יום שני, כ״ה אלול תשפ״וMonday, September 7, 2026
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Hashem did not change His mind, the people themselves changed. The only way to change a gezeirah (decree) is through teshuva and tefillah.
A dash of hope In the darkness of night Akiva, you have comforted us
Most of us find ourselves squarely in the category of Rabbi Akiva’s students and the angels. Yet, Rabbi Akiva had such a remarkable and unshakable trust in G-d that he not only recited Shema but relished the opportunity even then.
By Avi Ganz
After the plague that wiped out his myriad students, Rabbi Akiva could have faced the harsh reality that they weren't worthy.
The Talmud Bavli and the Talmud Yerushalmi recount that Rachel, daughter to Kalba Savuah, one of the richest men in Jerusalem, recognized the potential in Rabbi Akiva, an unassuming, uneducated shepherd.
By Akiva Kra
Rabbi Akiva taught us that a fence to wisdom is silence, the potential pitfalls of humor, the greatness of man for being created in the image of Hashem, how to view free choice, and so much more.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
Unlike niddah calculations, which may impact real-life halacha, the doubts and calculations in kinnim are generally removed from practical ramifications.
According to the Jerusalem Post, Bowman’s voting record shows a pattern of no votes on resolutions relating to the security of Israel and Jews.
In plain English, there are people who are more comfortable with risk, and others with security. To succeed in most goals, ranging broadly from parenting to investing, there needs to be a balance of risk-taking and caution.
Don’t threaten us with cutting off aid to give up our principles, Begin said. I’m not a Jew with trembling knees. I am a proud Jew with 3,700 years of civilized history...
Keen observers such as Alan Dershowitz assert that these protests are being organized from the outside, with Iran, Qatar, and George Soros among the suspects.
Had so much time already passed since I took him to an amusement park and he was tall enough to go on a virtual reality ride?
Only recently did I realize that Hubby’s aversion to broken cookies was deeper than even he could admit.
Mr. Green checked the contract. Our contract doesn't specify anything about subletting, he said. It doesn’t explicitly allow it, but doesn’t rule it out. I don’t see, though, how we can avoid telling the landlord about it.
Picture yourself as a child, feeling unable to wait your turn or restrain yourself from blurting out comments as your teacher or parent is speaking. Even though you know full well the negative consequences you will suffer from your behavior, you easily become oppositional and answer back to authority.
Law And Order ‘R. Elazar b. R. Shimon Would Apprehend Thieves …’ (Bava Metzia 83b)
By dvora
Dear Mrs. Bluth, I have been a faithful reader of this amazing column for over thirty years and, even though you address someone's individual, personal problem, your reply is always as if you are speaking to everyone else going through the same or similar crisis, face to face. I have reached out to you three […]
The behavior I witnessed, as commonplace as it has become, is unacceptable. One can protest legally, one can have an opinion – but showing a lack of basic decorum is wrong, no matter what you believe.
Roi and Adan relayed the horrific happenings of October 7. As they spoke, they often had to stop and collect themselves. Their hands were shaking while recounting coming face to face with terrorists who were shooting at them. One could not help but feel as if you were there with them, hearts pounding, trying to escape death’s door.
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.
By Irwin Cohen
After being hospitalized with heart issues for three weeks Ken Holtzman was 78 when he died.
Question: In my synagogue, and I assume in most others, we all stand at attention as the rabbi or chazzan recites the blessing of Sefirat HaOmer and then proceeds to count the Omer. How can we recite the blessing afterwards when we already clearly heard it before (and thus, presumably, were yotzei with it)? M. Goldblum Miami Beach, FL
Unpleasant surprises that induce feelings of helplessness can also strike our personal finances. In fact, the likelihood of adverse financial events impacting our nest eggs is far higher than experiencing an earthquake.
One of the goals of Judaism is to draw holiness into this world. A more important goal, however, is to elevate the world and the worldly aspects of man.
This warped cultural narrative creates the ludicrous scene of gay people supporting Hamas murderers, even though Hamas terrorists would gladly toss them off a roof and drag their bodies through the street. But to people blinded by intersectionality, facts don’t matter.
A remarkable occurrence is happening in the state of Israel today. The vast majority of the people living there, whether observant or non-observant, ultra-religious or not, observe the holidays as national or religious events in their lives.
Sometimes, we need guidance and counsel. Sometimes, we can benefit greatly from advice. Yet, there are times however, when too many voices only cause chaos and pain.
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.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
According to the Torah, the first month of the year is Nissan. This was the day the earth became dry after the Flood (Gen. 8:13). It was the day the Israelites received their first command as a people (Ex. 12:2).
It is dated 1866, and written by the famed Rabbi Haim Palachi (1787-1868), the rabbi of Izmir, and author of over 80 published works and many others lost to the infamous recurring fires in Izmir.
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 Gemara comments that the prophet’s list increases in severity, making captivity the worst, even worse than death or famine.
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.
When Samuel arrived in Jerusalem to commence his term as High Commissioner, he was deeply moved by his greeting, as the Yishuv welcomed him enthusiastically, calling him “the First of Judea” and greeting him with a seventeen-gun salute and endless words of welcome.
Being up at night without learning Torah is a misuse of the night. We work during the day and have free time at night; we should use this time to sleep or to learn Torah.
By Marc Gronich
Civics is about life in our democracy, said Dr. Lester Young, chancellor of the state education department. We are at an incredible moral moment. It is critically important that our young people have access to knowledge skills.
The seasons and cycles of the Torah force us to constantly face the passing of time.
Empowerment: She empowered the women to take an active role in the community, recognizing their value and potential.
When the Jews crossed the Sea of Reeds and the Egyptians didn’t, Miriam whipped out her tambourine. She played, sang and danced with the other women.
Rashi teaches us that they were so confident that they were destined to be redeemed that the righteous women of the generation left with their instruments in hand.
Miriam – a woman of water and wellness, in whose merit a miraculous well provided Bnei Yisrael with water in the wilderness for forty years, sustained the fledgling nation physically and spiritually.
First, the biblical Miriam. One of the great female prophetesses (Masechet Megillah 14a). She was part of Bnei Yisrael’s leadership team during Yetziat Mitzrayim alongside her brothers, Moshe and Aharon. Her faith never wavered, and she led the women to redemption, tambourine in hand.
The first night of Pesach was a gift, an experience of transcendence. This night was characterized by the miracles of makkas bechoros and yetzias Mitzrayim, which connected the Jewish people to a higher dimension of existence.
By Our Readers
If all of this sounds inconsistent and confusing, it was, especially since even the Biden administration freely concedes that Hamas uses human shields for protection.
As with every question, the proper answer begins with "it depends."
Yitzchak feels privileged to have been welcomed into Am Yisrael. Having been exposed extensively to the outside world, he understands that there is no other nation like ours.
I went back to my cooking. I swear less than 60 seconds passed before he started the whole conversation once again. He had no recollection of my previous response. I repeated it just the same. It also had no long-lasting results.
It’s true that Executive Function Disorder is becoming a hot topic in education these days. Of course, that is not because more children and adults are dealing with it, but rather because experts have given it a name and have devised ways to deal with its accompanying difficulties.
Indeed, He Honored His Father ‘They Were Hired To Irrigate, But The River Dried Up’ (Bava Metzia 76b-77a)
Though Israel in the 1980s was a bit primitive in some ways, I was filled with idealism for the orange groves, and Israeli music, the tourist venues and holy sites that I celebrated every Yom Ha’Atzmaut at school. The transition was pretty seamless, in ways, at the time, I took for granted.
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.
Question: In my synagogue, and I assume in most others, we all stand at attention as the rabbi or chazzan recites the blessing of Sefirat HaOmer and then proceeds to count the Omer. How can we recite the blessing afterwards when we already clearly heard it before (and thus, presumably, were yotzei with it)? M. Goldblum Miami Beach, FL
I must admit that the simcha and tuv leivov (joy and gladness of heart) do not come that easily, if at all. Nevertheless, the directive of the Rebbe is to continue our mission with joy and with gladness of heart that baruch Hashem we are zoche to do what the Rebbe wants.
While these rituals may evoke strong emotions, they also raise important halachic questions regarding the propriety of adopting non-Jewish rituals.
What is not often noted is that the Talmud says that issuers of such insults are among the three categories of sinners who do not rise up from Gehinnom, even though this isn’t explicitly categorized as one of the 613 commandments, positive or negative (though it can be indirectly included in at least one of them).
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.
Even when things are going well, we may have bruised feelings when we feel a stronger connection earlier that the person we are dating or feel ready before they do. We are all responsible for our own feelings. We get to decide on the risks we take with them.
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.
We must not allow our mourning and pain to overshadow the process we are privileged to be part of.
Identification with Hashem’s will affects both the form and scope of our avodat Hashem.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
There are holy times and holy places, and each time and place has its own integrity, its own setting in the total scheme of things.
This letter was written in the month of Sivan, 1881, coinciding with the heat of chaos and turmoil that enveloped the Iraqi Jewish Community.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
Wisdom is a broad term that can have numerous interpretations, including knowledge of Torah (Chazon Ish), spiritual ability to fulfill the Divine will (Rabbeinu Yonah), or a social intelligence wisdom (Sforno). Regardless of definition, wisdom needs the supplemental value of fear of G-d.
To his shock and dismay, he realized that the Rav was none other than the beggar he had beaten on the street.
By Ariela Davis
It’s been a heavy year but we are trying to build ourselves back up within our new reality... It’s a crazy reality to look around the world and feel that they’ve scrolled past while we have real family and friends still over there; it’s all still very real and raw for us.
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.
This year we savor Jewish sovereignty more deeply than in the past, when we may have taken it for granted.
Interestingly, a proposed Knesset bill in 2012 proposed to simplify the structure of the celebration so that Yom Ha’Atzmaut would always fall on a Thursday, but the proposal failed because many legislators and citizens were unhappy about a summary dismissal of the significance of the fifth of Iyar, the date on which Israel had declared independence in 1948.
There are specific prohibitions and damnations that befall one who mistreats an orphan. The verse (Shemos 22:21-23) states: You shall not ill-treat any widow or orphan. If you do mistreat them, I will heed their outcry as soon as they cry out to Me and My anger shall blaze forth and I will put you to the sword, and your own wives shall become widows and your children orphans.
Surely, they must all understand the reality of the Hamas dynamic, that Hamas (literally) cannot live with anything less than a permanent ceasefire and full Israeli withdrawal for the same reason Israel cannot permit it.
Because we are so blessed with material comfort and convenience, we need to remember that growth and greatness only come with exertion, persistence, and effort. Discomfort and pain are often par for the course.
By Alan Zeitlin
There is a video of a UCLA student Eli Tsives who questions a woman who claims to be a professor at UCLA. He does know how to ask, and the woman is so flummoxed she asks for help.
I think many people have that moment when they realize suddenly, profoundly, that life is not forever. For me, that realization hit when I turned 30. I recall thinking to myself – "30, then 60, then 90, and then...what?!?" While depressing at first, I grew to appreciate the idea that if life just went on […]
By Martin Bodek
The word chai actually initially appears in the second parsha in the Torah, Parshas Noach 11:12, when discussing the age Arpachshad lived to before begetting Shelach.
The reason movement is so important is that it is the basis of action; and it is ultimately this G-d-like ability to act that is equated with life.
By Ariela Davis
There is nothing more meaningful than living in Israel during this time, which is especially felt during this month.
G-d is life – absolutely. He is the source of life (Psalms 36:10). Everything alive receives its life-force from Him, in proportion to how much it is connected with G-d.
By Our Readers
A No-Brainer-No On Presidential Immunity In your editorial last week (“SCOTUS and Trump Immunity,” May 3), you characterize the issue of whether a former United States president should be immune from criminal prosecution for alleged crimes committed while in office as “momentous.” While the fact that this issue is being accepted for consideration by the […]
In truth, we are not counting down to Matan Torah, but rather are building toward it, ascending one day at a time. We do not wait for Shavuos to arrive; we actively bring it ourselves through the time and effort we invest as we count the omer.
I remembered the tragic incidents of mothers accidentally suffocating their young so the rest of the family wouldn’t be discovered. That’s when I realized how lucky we are to have babies crying at semachot all over the Jewish state and beyond.
Needless to say, Schumer created a firestorm and he was roundly criticized for abandoning ship during a crisis and for his unprecedented intrusion into the political affairs of another country, especially with that country being our closest ally in the world.
By Rabbi Shimshon HaKohen Nadel
The Chatam Sofer concludes that establishing a festival to mark a miraculous event is a biblical requirement, and one who does not do so is in violation of not performing a positive commandment (Teshuvot Chatam Sofer, YD 233).
The New York law is nominally enforced by the NYS Division of Human Rights and the NYS Attorney General and both are authorized to mount investigations and seek preliminary injunctive relief from the courts.
Living in Israel one cannot forget the painful past since unfortunately we have constant reminders. The painful past is a part of our daily lives and not just a memory.
By Eliana Klein
Unfortunately, aside from my apparent penchant for misadventure, and ‘Midas touch in reverse,’ there is also my abysmal sense of direction. Add to that the fact that I get carsick on the local bus routes and consequently rarely use public transportation, and the scene was set with perfect precision for what transpired next.
I keep saying that I will straighten out my bed, my clothing and my room, but it is the depository of my exhaustion. If only I had a day with nothing else to do.
The Mishna (B.B. 83b) teaches that when the seller provides the buyer a different item than he ordered, the transaction is null and void, so that either party can retract, even if discovered much later, replied Rabbi Dayan.
He's A Communist! ‘He Who Calls Another Rasha’ (Bava Metzia 71a)
Question: What if one forgot not only to recite the bracha on a Friday, but the actual counting for that day as well, and then after having gone to the synagogue to accept an early Shabbat, suddenly reminded himself? May he then count the missing sefirah before it turns dark so that he would be able to continue counting with a blessing? Pesach Bernstein Via Email
By Marc Gronich
The budget fails to do anything to protect the safety of New Yorkers. Governor Hochul’s strategy to tackle retail theft is to establish a task force and throw money at the problem, Ortt said.
September 4, 2026 
