יום רביעי, כ״ג תמוז תשפ״וWednesday, July 8, 2026
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Torah does not have a set place. It can be found anywhere. It should be found everywhere.
If your parents are not the right resource right now, find someone who is. This can be a Rebbetzin, an aunt, a close family friend, or a therapist. It’s true that many kallahs feel nervous after getting engaged and it is possible that you are simply one of them.
When a person appears before the Heavenly Court, he is asked whether he properly fulfilled the mitzvah of you shall strengthen him.
By Irwin Cohen
As Jewish fans may know, Israel will field a team also. The WBC takes place every three years, and Israel did fairly well, but the roster was filled with Jewish minor leaguers, a couple of recently retired players, and the biggest Jewish stars stayed with their major league teams during spring training instead of representing Israel.
With the third double sedra in four weeks, it’s a good time to take a closer look at the double sedra story.
According to Drage’s biography, Cohen was born in London in 1889 to a family that had just arrived from Poland, but most analysts agree that he was actually born in 1887 to a poor Jewish family in a Radzanów, Poland shtetl shortly before his family fled Eastern European pogroms and emigrated to London.
What is this oath that was made at Mount Sinai? We might assume that it is referring to the covenant that the Jewish people made there. While not literally an oath, and certainly not one actually made by each inhabitant of every century, it is somehow considered binding on the entire people and its descendants.
Can the knowing establishment of a center for terrorism ever be morally correct?
Words can injure and inspire. Words can bless or curse. Words can create new moral facts, such as when we make a promise.
Perhaps when [Mashiach] comes, we will all sing hava nagila together.
As the Yiddish saying goes, Man plans (estimates) and Hashem laughs. He does not give estimations.
We rarely have complete clarity, but we’re still expected to move forward. We gather what we can, weigh our options, and take our best shot.
When are estimations usually correct? Well, when we use Waze here in Israel, it generally is correct.
By Keshet Starr
Beyond instinctual guessing and structural estimating, there are also moments where we just need to take a leap, moving into the unknown without a clear, evidence-based pathway forward.
By Hillel Fuld
When things are less important to us, as humans, we are satisfied with estimation. Whether we are accurate in our estimation or not is of no significance to us.
Here’s the truth: I’ve been in the rooms. I’ve seen and heard firsthand the deep concern and genuine solidarity of my colleagues – most of them Christians – who are appalled by the surge in antisemitism.
The rationale for Arab states joining the Abraham Accords during the first Trump term was that they were desperate for ways to deter Iranian aggression and, seeing the handwriting on the wall for economies based on oil revenues, to end their dependence on them.
By Talya Gross
The front of the car where the engine was had burnt to a crisp, and all the windows were shattered.
Hubby’s wardrobe beckons to me daily. Because he had been a clothing designer, his legacy is partially the beautiful shoes, belts, jackets, custom suits, shirts, ties, and jewelry which he left behind. Little by little, I am finding worthy recipients of the most important items.
But a doctor, even a specialist, is not a rav steeped in Torah knowledge, whose daas Torah is indisputable. I know that in most medical situations, there is a second opinion by an equally learned specialist who can disagree with his colleague’s conclusion as to the best course of action to take and when.
I don’t see why this should be ribbis. I’m not gaining anything; I’m just recouping my loss...
Who doesn’t love to procrastinate? It’s much easier to do something fun than to sit down and do what you’ve got to do. But establishing what our priorities are can then help us fight that procrastination and accomplish our goals.
K’vod HaBriyos – Human Dignity ‘… Excluding Where He Was Preoccupied’ (Shavuos 18b-19a)
Our choices shape our perspective. Our perspective sets the context. And that context determines the meaning we assign to any experience.
The most important aspect of successful investing is having a long-time horizon.
Question: Were these individuals allowed to lead the congregation in counting sefirah? I also wonder, in general, if everyone may be trusted to lead the counting. What if someone forgot to count on one of the previous nights but does not inform anyone of this? Name withheld Via E-mail
By Mendi Glik
The beauty of klezmer music is that you don’t need to understand the language. Because there’s no language. It’s only music.
Prioritizing other people‘s needs can lead to burn out and neglecting your own emotional and physical well-being.
One who truly loves Hashem, loves everything He creates. By loving and showing respect to His creations, we, in essence, show respect to Hashem Himself.
What makes Levi’s work so enduring is not only his grasp of the Hebrew but his sensitivity to the te’amim – the flavor and nuance – of the prayers. This wasn’t a robotic translation.
As we exist in the world and interact with it, we receive input and understand our surroundings by means of the data we collect, chiefly by way of our senses. But because we also have the ability to communicate with one another, we learn much useful information about the world from each another.
It was like she had an expiration date stamped on her forehead. Ouch! The very idea sent another stab of pain straight across her temples.
When Yosef related his dreams to his brothers and to his father, his brothers became jealous of him. Not his father. His father shamar es ha’davar, kept it in mind and looked forward to the time when Yosef’s dreams would come true (Rashi to Bereishis 37:11).
I tried not to cry; I did not feel that I had earned the right to do so.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
The holy spaces had to be kept free of conditions that bespoke mortality.
Once upon a time, in the quiet of small semachot, we heard what mattered most. Have we gone deaf again?
In Pirkei Avot, we find the statement, Schar mitzvah, mitzvah – the reward for doing a mitzvah is the mitzvah itself. Or perhaps it means that the reward for doing a mitzvah is another mitzvah to do.
We tell ourselves every day that mistakes define us and shape us and in turn they hold us back from improvement and change. But what if you ate the cake, enjoyed it, but ultimately decided that it was not in your best interest?
Based on one’s Torah stature in the community [one] must conduct himself beyond the measure of the law.
By Irwin Cohen
Insurance prices have skyrocketed and many companies have stopped offering insurance to multi-unit buildings in Florida. My rate for a ground floor 786-square-foot (not counting an enclosed porch) went up over 80 percent.
We must know that the mitzvah of kavod haTorah is even greater than learning Torah. As the Gemara in Masechtas Megilla in the first perek states categorically that while learning Torah does not supersede the hearing of the megillah, giving honor to the Torah does.
Most of Miller’s plays were performed in Israel, beginning with Salesman, which was performed at the Habimah National Theatre in Tel Aviv (1951). He visited Israel several times, once attending a presentation of his All My Sons and sitting next to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on his last day in office, May 17, 1977.
Both Kayin and Hevel are flawed in this narrative. Kayin, consumed by lust and evil, has will and determination. Hevel, free of evil, lacks drive or purpose.
The name Maya ranked as the fifth most popular name for Jewish girls born in Israel in 2023.
So we rather think that the president’s new unfavorable stance towards Israel was likely fueled by a fear that an alienated Arab world would come to thwart his ability to proceed, full bore, to follow through on his America First agenda in the Middle East – think, expansion of the Abraham Accords – and not any animus towards Israel or its prime minister, per se, as some are suggesting.
How do we, as physical and limited beings, transcend our finite dimensions? How do we relate to the abstract, to the infinite, to the spiritual?
The new bow word association signifies more than my expanded knowledge base of girl matters with which I was previously unfamiliar. It more broadly highlights a willingness to learn new things and expand my horizons.
It was a moment that proved the teaching true: we’re all connected. And just like a bow can send an arrow across a distance, ahavas Yisrael can bridge the gap between souls.
The 49 days are not just a countdown to Shavuot; they are a time to prepare oneself spiritually for the receiving of the Torah. Each day of counting brings a person closer to being ready to accept and internalize the teachings of the Torah.
By Anat Coleman
Let the bow remind us: Draw close what matters. Aim your life with intention. And when it’s time – let go.
By Martin Bodek
Well, perhaps because I just turned 50, what immediately came to mind is something I have yet to master: tying a bow on my shoes.
Amidst all the noise and emotion, a different kind of return unfolded – quieter, more subdued, and 43 years in the making. The body of Tzvi Feldman, a missing soldier captured during a brutal battle in Syria in 1983, was finally brought home to Israel for burial.
The common thread between those who persevere beyond all odds and accomplish incredible things is that they have an unyielding sense of mission and responsibility. They aren’t merely doing what they want to do; they are striving to accomplish what they feel needs to be done. They feel the weight upon their shoulders.
For far too long, we have been told that some of our parents may not continue their religious traditions as to how to educate their children. If nothing else, this would seem to run afoul of our constitutional freedom of religion rights.
By Jason Maoz
A Hallmark of every COJO Legislative Breakfast is the air of expectation – the palpable buzz – that begins as soon as the first guests arrive and doesn’t end until the last guests leave hours later.
Once the person whom you loved fiercely enough to marry is unable to function as your partner in life…a deep mourning process begins. This period is incredibly difficult because those around the caregiving spouse or adult child do not fully realize the sadness one experiences from this ongoing loss.
Shulchan Aruch (C.M. 232:4) rules that when merchandise is defective, the sale can be voided entirely, replied Rabbi Dayan. Even if the depreciation is small and the seller is willing to refund the differential, the buyer can return the item and claim that he wants an intact item.
While remediation focuses on the past, acceleration focuses on the present. What are the students learning this week?
Siddurim On A Bimah ‘The Heart Of Beth Din Provides For It’ (Shavuos 11a)
By Irwin Cohen
I had several conversations with Yogi during my years on the baseball beat. I always found him wearing a serious face. I never heard him say anything funny. He was soft-spoken and easy to talk to.
When perspective is lacking, even the good in our lives remains out of focus. We fixate on what’s missing, what we’re owed, and where life falls short.
Question: On occasion it has happened that a recent bar mitzvah boy was the one to do so. I’ve also had an occasion when a recent ger (convert) led the service. In both those events, how would they be allowed to lead in the counting of the sefirah if they did not start doing so at the outset? No Name Via E-mail
Dedicating small mitzvos you do in your father’s memory can also be helpful. It doesn't have to be large things. Every mitzvah can be something special for your father.
Living near construction isn’t always easy – noise, dust, and detours are part of the package. But history shows that once the cranes leave, property values tend to rise.
In bibliographic terms, this is among the earliest major postwar Chabad publications, and it serves as both a spiritual lifeline and a bibliographic treasure for those studying the trajectory of Torah publishing in exile.
Before the Kohen Gadol could come into G-d’s chamber with the blood of the sacrifice, there was a barrier to entry. That barrier is called lashon hara, slander. G-d cannot abide the presence of slanderers (Arachin 15b).
Legal scholars have compared the situation to the U.S. Supreme Court asserting the authority to accept or reject amendments to the American Constitution. Having a written constitution, however, is no guarantee against juristocracy here in America.
Flour is the most basic ingredient needed to feed the body, but once it is made into bread, it becomes more associated with physical urges and pleasures and thus potentially detrimental to spiritual growth.
By Ariela Davis
Living far from family is hard. When we had our fourth child, we had to call a friend to stay with our kids when we went to the hospital, but other than missing family and maybe Target and the ease of Amazon, I don’t miss America at all.
When we are tired and hungry, we are anxious to revive and sustain ourselves. This anxiety can cause us to lose sight of our life’s bigger picture and purpose, and eat like animals rather than human beings.
By Marc Gronich
The annual COJO Breakfast began 46 years ago. Last year, the organization served 30,000 clients and did performed more than 60,000 services, according to its president, Moshe Zakheim. COJO Flatbush offers more than a dozen services to the community at-large.
The Talmud states that when a tzaddik does not pray for another person who needs to do teshuva, then the tzaddik becomes partially responsible for the sinner’s actions and liable for punishment.
Of course, the prophecies of consolation have not yet been fully actualized. Amos speaks of our people being firmly planted on the land – yet entire communities in Israel’s North and South remain displaced, struggling to regain emotional and economic stability.
Sometimes, the yetzer hara pushes us off until the summer – and then in the summer, he tells us that we need to rest in order to recharge our batteries before the coming winter.
Perhaps, you feel closer on one date and less so on another. This is common, and patience and some encouragement can be all that we need. That being said, when we actively notice that we like someone less and less as we date, we need to recognize and take note.
By Mendi Glik
The first time Mordy started to sing was in high school. First, however, he learned how to play a guitar. Just because it was cool.
Between 1931 and 1934, Chagall worked obsessively on the series The Bible, even going to Amsterdam to carefully study biblical paintings by Rembrandt and El Greco and to examine the extremes in religious painting. He walked the streets of the city's Jewish quarter to again feel the earlier atmosphere.
It is an interesting question whether, from the Torah’s perspective, there exists wisdom outside the Torah. Logically speaking, there is no theological need for the Torah to encompass all wisdom, so long as what it commands, as pertinent to us, is wise.
Iran of course, remains a major factor in the Gulf and its labyrinthian politics continue to loom large in the region, even if somewhat diminished.
This year’s fires did more than disrupt celebrations and ceremonies – they scorched the core symbols of our national renewal. It felt as though they reversed the arc of our historical return.
Another equally problematic motivation for speaking lashon hara is the desire to feel good about oneself. We all desire to feel important, significant, and worthy of respect.
Firstly, he is the democratically elected National Security Minister of the State of Israel. Love him or hate him, the position and title he carries, and representing the Israeli citizens who elected him, I believe make him deserving of an audience and conversation.
By Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks z"l
There is an order to the universe, part moral, part political, part ecological. When that order is violated, eventually there is chaos.
By Sara Blau
Loving our children equally does not mean treating them identically. Each soul carries its own nature, its own calling. To raise them well is to know them deeply – to nurture their individual strengths and guide them along their unique paths.
By Eli Lebowicz
My legacy will hopefully be the things I've taught my kids, which may or may not include a sense of comedic timing. And sure, instilling some middos in them is fine and good, but I'm talking about things that give you real nachas.
After having our two lovely girls, we wanted to have a boy as well. We went to our friend Rabbi Elchanan Shoff's son's brit before I became pregnant, and he gave us a blessing that we should soon have a son.
When the Rebbe would write his public letters to the Jewish people, they would begin To the Sons and Daughters of Our People Israel, Everywhere...
At the bris a surprise guest, the mekubal’s gabbai appeared, without prior knowledge of the date or location, to represent the mekubal.
July 3, 2026 
