mouth.
On Yom Kippur, the Cohen Gadol wears linen.
We therefore first ask Hashem that we avoid sinful speech and forbidden thoughts, and then we can turn to requesting that our mouth be filled with the beautiful words of Torah and Its holy thoughts.
The nurse became very frustrated and told him in no uncertain terms that as long as he continued to wear the tzitzis he would not be taken in for his surgery.
All of this ultimately flows from Hashem. Hashem created Adam and Chava in the Garden of Eden, and He placed them there with the serpent so they could resist its charms. Only in that moment and in that place Adam and Chava failed.
Hashem tells Yechezkel to inform the bones that they are the house of Israel, fallen so far in exile it is as if they have been dead for untold eons. What seems beyond hope of recognition, let alone of restoration, is not beyond the power of Hashem to redeem.
The Ramban and other Rishonim explain that once the plagues started Hashem’s protection over us never ceased. Indeed, even between the major plagues, Hashem peppered the Egyptians with other problems so that they wouldn’t trouble us further.
Despite the fact that G-d could redeem the Children of Israel without a human agent, He chooses not to. He waits for us, waiting for us to step up, volunteer, and lead.
They know that when Israel is faithfully performing the will of the Creator, then they have no power over us, but if, G-d forbid, Israel deviates from the proper course of action, they know their opportunity is at hand.
If we were faultless we should not be so much annoyed by the defects of those with whom we associate. -Francois Fenelon
It is well known that one of the causes for tzara’at is evil speech... However, the far more powerful example of the power of speech is the Torah’s conditioning the legal existence of tzara’at upon the priest’s declaration.
A person who tells disparaging stories of others that are untrue in order to find favor by others is punished from Heaven. He is afflicted with leprosy, he becomes impure, he has to be isolated and distanced from the rest of the Jewish people. In this way the person learns not to speak lashon hara anymore.
Just like when we head out on a trip, we have our Waze programmed so that we know each step of the way, or we get our AAA Tripkits, so too, when we navigate the Seas of Life, we should crystallize in our minds what steps we want to take and which vital pursuits we want to achieve in the mission of life.
When Moshe saw two Jews (Datan and Aviram) fighting and tried to stop them, they went and informed to Pharaoh that he had killed an Egyptian guard. Moshe then said, Now I realize why Am Yisrael are in exile in Egypt – it is because they speak lashon hara.
This is the skyline of Sderot today. We are building and winning and being renewed.
Even when we have no merit of our own, as the winter passes and the first shoots of spring emerge, the sanctity of our patriarchs works to our benefit to bring about the end of the exile.
I have recently suggested that this segulah should be implemented to help bring the hostages home by reciting a short tefillah followed by the words, Eloka D’Meir aneini, three times.
I believe the reason why we zoom in on the transgressions of the tongue is because it is the most ruinous of sins.
Avi took one line from Ka Echsof (a song that many sing during the Shabbat dinner) and sang it slowly, over and over again: May your mercies spread over your holy people.
Before he could serve as the people’s agent for atonement, Aharon had to bring an ayil, a ram as an Olah offering. The ayil represents Yitzchak, who was prepared to bring the ultimate korban – himself.
We are not simply natural constructs, inhabitants of the planet Earth, but we are spiritual beings in service of our Creator. When we perform the mitzvot of blessing the new moon and of defining the calendar, we are accentuating this aspect of our identity.
it seems hard to understand how the rabbis could come right back with the conclusion that Nadav and Avihu were greater than Moshe and Aharon
Giving charity is one of the greatest single merits that one can accrue. We also learn that charity has the power to atone for one’s sins. It even has the power to bring the redemption closer (Bava Basra 10a).
The fact that the pasuk is 42 letters alludes to one of the Ineffable Name of Hashem which has 42 letters.
Am Yisrael were desperately waiting for the Shechina to return after the sin of the Golden Calf. At the conclusion of the eight days of inauguration of the Mishkan, it finally happened. Moshe and Aharon entered and exited the Ohel Moed and blessed the people, and the Glory of G-d was visible to the entire […]
There is some discussion as to whether the Ba'alei Tosfot bring down an opinion that Parshat Para is Torah mandated (עי' מג"א תרפ"ה), and theories have been offered as to what the source may be.
Esther wore royalty. When she acted with self-confidence, with true conviction and devotion to her people and to G-d – everything began to fall into place and to turn around for the good.
The Aish Kodesh says we read this parsha every year before the giving of the first mitzvah on Parshat HaChodesh because first we must give ourselves over entirely to obedience to Hashem.
Miracles that are revealed are intended to inspire a person to change his life for the better. However, when a person becomes accustomed to miracles as such they no longer affect him. A miracle that happens often and becomes nature may cause him to err in his thinking and stray.
The Gemara in Pesachim teaches us that leaven is a symbol for the evil inclination: Just as yeast agitates the dough, so too the yeitzer hara agitates the soul of man trying to get him to sin.
Why the different types of matzah and their symbolism? Each had to be offered for a different reason.
I saw in the eyes of the mourners how Jerusalem consoles. One of the grieving fathers left the Kotel tunnels in tears and said: I connected with all of our past and all of our future and to the historic task of our family within all of this.
I have discovered that all human evil comes from this, man's being unable to sit still in a room. -Blaise Pascal
The power of Amalek is not limited to the physical destruction they seek to bring upon Israel. Amalek’s chief ambition is to destroy Israel morally and spiritually.
We sometimes cry such tears, not realizing that we have the choice to change our situation. Instead of bemoaning our bitter lot, we should get up and try to do something about it.
The great Rav Shamshon Rafael Hirsch, zt”l, zy”a, wrote in his ethical will that the only thing he asks from his righteous children is that if one of them is hurt by another sibling, they should forgive and make up, and that will bring the truest pleasure to their parents in the next world.
Forget about five-year-old kids; most adults are not overly attracted to Sefer Vayikra, with all its gore.
The time has come for us to make aliyah. I’ve already purchased a home in Israel. I did not merit for my children to be born there, but I do hope that my grandchildren will.
It's important to recognize the internal development of the Hebrew tribes from the Exodus from Egypt to the Brit Sinai and consecration of the Mishkan.
Who were these clowns of Israel? What was their reason to mock Moshe? What exactly is it about this mocking that makes it unacceptable?
The idea that counting might lead to misfortune – that measures must be taken to avoid a plague – is unique to the Jews.
The man who insists on seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides. -Henri-Frédéric Amiel
Just as the structure of the Mishkan was only finished when all three areas were intact, so too the perfection of man is only achieved when all three of his components are ready for the presence of the Shechina.
The Zohar in Parshas Noach reveals that the word chein is the same letters as the word Noach. This is to teach us that the best way to find favor in the eyes of people is to be an easygoing (noach) person.
And what of ourselves? Have we remembered how rare and invaluable our own time on this earth is? Have we let ourselves forget the things that really matter? Have we slipped, become less, made our accomplishments less significant?
The fiscal year in the Beit Hamikdash starts on Rosh Chodesh Nissan.
Let us hope that children from Be’eri, Sderot, and Kfar Aza can gain strength from his story. This is not only a personal story of Yisrael, the orphaned child. This is the story of the nation of Israel.
How, we are often asked, do we manage to sit idle for 24 hours on Shabbos without going stir crazy? Is it not human nature to be workaholics?
The classroom and home are not places from breaking down personalities only in order to build them up to specification. It is in these gentler spaces that seeds are planted, shoots watered, sunned, and sheltered in turn, where tall trees are eventually to be found and enjoyed.
The question is why is it considered as if the Nesi’im were indifferent? After all, if the Jewish people would only have come forth with half the money or gold that was necessary, the Nesi’im were ready to generously contribute the other half.
The Rebbe stresses that part of the nature of tzimtzum – the expression of Divine Will whereby Hashem makes it possible for some aspect of Himself to be present in every one of His creations – is that in recognizing and acknowledging the G-dliness in our material world, we give strength to these Divine aspects in the world as well as in ourselves.
We can be certain that it was not a quest for fame that motivated Esther HaMalka. One explanation of Esther’s desire for the accounts of Purim to be included in the Scriptures is that she recognized the timeless lessons of the story of Purim.
If Dan is the extreme expression of Yosef in the same way that Shimon is of Yehuda, what was the importance of appointing tribesmen of Yehuda and Dan to lead the construction of the Mishkan?
The sefer Ohel Yehoshua explains that in fact Hashem had two distinct plans for building the Mishkan. The original plan preceded the sin of the Golden Calf, after which a Plan B went into effect as a result of the Am Yisrael’s sin.
So, obviously, Hashem does not have a face and all the above descriptions are simply metaphors to simplify concepts to enable our human intellect to understand, even though the true reality is beyond our comprehension.
September 4, 2026 
