יום רביעי, כ״ד חשוון תשפ״זWednesday, November 4, 2026
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It is impossible for anyone (even the best doctors), to know exactly which medication will fit which patient until they are tried. The dosage is also something which must be determined with great care.
In some of his book catalogs that have survived, as well as ads he placed in newspapers promoting his bookstore, we find many titles from European presses of the day, indicating that he was in close contact with the printing presses of Europe.
A medical maverick, he frequently challenged prevailing medical norms, maintaining his faith in his own theories and abilities in the face of strong opposition, and he was colorful and combative when defending his most enduring contributions to medicine.
I was always amazed by the lyrics of the Israeli folk song, Yesh lanu tayish, l’tayish yesh zakan – We have a goat, our goat has a beard…
I constantly struggle over the meaning of external manifestations of inner feelings. If I am feeling a certain way on the inside, is there any value in expressing it externally?
By Daniel Eleff
There is something beautiful about being instantly, recognizably Jewish. I have traveled bearded to seven continents and met all kinds of people who see the beard, tzitzes, and yarmulka and want to learn more.
By Anat Coleman
We no longer rely on these outward signs, like growing a beard, in the hope that others will treat us with respect; we've learned that respect is earned through action.
From the goatees of pre-war German rabbis and post-war American rabbis, to the never-groomed beards of Chabadniks, to the thick mustaches of religious Zionists in the 1970s and 1980s, facial hair can signal group identity and ideological affiliation.
He looked at me with pity mixed with disdain and said, You are a foolish, foolish woman. I felt like a deflated balloon.
He was a prolific writer, writing more than 160 books, many of which were printed.
Although he presented a supremely confident public face, Dewey was deeply concerned that the Regents would fire him. Accordingly, he and his two greatest supporters, Funk and Singer, commenced an ambitious campaign designed to skew the Regents’ decision in Dewey’s favor, focusing particularly on the Jewish community.
By Jordana Baruchov Grreenfield
When an officer claims that “they had no choice” but to follow the chain of command, this is proof that it’s not the case. We all have the ability to make choices. No one is absolved from acting morally.
Even though some may seem rude, or impatient, they still have my best interests at heart – even though they may give confusing and conflicting directions (seemingly on purpose).
By Ariela Davis
While everyone has the right to protest, no one should be able to shut down a highway, keeping people in need of medical attention away from hospitals and workers away from their jobs.
The Torah is not saying that all Jews need this. Rather since some Jews need law enforcement, the Jewish nation will require it as a whole.
Rashi's interpretation of the term, namely, those who have the authority to enforce the law, looms large in its modern usage – everyone is afraid of the mishtara!
What I did not realize at the time, is that when a man buys his wife diamonds or a fur coat…it is not really about her. It is about him. The husband will be admired for being generous to his wife and for being in a position to give her luxuries.
These calendars, printed in the late 19th and first half of the 20th century, shed a bright light on the life in these unique communities and cultures and the language spoken by the Jews within, Ladino (Judeo-Spanish).
Halévy’s seminal work, La Juive (“The Jewess,”1835), essentially a “one-hit wonder” for him that became one of the cornerstones of the French repertory for a century, was one of the grandest of grand operas and included a formal ballet, major choruses, and spectacular processions and celebrations.
Researcher and author Brene Brown wrote about what her mother taught her about other people's pain. The lesson was simple: Don’t look away. Don’t pretend not to see hurt. Look people in the eye. Even when their pain is overwhelming.
By Ira Stoll
Seemingly basic acts of abstaining from cruelty to others are a way of honoring G-d by acknowledging the dignity of all G-d’s creatures.
I am proud that this forced CUNY to clear their blindness and promise to institute measures that would make it clear that antisemitism would not be permitted on its campuses.
Life sometimes feels like being a blind person in a restaurant. It's going to be good, they say. It will be good, they insist.
In life, we also have blind spots. There will be decisions that come our way that we will not be able to fairly judge, our biases or desires will blind us.
If any human told me what to do nine times a day, I am quite sure that I would be very irritated.
In the Shulchan Aruch, the Rema forbids marriage with Karaites, though historically, we have many records of Karaites rejoining the Rabbinate community and numerous rabbinical authorities have been recorded as allowing such marriages.
By joining and holding events across the state we can help individuals, companies, nonprofits and municipalities check for unclaimed funds and get their money back to them quickly and easily.
Dali was also influenced by his experiences in Spain, where Jewish culture has a long and complex history, and he may have been drawn to Jewish themes as a way to explore the intersection of different cultural traditions.
Thus has it ever been. Jews have been vilifying each other and attacking each other for thousands of years. What's new?
By Solly Hess
During the Kedusha prayer, I abandon gravity as much as I can. We lift up off our heels several times upwards to intensify our dedication to G-d. For me, the need to release my illusion of control is critical.
Hashem creates each and every one of us to be special in our own way. Why waste our lives comparing ourselves to others?
I find it interesting that the three weeks are always in the summer months, a time when we feel free and happy, and all of a sudden, we are hit with a mourning period where nine of those days we refrain from swimming, eating meat, and drinking wine.
We often try to bury our vulnerabilities and wounds. The pain or shame can simply feel too great. But when we face them, we can integrate these aspects within ourselves.
By Alan Zeitlin
Whether it is post-pandemic times or people are stressed from watching people argue about politics, Reese said, more and more people are wanting comedy.
Hubby’s habit of studying the back of the pita for black spots requires that he turn it upside down to do so. The jam hence falls onto his lap.
My introduction to this era was the purchase of a small celluloid pinback button which had a paper insert dated 1916 on the reverse.
This Letter was written by Rabbi Chaim Oizer Grodzinsky, dated 1938, a few months before his passing.
Innumerable bizarre theories are still floating around regarding the identity of Jack the Ripper, including one that identifies Charles Dodgson (aka Lewis Carroll, the author of Alice in Wonderland)...
You need to understand that Hashem is in our life every single day. So, there is no need to worry. Take comfort in the fact that you are being worked with.
Using the Lashon Kodesh reveals its true majesty. It encompasses not only the art of comforting but also the radiant restoration of hope, the gentle touch of healing, and the grace of solace for all souls in need.
By Keshet Starr
As we commemorate the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash, we are reminded of G-d’s promise to the Jewish people: Nachamu, nachamu ami – comfort, comfort my people.
By Hillel Fuld
Sometimes, in order to achieve comfort, you need to stop, look around, and just be. That is what we have Shabbat for and that is what we learned from G-d and how he rested on the seventh day.
To know they must not suffer in silence and that there is an army of people who have their back – that is comfort.
Is this experience dissimilar to that of a parent with an unruly child? With a bit of luck, the child has more than one parent in the house to keep an eye on them-perhaps even extended family or siblings.
During Israel’s early years, the general public mostly accepted the Status Quo Agreement for several reasons, including that most Jews who were not observant were still generally traditional; there was broader interest in preserving unity in the young country...
These somber laments/dirges expressing public mourning and grief are composed with short meters resonating with sentiments of loss and incompletion.
The word dirge has an odd etymology. It originally stems from the Latin imperative root dirige, meaning direct!
By Rabbanit Dr. Adena Berkowitz
They aren’t meant to be quickly scanned, but rather require us to take the time to read, reflect and connect to our national tragedies, both thousands of years ago and even in contemporary times.
By Maayan Zik
To never forget the pain/That remains/To never settle too long in grief/And continue in faith and belief/That our dirge, like clay/Is formed into something lighter to play
By Nachum Segal
The dirge and the timely nusach and the attention to the kumsitz and slower paced singing, all play a positive role in setting the mood and getting in the mood for a national time of sadness and mourning.
Kooky is a loving word selected to describe Hubby’s first-cousin. I searched for others, but they were harsh and judgmental, so I kept the original.
While the provenance of this handwriting was good, having been owned and kept within the family of the Ruzhin/Sadigura rebbes, authenticating such handwriting can be a challenge, being that almost no handwriting of his is known.
The Federation also gave Jewish farmers more purchasing power by, among other things, launching a bureau that liberally granted credit to struggling farmers who needed assistance and offering reduced prices on essential goods to Jewish farmers in need, such as seeds and farming implements.
By Rachel Kohn
The events of the Tanach had never felt so close and so real to me, like time compressed, and I could see everything in my mind's eye: the riverbeds and streams, sweeping hillsides, and rocky wilderness.
By Avi Ganz
Even after mankind was banished from Gan Eden and sentenced to a more limited experience, Rav Chaim says, our potential is so much greater than we too often believe.
By Eli Lebowicz
I probably know where I’m going, but I doubt myself, worried that I’ll mess up and make a wrong turn somewhere.
My first instinct was to tell her to move away from the 150-year-old, fading velvet cover, but instead, I enjoyed the sight of a giggling, Jewish child playing behind an artifact that miraculously was drawn from the fires of Kristallnacht.
I wonder about the Avot and Imahot and the shvatim, how they got around Israel with no maps at all – if anyone here knows of a Biblical map, please alert the media.
I came out of my bedroom to find Hubby and Violet sitting on the living room sofa as the sun was rising. They were talking softly to each other as Violet was trying to explain (for the umpteenth time) to Hubby why the doors were locked.
Other than the main subject of this sefer – brilliant commentary on the Mishneh Torah of Maimonides – the volume's pages were filled by the author with various other content, which I found most fascinating.
ADI’s ‘toy like me’ initiative promotes equal representation via personalized dolls for residents and special education students with severe disabilities.
She was particularly interested in whether the future of the Jewish nation in the Land of Israel would also affect the state of psychoanalysis, and whether the new ties to the land would cause the Berlin analysts in Eretz Yisrael to suddenly become landowners or even farmers.
Notwithstanding the traditional and formidable complexity of this idea, a sense of zealousness in the simplest sense seems to connote a demand for relationships and obligations to be honored.
In our comics, the zealotry of Batman keeps Gotham safe, and in our Torah, lehavdil, the zealotry of Pinchas ultimately saved lives and resulted in peace.
Certain behaviors are so demonic and evil, that the Torah makes room for zealotry under extreme circumstances.
Folks here are zealous to defend against an equally zealous enemy. Here in Judea, it is clear that we are in the midst of a serious conflict for the land and for legitimacy.
Today, zealots are the ones who refuse to let the people they disagree with speak. They like to cancel comedians and are banning books like MAUS by Art Spiegelman from public school libraries, and writing angry letters to podcasters.
Fortunately for me, I met Hubby after life-sobering events took him to a new and more mature chapter in his life.
Despite odds stacked against the work being written and published, it managed to survive and has become a classic in Torah commentary, being both brilliant and original in its content.
Any document from the Revolutionary War period relating to Jewish soldiers, particularly those killed or wounded for the cause, is truly extraordinary and monumentally rare, let alone one originally signed by Franklin.
By Eve Glover
The governments are just not interested in trying to find these people and bring them to justice. These people are not important people.
New Yorkers are like a puzzle. We may have different backgrounds, distinct lifestyles, and our own personal aspirations, but each of us is joined in a big picture and together we make a spectacular whole.
In the end, we are all crafting our own puzzles, made up of the aspects of life that we have been gifted, that we have been challenged with, that we have chosen to try to achieve, overcome, create, and manifest.
The Jewish experience has been shaped by puzzles that only an omniscience and omnipotent being can fully make sense of. Only He can bless us with puzzles that can unlock our potential and draw us closer to Hashem.
Only recently did I realize how much of an impact my 6th grade teacher had on my life; she strengthened and encouraged my love for reading, writing – and puzzles!
Our Yiddishkeit is the image our puzzle creates, and we should endeavor to make each piece of our puzzle fit this mold.
He kept repeating this phrase. Our aide had been telling him that she did not know what he was talking about. That was a big mistake. Never admit that we are that dumb! Hubby then looks down on us and gets angry.
Best known for his publication of many works of the Vilna Gaon, he was also the first to publish a Jewish edition of the Bible that was published by religious Jews and for religious Jews in Eretz Yisrael.
Apologists have engaged in all kinds of contortions to try to explain away Lawrence’s antisemitism.
The earthquake wasn't a common geological phenomenon. The earth did something out of the ordinary, thereby requiring the pre-programming of nature during the six days of creation (similar to the speech of Bilam's donkey and the other miracles listed there).
These spiritual earthquakes are not always experienced physically at all. They are the opportunities created by the opening of a new yeshiva that properly serves a mission or a population that has been falling through the cracks.
By Jordana Baruchov Grreenfield
Perhaps the Torah is trying to teach us that when your arguments are futile, like those of Korach, they are swallowed up and never to be seen or heard of again.
From the times of our sages and even to this day, natural phenomena have engendered discussion among Torah scholars about their meaning and purpose in general, and about the specific incident in particular.
Despite the brazenness of Korach’s rebellion (a machti et harabim event if there ever was one), we might still be shocked by its horrific fallout.
In older people, neglecting the teeth can be very serious. An infected tooth left to fester, can bloom into an even more aggressive infection which could go to the heart.
According to halacha, one is forbidden to spay or neuter animals. But the vets say this is a matter of tzaar ba’alei chayim.
The papal decree also shifted the center of Talmudic studies to Poland, where the Jews were still allowed to study Talmud and many of the classic commentaries on Talmud were written and printed here in this era.
October 30, 2026 
