יום רביעי, כ״ו תשרי תשפ״זWednesday, October 7, 2026
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This is not only about resiliency or a return to the routine of daily life and normal functioning. It is rather growth as a direct, beneficial consequence of the trauma itself.
Prayer is part of how we express this faith. Turning to Hashem in difficult times expresses our belief that Hashem is the One behind our suffering as well as the solution to it.
And we go there, and here I come with this German. And we take the thing and go down and he takes me to the German officer's dining room. And there we come. We come in and he introduces me to some other people who are sitting. We sit down, and there again, the meal of my life – everything.
Question: Is it proper to look at tzitzit and kiss them during the recitation of the Keriat Shema? M. Stern Via email
Look for things to do to help others. When we give to others we are giving to ourselves as we feel better and more productive.
So, the seeds of Jew hatred lie in the belief of our enemies, from Sefer Shemot, that we witnessed G-d as a people. But the story of Sefer Shemot also provides us with hope.
This saintly man became the founder of Chabad chassidism, a movement that developed into one of the strongest and most dynamic branches of chassidism.
By Rabbi Shimshon HaKohen Nadel
Due to the many doubts surrounding where and when this blessing should be said, many authorities rule that the blessing should not be said B'shem U'malchut - with Hashem's name.
A string of letters I had acquired recently, sent by Rav Baruch Ber Leibowitz (1862-1939) to a famed American Philanthropist and supporter of Yeshivas throughout the world, Abraham Meyers, details the conditions that a European yeshiva in the 1932-1933 period had to endure.
I decided that if I was going to post again, I wanted to also use my business to help out Israelis in need.
Reuven may seem a little silly until we consider that we are all Reuven at some time or another.
Let me start by saying that I hope you meet in the middle. It would be wonderful if you were both on the same page in hashkafa and could ride off into the aqueduct, er, sunset.
When we live holistic lives, tapping into the true meaning of existence, life becomes a song, a magical and immersive experience.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Korach’s motives were wrong. He spoke like a democrat but what he wanted was to be an autocrat. He wanted to be a leader himself.
At times a student is told that he is not capable of learning b’iyun (Torah study in depth), and he is insulted. Yet, if the student was asked why he doesn’t try to learn b’iyun he will claim that he is not suited for that kind of Torah study.
As I say every year, it’s important to keep in mind that these predictions are nothing more than educated guesses, wishful thinking, and marketing.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
Silence has a role in the learning process that leads to wisdom, and is also a signal that one has obtained wisdom.
By Ben Rothke
In a little over 100 pages, Friedman does a good job detailing the myriad tensions in the Israel secular and religious divide.
One of the ways we can perceive the differences between the values of a Torah Jew and the average non-Jew is by contrasting the Top Ten New Year’s resolutions touted for the secular calendar and the commitments a Jew makes before Rosh Hashana.
How can we wean students off electronic devices and help them appreciate the transmission of ideas through the classic use of the written word?
The 17 people participating in the Kosher Troops mission to Israel didn’t receive the press coverage of the groups of celebrities and politicians who recently visited, but we were warmly welcomed wherever we traveled in Israel.
Although Rav Reines may not have been the first Orthodox rav to support the idea of a Jewish return to Eretz Yisrael, Zion, it was he who answered Herzl's call to become involved in the political movement and it was he who almost single-handedly took on the anti-Zionist charedi rabbinate.
One of the reasons we eat elaborate meals on Shabbat is based on the Talmudic teaching that anyone who partakes of delights in honor of Shabbat will be blessed with all his heart’s desires.
Did I have good reasons for returning to America? At the time I certainly thought so. Would I have been a particularly good soldier? If I had been drafted to a combat unit (as most Hesdernikim were in my time), almost certainly not.
Just as our ancestors didn’t want to hearken to the prophet’s message then, so do many of us not pay much attention to the words of the Prophets in our time.
To be sure, the Houthis are strangely drawing the U.S. into the fray by targeting U.S. and other nations’ shipping in addition to Israel’s and the U.S. has gone out of its way to accuse Iran of being deeply involved in the Houthi attacks on Israel. So, the bottom line is that at all events, the U.S. is materially engaged.
By Nachum Segal
The fleeting aspect of fame might be much more than an average observation. It reflects a healthier and more positive perspective of the idea of fame.
While it’s certainly admirable when those who work hard are recognized for their efforts, fame is clearly not the ultimate goal.
If our names are remembered by the masses, it should be due to our contributions, not our pursuit of fame.
Instead of following how many likes and views you have online, ask yourself, who am I when no one is looking? That’s who you really are, and that’s your baseline for growth.
“Millions of people will read about a Jewish basketball player; I want to show what that means.”
Regardless of the rationale for how the covenant would be originally binding, the Gemara relates that the Jews fully accepted the Torah after the miracle of Purim.
By Marc Gronich
As for fundraising, each candidate said they are not putting in their own money but instead looking for campaign funds from national political organizations and friends in the district and across the country.
Even though I don’t believe that a technical halachic problem exists by admiring these seasonal lights, I would hope that an admiration for this display does not compare to the excitement that we have for Jewish holidays and all of the beautiful customs and decorations associated with them.
Mayor Adams did not exempt the NYPD from his new across the board 5% cut of municipal agency budgets in order to pay for the city’s multi-billion-dollar deficits occasioned by the immigrant crisis. So that things were destined to take a turn for the worse seemed preordained.
There was silence in the room, as she opened her mouth and recited,; Shema Yisrael Hashem Elokainu Hashem Echad. There wasn't an eye in the room that was left dry. To recite that phrase for the first time as a Jewish soul is the most incredible feeling one can ever imagine.
Without even getting into the Congressional testimony of Harvard’s president, Claudine Gay, on genocide against Jews or her scholarship, or lack of it (against the scholarship of scholars she allegedly plagiarized), this article will focus on the students at Harvard who may still be among the best and the brightest.
Last night my dream was full of very strange stories and images.
She was moody and remote, absorbed in her books. She did well in school with barely any effort but her social skills lagged far behind her academic achievement.
We stand in solidarity with the people of Israel and are focusing our Israel emergency grant-making on mental health and security – areas in which we already fund at the local level and have close partners, said Elizabeth Walder, President and Executive Director of the Walder Foundation.
The museum was the brainchild of a group of veterans who wanted to pay proper respect to the oft-ignored one and a half million Jewish soldiers who fought in the Allied armies during World War II, 250,000 of whom died in battle and 11,500 of whom were American.
Things were really quite desperate at that time. People really thought that this was it. So then, my mother wasn't the only one that started especially since we were traveling, ‘Why don't you save yourself, go.’
Question: Is it proper to look at tzitzit and kiss them during the recitation of the Keriat Shema? M. Stern Via email
What an interesting chanukiah you have! It is apparent that it was completely fashioned by hand using a variety of tools, and there is a great deal of soldering work I can see from putting pieces together.
We are a people of life. We do not support martyrdom. Needlessly endangering a life is considered a serious sin. Saving a life is the paramount act, one that supersedes everything else.
If you see a person who has love of G-d but lacks love of Torah and love of his fellow, you must tell him that his love of G-d is incomplete.
Your husband, as you report, has been raised in a home where his mother was completely dependent on his father. Thus, his expectation is for you to be the same way on some level.
Imagine craving a hug, not from you, but from hundreds, thousands of strangers online. Every like is a pat on the back, every follower is a whispered you're okay. Social media is this crazy dopamine machine, feeding on my insecurities and making me chase validation.
By Alan Zeitlin
I was surprised that the university presidents did such a poor job of responding to questions that should not have been so difficult for them to answer.
Often when a relationship heads into a downward spiral, each will feel the other somehow started, and they are only reacting. While this might be technically true, it also could be that the other may have unwittingly caused hurt or distance first.
While the gaping wounds caused by their deaths will never truly be healed, the fallen heroes of this war still live!
Based in a large part on such works in German that were popular at the time, the author was tasked with describing things in Hebrew that were yet to be written about in the language.
Experiences that seem negative can do more than just protect. They often enrich.
When something is not working, when something feels unhealthy, or unproductive it’s smart to step away. Sometimes we need to remove ourselves so we can see what hasn’t been right for us.
By Nathan Lewin
I felt removed from important American decision-making. But I noticed that there was a subject that received little discussion or attention from the career foreign-policy experts at the State Department.
We must never fight falsehood with more falsehood or misinformation; our dedication to the truth is our most powerful weapon in the face of this onslaught.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
Between parents and children, he said, there are often tensions. Parents worry about their children. Children sometimes rebel against their parents. The relationship is not always smooth. Not so with grandchildren.
Shana means that which is cyclical and repetitive, representing mindless ritual. However, shana also has another distinct meaning: to learn and to change (shinui, l’shanos). This is because when you add chiddush to shana, i.e., when you infuse newness into the circle, you create spiraling growth.
Beit Daniella offers everything in one place: therapy, education and teaching how to function in a normal setting. Most students stay at the farm for four to six months but afterwards, they can come to the alumni program, which takes place once a week, after school, for up to three years.
Among the many terrible decrees enacted against the Jews during the reign of Nikolai I was the forceful conscription of young Jewish children into the Russian army, its overriding aim being to destroy Jewish life.
By dvora
What motivated the Zlotnicks to write this book? We need only to look at its title, Brick by Brick: Building an Ahavas Yisrael Mindset One Story at a Time, to answer this question. It suggests that no effort, big or small, to reach out to our fellow Jews is insignificant.
When we say this blessing hoping for salvation, we should reflect that so many people today are in financial distress because we don’t have the shulchan that brought financial stability to Klal Yisrael.
Recognizing that the full potential of the Archive was not possible absent a catalog that methodically and systematically organized and described its contents, the Jewish Historical Institute and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum joined forces to prepare and publish such a catalog.
Belief in Hashem does not exonerate one from personal responsibility. It does not give one license to say, ‘well this is what was supposed to happen, and it’s not my fault.’ In fact, the very opposite is true.
By Marc Gronich
Good will prevail in Rockland County. We have fought the good fight and we will continue to do so, Rockland County District Attorney Tom Walsh told the packed room. By fighting that fight in Rockland, we will be that shining torch, a candle, that will spread goodness throughout the country and the world.
By Rabbi Shimshon HaKohen Nadel
The Mishna Berurah (Orach Chaim 14:4) rules that ideally a minor may not tie tzitzit for an adult, as tzitzit must be tied with express intent for the sake of the mitzvah and a minor may not have the proper intent.
The resolution also says nothing about the Hamas practice of locating military personnel and weapons in civilian areas which put civilians at particular risk as the IDF prosecutes it war against Hamas.
Believe it or not, the main purpose of the neshama yeteira is to facilitate the consumption of the many gastronomic treats and pleasures that are characteristic of Shabbat without being harmed by the excessive intake.
Can one use a cane on Shabbos in a place without an eruv? The Shulchan Aruch paskens that a lame person who cannot walk without a stick, may walk with one, even if they are not attached to him.
Such halachic accommodations allow for Jews who would be limited in participating in communal Shabbos activities if they need a cane and were not allowed use of it without an eruv on Shabbos. To be sure, this inclusive accommodation is governed by Hashem’s will.
When I am sitting down and have great grandchildren around, they take my cane and it becomes transformed to a horse or to a magic wand, and that gives me added pleasure, or should I say nachas, watching them play.
I cringed at the collective sigh of relief from the group. It was jarring in front of a man who never leaves the dark. He probably hears it often.
I say, why should the old and frail have all the fun!? A cane can be a remarkably flashy accessory. Indeed, there was a time in which the cane was a sign of high society.
There is some merit to the argument that New Year’s Eve is no longer a religious holiday, despite its pagan and Gentile origins.
The right of voters to decide who will make binding decisions for them is as fundamental in a democracy as you can get.
All this war is to ensure our safety in the land of Israel. This power that our soldiers possess, is the power that Yaakov passed on to his children when he did not reveal the future.
The timing of the decision is as relevant as ever. IDF soldiers and veterans should not have to worry about their reputation being tarnished through malicious and reckless allegations…
By Ann Goldberg
Always ready to be ‘dan le’kav zechus’ she pinned a note on the stroller saying I’m sure you didn’t mean to destroy my stroller – if you’d like to apologize this is my phone number… For days she waited for the phone call that never came.
It is quite possible that I could play the same video every day and he would enjoy it just as much. For a man with little patience (and a terribly short attention span), this is quite incredible.
But I’m in possession of the money, Mr. Simon insisted, and your document doesn’t indicate anything.
The key to knowing where to start is to understand the four levels of communication.
Who Permitted Eating Turkey? ‘Geese And Wild Geese Are Forbidden Together’ (Bava Kamma 55a)
With these real life happenings in mind, I want to suggest that people consider an unusual arrangement that is a win-win for all potential participants as a solution to a complex and emotionally difficult situation.
Faith doesn’t remove pain, but it can get you through it.
It started at the young age of 12 when I became associated with one of the leading rabbis of the last 100 years, Rav Avigdor Miller. He was a genius in human relations and I sucked up as much knowledge as I could learn from him.
This was it. And my father and two brothers were killed that night. My other two brothers, we never heard from them again either…
By Irwin Cohen
It was a sad day for me when I learned of the firing of Chaim Bloom, who had the title of the Chief Baseball Officer of the Boston Red Sox.
The technician was certain that the Rabbi intended to upbraid him personally for having caused him discomfort and for attempting to continue against his will. Rav Moshe, however, had something else in mind.
October 2, 2026 
