יום שבת, כ״ג אלול תשפ״וSaturday, September 5, 2026
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To think of the Sanhedrin as merely an institutional feature of enforcing Jewish law would be to miss the central role Jewish legal institutions – whether it be the Sanhedrin of old or the modern day beit din – play in the ethics of Jewish law.
As a number of traditional sources point out, such legislation of the details of biblical law was not decided solely upon the basis of decoding the text or Talmudic logic.
Instead of the lofty goal of creating a Sanhedrin with the intent of creating consensus and unity, we could start the other way around. Start off with achdus, and a global movement to increase ahavas Yisrael among our people.
The Greek term Sanhedrin reflects a new name given to the zekeinim we know from the Torah. So Sanhedrin represents Jewish ability to determine law and justice, even as it is subjugated under an outside imperial culture.
By Alan Zeitlin
Jake Tapper and Dana Bash will moderate the CNN June 27 debate between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump that will certainly feature some questions about Israel, Iran and antisemitism.
The spiritual concept of seeing is the idea of observing something as it is, i.e., in a completely static state, lacking any movement. When you see a picture, you grasp the entire image instantaneously.
We were encouraged as well by a decision handed down by the Supreme Court last Thursday which suggests that the standards for proving retaliatory action by an official appearing to merely be doing his or her duty are in the process of being scaled downward.
It’s like the media [are] bending over backwards to be politically correct.
Rabbi Gedalia Machlis, another son-in-law of Rabbi Wolfson, quoted Behaaloscha: When you light the lamps, the seven lamps shall cast their light toward the face of the menorah (Badmidbar 8:2). This was Rabbi Wolfson, a living menorah who used his whole body and soul to service Klal Yisrael.
My mother insisted that I give this woman a hug. I refused. My mother continued to coax me to hug her and I resisted. Little by little my mother got me to go to her. I don’t exactly know how long it took but I eventually gave her a hug.
No Trespass ‘Two Gardens, One Above The Other…’ (Bava Metzia 118b)
Those of you who know me will be frightened by what I am writing, but I must insert here that I do not hate Hubby. I forgive him, over and over and over. I am fortunate that he still expresses his love for me, and when he does, I see glimpses of the man I cherished for most of our time together.
The primary means of hashavas aveidah, returning lost items, is through simanim, identifying features, replied Rabbi Dayan.
Jew-hatred, is a welcoming, diverse and inclusive sort of evil. Its very inclusivity helps to make it particularly popular in woke circles. People will find fellow Jew-haters from every conceivable background and class.
Question: Recently we read the haftara of Parashat Naso. I am puzzled by the fact that the wife of Manoach was given to see things her husband did not see, yet only his name is mentioned. What was the name of Manoach’s wife? Yossy Guttman Via Email
As we are approaching vacation time, this is a letter by the Rebbe to the children of the graduating class and their parents. It was sent to various Jewish educational institutions throughout the United States.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Adaptive leadership is called for when the world is changing, circumstances are no longer what they were, and what once worked works no more.
By Dov Bergman
Bergman's dedication to unearthing rare rabbinic texts was complemented by his passion for antique books. He built one of the largest private collections, which included many items dating back centuries, including antique manuscripts.
The Jews assumed that Hashem hated them because they saw themselves as unworthy of His love.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
Presumably, even the lowly of spirit according to Maimonides is not purposefully self-denigrating and contains a healthy sense of self-worth (contingent on an awareness of G-d, not one’s own accomplishments).
Prolonged cultural dizziness doesn’t often end well. WWI completely washed away the existing world order, obliterating empires and redrawing the maps of Europe.
As genetic testing is used more widely to diagnose rare diseases, the awareness of shared genetic variants among Jews and Arabs is increasing among physicians.
The seven stems of the Menorah symbolize the seven wisdoms of the world. They all emanate from the central wisdom of the divine Torah and they have purpose only when they too contribute to the Torah.
Of course, you both feel torn when faced with their concerns. They are your parents and you are conditioned to agree with them. At the same time, their disagreements are not yours, and are creating painful conflict between a couple that otherwise feels just right.
These entities differ profoundly from one another, but they join together when they face the Menorah, the single individual divine source of all wisdom.
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?
Modi performs all over the world, and since the events of October 7, he has ended each show with Hatikvah, including in front of audiences in Germany, Holland, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.
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!
On practical level, we must ask ourselves: Aren’t there halachot that are more serious than others? No legal or moral system can operate by treating everything with equal priority (see Tosafos Yom Tov on Avos 2:1).
One particularly memorable item was a photocard of himself and his crew standing in front of the Sphinx on which he has written In Mitzraim just at the right time of year; expect to be in Palestine for Pesach.
When it comes to parenting/teaching we don’t like to watch children make mistakes. We also don’t like having to take the time and energy to enforce the consequences of those mistakes.
When used properly, clothing mitigates the shame of our physical bodies and helps us express our higher, dignified selves in the world. When misused, clothing can hide our spiritual core, portraying ourselves as completely physical beings.
In these divisive and highly partisan times, with hateful anti-Israel and antisemitic rhetoric on the rise in the halls of government and misbegotten values on the ascendancy, it is more important than ever that members of our community come out and vote.
By Marc Gronich
By the end of the session (June 7 for the Senate and June 8 for the Assembly), when the air was sucked out of the room by Hochul’s last-minute surprise, lawmakers had no desire to continue their debates and all the talking that still needs to happen now.
Popsicles came in varying colors and flavors. Vanilla white, lime green, chocolate, banana yellow, cherry red, etc. Yet they are all labeled as popsicles.
By Jordana Baruchov Grreenfield
The process of making a popsicle – mixing ingredients, freezing them, and transforming a liquid into a solid – parallels one of the most popular and treasured themes in Judaism: the power and privilege of transformation via teshuva.
As the environment in galus heats up, we have a choice to make. Is my strength going to come from inside, or will I allow my environment to change my trust in Hashem?
By Nachum Segal
Maybe the popsicle is the same or even better in taste and flavor in 2024, but for me, the frozen treat of yesteryear simply has a whole host of accompanying ingredients that make the memories even tastier.
I looked for other ways to support Israel and one of those ways became buying Israeli products. I've been looking for those watermelon popsicles with candy seeds but to no avail. If you do come across them, please let me know.
Let’s just say that I soon began covering the shortfall myself, and my group leader promptly stopped sending me the spreadsheets. And I countered by unearthing them anyway and continuing to fill the quota, most often without signing in.
This morning, I began composing a list of Hubby’s needs which he expresses from moment to moment. Like all sufferers from this condition, he is able to identify what he wants, and yet is unable to resolve his need.
The problem arises when the peers are not all you would have liked them to be, and your child is facing some strong pressure to conform to standards that he knows are not acceptable or, at best, can be found in the murky ‘grey area.’
Even if the property was initially intended for renting out, either partner can demand to dissolve the partnership through gode o agod – i.e., he offers the other partner the option to either buy (gode) or sell (agod) the respective half of the property (C.M. 171:8).
For Lack Of Funds ‘Merchants In Sura Are Not In [Biblical] Violation …’ (Bava Metzia 111a)
You will ultimately work less hard if your children and grandchildren are involved. Complimenting them for helping you will also build their self-esteem. Additionally, they will learn how to deal more effectively with their own children if you delegate tasks to your children and demonstrate appreciation.
This collection, originally gathered by Solomon Schloss (1815-1911), had one of the most remarkable provenances a collector or institution could hope for – namely, that all the items had a highly detailed, provable pre-war provenance.
Successful investing does not mean perfection. There is no perfect portfolio or time to invest in the market.
If you are asking me if being happy is a bad thing, I couldn’t possibly disagree. If you are wondering if I believe in being mindful and present, then the answer is of course, ‘yes.’
According to my father’s rebbe, Rav Joseph B. Soloveitchik, koach and gevurah are not the same entity at all. Koach means physical strength, while gevurah means heroism or inner strength, a specific form of self-control.
Some research indicates that heroism during war or, maybe more specifically, the acknowledgement of a soldier’s heroism, might be beneficial to the soldier himself, as it is associated with lower levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms (Stein et al., 2020).
Question: Lately, various missionary groups have been very active in my neighborhood and other Jewish areas, anxious to convert our brethren to their way. Why don’t we, in turn, seek to convert them? This should be correct especially in light of the Yom Tov of Shavuot that we are celebrating when we read of the conversion of Ruth the Moabite, a woman of such exceeding piety that she proved to be the ancestress of King David and his dynasty, from which will sprout the ultimate king and redeemer, Melech HaMashiach. Moshe Jakobovitz Via email
By Irwin Cohen
In 1924 as he celebrated his bar mitzvah people called him Hyman. Hymie or Hy. He excelled at playing baseball and basketball and saw his first major league game in 1924 with his father at the Polo Grounds as the New York Giants won a Sunday double header.
Some demographers, including Pew and other federations, have created a new line of questioning designed to analyze Chabad involvement. Instead of asking them what type of Jew they think they are, the surveys encourage participants to express their Jewish identity in more depth.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Why does the Torah spend so much time describing an event that could have been stated far more briefly by naming the princes and then simply telling us generically that each brought a silver dish, a silver basin and so on?
As traumatizing as it had been, we had to experience slavery if we were to work to abolish it later on, when we were no longer the ones enslaved. We had to know what it was like to live under oppression, if we were to fight for justice in the years ahead.
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.
The oldest surviving Yale seal may be found on the 1749 master’s diploma of Reverend Ezra Stiles, who went on to serve as Yale’s president (1778-1795).
G-d had grand plans for the world. There would be nothing wasted. Even the wood itself would be a part of the fruit. That’s potentially true, but in reality there will be losses. Not every part of the process will yield fruit.
By Ariela Davis
As olim, we envision moving to Israel for the reasons described in Masechet Sotah in the discussion of why Moshe Rabbeinu wanted to enter Eretz Yisrael. Either for mundane reasons like eating the fruits of Eretz Yisrael and swimming in the Kineret... and be a more fulsome Jew in Eretz Yisrael.
Baruch Hashem, we are witnessing a revolution in this area. Though no soldier can match the Vilna Gaon’s or P’nei Yehoshua’s piety, we have thousands of IDF soldiers who are both deeply committed to halacha and Jewish values and are genuine talmidei chachamim.
By Ben Rothke
The challenge in modifying halachic practices is that it can often be akin to modifying DNA. While the outcome can have horrifying consequences, Judaism has only survived by adapting to new circumstances while keeping its core the same.
If we had our way, we might indeed have the yeshiva students write about how iconic heroes have an immensely deep influence on politics, ethics, outlook, and everything in between. But the names of the heroes would be worlds – nay, universes – apart!
This book is good for kids, and seems to be less good for adults. It has a lot of puns, and when I told some of them to my parents they didn't think that they were funny. (But maybe my parents just don’t have a sense of humor.)
By Bracha Goetz
This book deals with the great challenge we all face in grasping what is currently happening to the Jewish people. The author demonstrates the rare talent and sensitivity needed to lift the veils of confusion and elucidate both our spiritual and historical connection with the land of Israel from ancient times through the present.
Some may refer to the Torah as a history book; others may think of it as a book of law or a source of Jewish wisdom. While these are all true, they only scratch the surface of the Torah’s true nature.
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.
By Ben Rothke
Within Judaism, there are necessary disciplines, ideas, and requirements. Yet, it's not uncommon for people to live their entire lives without genuinely understanding these fundamentals.
Bullying has become a scourge and is a topic that is not given enough attention, and I was happy to see that it was included here.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
Even someone who openly performs wicked deeds should not be disparaged in totality.
I did not recognize the rav’s greatness at the time, but the board was set for writing the book. I guess you could say that my mother introduced me to the rav. Regretfully, I never met him in real life.
If staying up all night will cause one great discomfort or ruin one's Yom Tov and cause one not to be able to learn properly during Shavuot and its aftermath, then there are halachic grounds to be lenient and to go to sleep Shavous night.
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.
In Ma'aseh Tuviah, Kohn discusses Copernicus's system but finds it incompatible with Jewish teachings.
Morahs are our children’s guides as they develop their first experiences outside the home. It is not surprising, therefore, that but my morah said it has to be done this way… is one of the most sacred instructions in our home.
By Adina Broder
Educators need to teach from the heart in order to have the greatest impact on their students. This requires teaching with sincerity, patience and empathy, which creates a nurturing environment in which students feel safe to question, explore and create.
Morah, rooted in the same shoresh as Yirah – fear, they say. But as I pondered over the cholent this past Shabbos, I concluded that it's more about awe, a reverence beyond measure.
By Eli Lebowicz
If you don’t think being a teacher is tough, try to remember what life was like during the beginning of Covid when kids were home or doing Zoom school and we were all struggling.
Next time you are about to act, whether it be a kiddush or (chas v’shalom) a chillul Hashem, remember who you are, a morah.
Why would President Biden now be amenable to a change in attitude? Why would he be at long last ready to acknowledge that civilian casualties are an unfortunate but unavoidable feature of war as Israel claimed all along?
By Hillel Fendel and Chaim Silberstein / KeepJerusalem.org
Literally across the street from this wall, just outside the Arab village of Abu Dis, ten Jewish families have renewed the Jewish presence there – nearly a century after Jewish pioneers bought the land for exactly that purpose.
In this day and age, when there is so much intermarriage and assimilation, even in Israel, should we not be thankful that this young man married a Jewish girl. Their children will be Jewish, even if their chuppah wasn’t so much. There’s still hope for their future generations.
There is a condition called sun-downing in dementia. I truly do not understand it fully, but for many people with memory loss, when the sun goes down (quite literally), their level of anger, delusions, and animosity rises.
Usually, a kinyan must be made for a transaction to be binding, whereas retracting from a verbal agreement carries only the stigma of mechusar amana – lacking trustworthiness, replied Rabbi Dayan. Nonetheless, stating ‘mazel u’bracha’ is considered a binding obligation in diamond commerce, according to many poskim.
I present you with this research data not because it’s interesting or cute, but so that you will fully appreciate the significance of the power of peer pressure.
Must Investments Be Invested? ‘The Parts of The Iska Are Interdependent’ (Bava Metzia 105a)
I felt that this would be a most memorable night that could not easily be duplicated. After all, how often in life do we get to hear the words of a survivor who transformed their life and discovered Hashem in the process of healing?
Question: My friends are getting married on Rosh Chodesh Sivan. I tried to convince them to do otherwise, as many people have a minhag (custom) not to attend weddings until three days before Shavuot. They told me they spoke to rabbis who allowed it. Is this right? May I attend? Name withheld by request
For those of you who are dating, I ask you to try not to marry someone with the hope of changing them. A healthy marriage can help someone grow emotionally, spiritually and bolster someone’s self-esteem.
September 4, 2026 
