Dementia Diary – Chapter 142
It has been a delight to receive letters throughout these three years from many of you sharing your journey or that of someone you care about.
Am K’lavi – A Nation Like a Lion
I understand that halacha frowns on engaging in personal needs before Shacharis, including travel, Eliyahu said. But I have a choice between davening at home and then fighting traffic, often getting late to work, or joining a minyan near work and avoiding traffic.
Rabbi Dayan listened attentively. Eliyahu asked, Can I drive to work and daven Shacharis there?
From Stubborn to Strong-Willed: Helping Your Child Harness Her Determination
Stubbornness brings lots of benefits, but what about the negative consequences when raising a child? Is there a way to alleviate them?
Daf Yomi
A Matter Of Time
‘One Who Is Recognized As An Expert...’
(Avoda Zarah 26b)
The Bitachon Blueprint (Part XX)
Perfection—the henchman of procrastination—is deeply demoralizing. Neither intelligence nor talent grants immunity from its grip.
Don’t Share
We live such public and exposed lives today, yet in this week’s parsha we are reminded to seek the blessing of privacy.
Nisht Gedaiget
The reason, by the way, that I didn’t really pay attention to the words all those years is because the melody is just so beautiful that I didn’t really care that I didn’t understand the words.
Overcoming Antisemitism By Investing In Your Jewishness
While it’s important to have articulate advocates representing Israel and the Jewish people, what is the average person’s role in improving the plight of Jews around the world?
Persauded – Chapter IX
Chani was the first in the family to acknowledge the wisdom of renting out their home, and was more willing than the others to bite the bullet and do whatever was necessary to keep them afloat.
Q & A: The Blessing of Ha’Gomel (Part I)
Question: I recently returned from a trip abroad. When I entered my synagogue early one weekday morning, I asked the officers for an aliyah so that I could bless HaGomel. I was informed that I could receive an aliyah, however – as per the Rabbi’s instruction – I would have to wait until the Sabbath to bless HaGomel. I was not given any reason for this and did not wish to display my ignorance, so I quietly acquiesced. Can you please explain what was meant?
Name Withheld
Via Email
Dear Dr. Yael
Being a people-pleaser is not necessarily a bad thing, but it becomes difficult when you feel you have to avoid conflict at all costs.
Parshat Balak: It Was Just Tuesday – Shame, Blessing, and the Voice We Choose to...
In Parshat Balak, Bilaam never saw the people he was meant to curse. He viewed them from a distance; abstractly, impersonally. His words came not from relationship, but rather from obligation, from politics, from agenda. And yet they could have reshaped a people’s destiny.
Allied Enemies
Balak realized that Midyan and Moav, the erstwhile enemies, would have to make a truce and gang up as allies against Israel. But since G-d was on Israel’s side, there was no way he could prevent the Jews from ultimately taking over the land.
Fast Fallout & Three-Letter Sedras
Balak precedes the Fast of the Fourth Month (that’s what the navi calls Shiv’a Asar b’Tammuz) almost 80% of the time. That includes, in Chutz LaAretz, the years when Shavuot is Friday-Shabbat and the sedra right before the fast is Chukat-Balak.
A Manuscript of Rabbi Raphael Isaiah Azulai, Eldest Son of the Chida
That this newly acquired manuscript – hidden away for centuries – should resurface now is a quiet miracle.
Sight and Speech
Balak was evil – he did not want to elevate himself to the level of Am Yisrael, he wanted to reduce Am Yisrael down to his level, or even lower.
The Scent of Gan Eden
After Mr. Ploni finished telling his story, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef said, Now I know why I smell Gan Eden on you. The neshamos you buried are clinging to you.
The Daf and on the Sale of Weapons
One may not sell lions to Gentiles, according to the Talmud, because lions can cause injury to the public (Avodah Zarah 16), to put it mildly.
The True Meaning Of Shalom Bayis (Part I)
The respect component of the relationship comes from appreciating the other person’s differences – when you admire, or at least accept, the qualities your spouse has that you don’t.
Avoiding The Evil Eye
His father told him: You decide which yeshiva you want to go to. Don’t tell me your decision. When the day comes to leave to yeshiva, take your suitcase, go to the yeshiva, and I don’t want to know where you are going.
Self-Destruction vs. Self-Discipline
If we make people believe they are infallible, they eventually believe they can do no wrong – especially when they do.
Where Religion And Nationhood Coincide
According to he Netziv, If Jews live distinctive and apart from others they will dwell safely, but if they seek to emulate ‘the nations’ they ‘will not be reckoned’ as anything special at all.
Empowering Young Jews On and Off the Basketball Court
Basketball, Goodman asserts, is a vehicle that facilitates empowerment, and he’s confident that basketball will help these children emerge from a pervasive “down” state of mind and life in limbo – disrupted schedules, disrupted sleep, schools closed, extensive time in shelters, explosions and more.
Moses Montefiore and the Damascus Affair
Upon his return to London, Sir Moses was given a hero’s welcome, including a big ceremony and special synagogue services, and, when he met with Queen Victoria to present her with the firman, she honored him by permitting him to add the Lion of Judah holding a banner bearing the word 'Jerusalem' to his coat of arms.
Chen And Now:Forbidden Praise & Esav’s Paradox
Though the Shulchan Aruch agrees with the Rambam’s broad prohibition, his final clause might offer some room for an answer. It is permitted to note the beauty of an idolator if the focus of the comment is to praise G-d and not the person.
Waiting for the Other Shoe To Drop?
Although we believe President Trump has the healthiest respect for Israel’s contributions to the joint effort, we also believe that in his view, the U.S. was the indispensable party, making it all possible.
A Messianic Perspective: History’s Beginning & End
Every Jew should view themselves as a messianist.
Headlines
Latest News Stories
Recommended Today
Sponsored Posts
