יום ראשון, ט״ז תשרי תשפ״זSunday, September 27, 2026
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By Sara Blau
We ask Hashem: don’t judge us by our “peel” – the outer mistakes and shortcomings – but by the fruit inside, the pure intention and the desire to be close to You.
By Anat Coleman
I loved the idea that every pomegranate contains 613 seeds – one for each of the mitzvot – tucking sacred meaning into something as everyday as a piece of fruit.
On one side, you have something like a letter he wrote to a little girl in his congregation who had lost her pet bird – he turned it into a gentle lesson about memory and care. On the other, you see a leader constantly pressing forward, urging Senator Javits to speak on behalf of a day school.
Surrounded by caring staff, doting close friends, and beaming loved ones, it was a festive party that few assisted living facilities have the honor and opportunity to experience.
If we have wronged someone, it is essential to seek their forgiveness before turning to Hashem.
Just the sight of her face brought a wrenching stab of pain, a reminder of his loss. How was he supposed to act around her now? There hadn’t been time to think about it, so all he’d managed to do was nod at her. Idiot! She must think he hated her.
In his preface, Yaakov ben Chaim offers a sober caution to readers: only those capable of comprehending these mystical teachings should engage with them, and the secrets within must not be disclosed to the unworthy.
Art historians and commentators, who are fascinated by the question of why Picasso singled out a specifically Jewish figure for The Old Jew, have presented many theories on the subject.
The word shehakol conjures happy memories of the first bracha under the chuppah, ‘shehakol bara l’chvodo’ – everything Hashem created is for His glory and honor.
By Akiva Kra
No matter how much effort you put into a recipe, whatever comes out, whether a crowd favorite or a kitchen disaster, ultimately exists because of His word.
The Baal Shem Tov taught that by speaking a blessing with awareness, we release sparks of holiness trapped in the physical.
Shehakol is the humble workhorse of blessings, ever ready, ever flexible, and ever reminding us that even in the mundane or overlooked moments of life (a sip of soda, a bite of chocolate), there is reason to pause, acknowledge, and give thanks.
To serve Hashem fully, we need to be aligned in everything: how we treat others, how we care for ourselves, how we grow emotionally, spiritually, physically. It’s not separate – it’s one. It's all Shehakol.
For us, the focus is building pro-social experiences for our students. So, we really spent a lot of time this summer investing in [asking] what does that look like? Neugroschl said.
We must remind ourselves that these experiences are not the “luck of the draw” or mere happenstance. Our strengths, weaknesses, and struggles – whether physical, emotional, or spiritual – are all a function of mazal, tafkid, and tikkun, designed for our ultimate growth and emanating from Hashem’s infinite love.
By Irwin Cohen
Rabbi Wein moved in many fields and was superb in all of them. What a resume he had.
Mindy felt guilty enough about depriving Chani of a fun Shabbos lunch that she behaved like a model mother and hostess for the remainder of Shabbos, lavishing care on Pinny and encouraging Chani to get out and attend a class in the neighborhood given by the rebbetzin of their shul. On the whole, Chani reflected, things had worked out quite well for her.
This handwritten volume, recording the names and yahrzeits of nearly 1,500 neshamot, was copied for the shul’s last rav, Rabbi Shlomo Baumgarten, just before he fled the Nazis in 1938. It is only thanks to that copy that we know what we know today.
Willpower is the scholar’s strength to seize back the microphone. To choose what I should do over what I want to do. But it is finite. Like a phone battery, it drains over the day, leaving the teenager in charge by nightfall.
While Jacob Frank emphasized transgression and mystical dialectics between good and evil, Eva’s theological voice, while less documented, seems to have emphasized divine femininity, purity, and mystical royalty.
An inflection point in this process was reached during the Covid school lockdowns of 2020-22, when many parents were shocked, even outraged, to discover what their children were being taught.
What’s the point? Why so many? Are you actually going to read all those sefarim? Why not read them online?
By Rabbanit Dr. Adena Berkowitz
Our sefarim are not merely books with values and wisdom. They represent something far deeper. They hold honored places in our homes and their departure is akin to saying a tearful goodbye to loved ones.
I wondered then: Why is she selling these new sefarim from her bookshelf in Washington Heights? Were they not wanted anymore?
I tell my husband I'm bringing the ones with cracked spines to sheimos. He tells me there's an inyan about not getting rid of sefarim. I ask for the source but he can't tell me where it is.
From the moment G-d spoke at Sinai, the Jewish people have been listeners, readers, and scribes. The Torah isn’t just a story – it’s a constitution.
Despite its unsettled reception, The Man in the Glass Booth was neither suppressed nor forgotten; to the contrary, its notoriety ensured its place in the canon of post-Holocaust drama.
This project was first envisioned by local leaders and elected officials in 1997 as a means of addressing the needs of the Williamsburg community, which was outgrowing existing programs and resources.
By Irwin Cohen
The Orthodox community in Harrisburg is under 100. Some wear their tallis over their head while davening and some don't.
Forgiveness is strongly associated with lower levels of anxiety, stress, and hostility, as well as fewer symptoms of depression and a reduced risk of alcohol and substance abuse.
Honestly, part of her did want to see Effi again, if only to see his face and get a sense of where his head was at. She missed him! Despite the years, she still treasured her memories of their time together.
The Hitler Haggadah takes the traditional Passover narrative and reimagines it through the lens of wartime realities, framing the Allied victory over the Nazis as Divine intervention.
The reason that it makes the heat index hotter is that it stops your body's ability for sweat to evaporate, thereby trapping body heat.
It's not the heat. It's the humidity. That's the common refrain. A high temperature alone isn't enough to change your day, but when it's humid? Humidity is everywhere.
By Martin Bodek
Hot and humid, hot and humid, everybody loves it when it's hot and humid, and your clothing sticks to you. I know, catchy, right?
Recently I was in Washington, D.C. for a work trip; it was 95 degrees and humid. As I walked around town, exploring the sights, I was sweating so much that my sheitel started sweating as well.
A person can think of all sorts of ways to cool down. Perhaps a glass of cold water, a cool shower, or a shady spot would do the trick.
Fundamentally, bitachon is the acceptance and recognition that every experience comes directly from Hashem, given out of His love for us. It means knowing unequivocally that nothing happens by chance and that every aspect of our lives is under complete and total Divine supervision.
Mindy, of course, had no idea Chani was busy struggling to process the idea that Effi Weinberg would be coming to town, wondering if he hated her and how she would react if their paths crossed.
Ironically, it’s minority schoolchildren, whom teachers claim to care about, who have been the biggest losers.
Its clarity, accuracy, and comprehensiveness swiftly eclipsed earlier lexicographical works, establishing it as the indispensable reference for generations of scholars – both Jewish and Christian – who sought to unlock the linguistic treasures of the Tanach.
My flags are red, white, and blue And blue and white too They both fill me with pride
While Zola is celebrated today as a defender of Jewish rights, his fiction, particularly in La Curee, reflects the complexities and contradictions inherent in French attitudes toward Jews in the late 19th century.
By David Curwin
Moshe was a Hebrew name from the start, but he also bore an Egyptian name. A key piece of evidence supporting the Hebrew origin is the pun itself.
By Avi Ganz
The lesson is that to aspire to greatness in leadership, we need to realize that the kedusha; the greatness, is everywhere. Not just in the burning bush or the heavenly voice.
By Solly Hess
Sadly, the culture in which we find ourselves today tells a different story. Leadership has been reduced to “influence.” If you can find or rally an audience, you are a leader. All you need is followers. How you act, what you say, or how you treat the very people who look to you for guidance, matters far less than your status, position, or title.
The Torah emphasizes the fact that all eyes were on him throughout his lifetime, and his leadership becomes that much more inspiring when one considers what his experience must have been like in that environment.
He was even open to his father-in-law's advice to delegate judging disputes, instead of acting like he could do it all.
Unlike legitimate shame, which is a productive, self-correcting mechanism that says, I am less because of what I’ve done, this is toxic shame: I am less because of what was done to me.
By Irwin Cohen
The six-foot-six left-handed pitcher's career spanned 19 seasons and he racked up a career record of 251 wins and 161 losses with a pretty good earned run average of 3.74. C.C. won 19 games three times and once won 21 in a season.
Mindy’s hours scrolling through Instagram had served as her cordon bleu education, and when motivated, she could summon enviable energy to attack large gourmet meals.
The sefer is sui generis – not a conventional commentary, nor merely a novellae – but a tightly reasoned map of halachic architecture, often condensed into a few masterfully chosen words.
Turning himself into a scientific lexicographer, he was determined that each word would have its roots in Biblical sources to the greatest possible extent. However, in many cases, there were no analogs – one estimate is that the Hebrew Bible contains only 6,259 unique words, while modern Hebrew has about 80,000 – so he had to create new words from whole cloth.
By Nachum Segal
We must remind ourselves not to fear. We know who is in charge and who choreographs daily life for our beloved nation.
Everywhere I go throughout Israel, every hostage poster, every sticker or magnet memorializing a fallen soldier hits hard. Despite being an outsider, they are all so familiar, their names and faces, because we have all been following so closely.
Yisrael is the most sublime of the names, given to Yaakov by G-d’s angel with whom he had battled.
Yisrael, of course, is the name of (or, at least, one of the names of) our forefather. Given that the Torah explains why Yaakov received this name, it should be easier to understand why we, too, are called by that name.
We daven Shimoneh Esrei every day and ask Hashem to heal the sick of Am Yisrael. It doesn't matter if we don't personally know the person we are praying for because as the Talmud teaches us that all Jews are responsible for one another.
While in the United States, Aaronsohn made some important contacts in the American Jewish community, including with some leading philanthropists, who agreed to finance Aaronsohn’s efforts to establish such an institute.
We wonder, why am I not passionate about anything significant? The answer is rarely found in more searching – but in more refining.
Chani resented the idea that being single meant she had nothing to do with herself all day. Unlike Mindy, she had a job, which had actual responsibilities.
It is somewhat puzzling that the article states that 100,000 banks will be issued, as aside from my example, I am aware of only one other in private hands; this item is quite scarce.
By Irwin Cohen
This year's Superman version stars David Corenswet, a 31-year-old actor with a Jewish father, a lawyer, from a well-known family in New Orleans.
Whatever our personal ability, we should be grateful that G-d has given us the gift of song, especially since research has found that hearing music can stimulate the brain of dementia patients, bringing back memories and at least temporarily improving cognitive function.
Israel is often depicted as the oppressor, rather than the civilized country that it is. Yet Israelis exhibit courage and determination, rather than succumbing to dejection and despair.
During the 9 Days, and on Tisha B’Av, in particular, it's easy to feel dejected. Those feelings are further compounded by the surge in antisemitism. Remaining in a constant state of dejection is not the Jewish way.
By Jordana Baruchov Grreenfield
When I feel that familiar inner voice whispering, “This is hopeless,” I remind myself that my value isn’t based on someone else’s yes or no. I am inherently worthy. Each of us is.
Dejection slows us down and sometimes that’s exactly what we need. It can soften the parts of us that have been moving too fast or staying too distracted to notice what’s really going on beneath the surface.
I used to think that if I followed the “right” formula, the one I’d learned, absorbed, inherited, I’d feel okay. Say the tefillah, keep the mitzvah, share the vulnerability online, smile in real life. But when the anxiety kept coming anyway and the joy didn’t show up on cue, I blamed myself.
Conti’s foray into Hebrew printing was neither accidental nor peripheral.
Was he really expected to pack up all his stuff? He felt faint every time he thought about it. He had never once had to do anything more complicated than packing a suitcase for vacations or holiday hotel programs, and this only after his wife passed away.
When the ego dominates, we instinctively sacrifice our true selves to avoid discomfort or looking foolish. Shame, in contrast, exists in private—it is an internal reckoning, the pain of knowing we've acted beneath ourselves, regardless of whether anyone else knows.
By Irwin Cohen
Of course, with games played daily, several teams, by the time you're reading this, have won 60 or more, but the Tigers had the best record and were the only team with 60 wins at the 100-game mark.
The suggestion that Einstein be invited to assume the presidency of the Jewish State was first publicly disseminated by the evening newspaper Maariv. The idea, which spread quickly, became broadly popular...
With individual liberties curtailed, the government felt that it could keep the populace content by promising them the elimination of Israel. We have all witnessed miracles of Biblical proportions as to how matters did not work out this way.
By Keshet Starr
When the world feels like it’s falling around us, we can still choose what we do next – because when stimulus comes our way, we can create a space to choose our response.
Iran used to be Persia. The story of Purim. Esther and her son Coresh (Cyrus). It is through them that the second Beit HaMikdash was built. Where are the people that will represent Coresh? Is this the way it is supposed to be at the end of days?
Truth is, we owe a lot to that corner of the world. Without Paras, you don’t get Purim. Without Paras, there’s no megillah in shul, no matanos l’evyonim, no yelling Yimach shemo! at some poor guy dressed as Haman.
By Hillel Fuld
Iran was once a modern nation and an ally of the Jewish people. But since the Islamic Revolution, it has been radicalized, leaving its own citizens oppressed and the region destabilized.
Repeated behaviors become ingrained, forming habits that ultimately shape our identity. Each small action either reinforces fear-based patterns or builds confidence-based ones, creating what psychologists call behavioral momentum.
By Irwin Cohen
When the season began, I wouldn't have believed my Detroit Tigers, of the American League Central Division, would start the second half of the season with the best record in the big leagues.
The invitation turned out to be a stroke of genius for all concerned. Effi led the team in producing a real estate app so sleek and user-friendly it went viral, making them all rich beyond their wildest dreams—so rich, in fact, that now he and Avraham were going to spend a year in New York just to set up an East Coast branch.
Their inaugural production was a deliberate echo of their past: a reprint of the Lisbon Abudarham, almost identical to the earlier edition save for a few typographic changes and a revised colophon.
The 120 members elected to the Assembly and various invited guests entered the specially-prepared hall, and, when President Weizmann and members of the Cabinet arrived... they were saluted by an honor guard composed of units of the Israeli Army and police force and Hatikvah was played by a combined army-police band.
It seemed totally impossible for him to come out unscathed. And yet he did. He then revealed a very narrow space, just big enough to curl into, safely out of reach of the nails.
A manicure is still not all that important to me. But I understand more about the women for whom it is – both in its presence as a basic element of personal grooming, and in its absence as an announcement to the world that you've just gone to mikvah.
Suddenly, during the meal, my face started itching and burning. My ears were tingling. I looked in the mirror and saw a swollen face staring back. My husband gave me Benadryl, but by the next day, I looked like a horror show.
By Eli Lebowicz
The one Kabbalistic custom we all know is cutting nails over a garbage can or toilet. People on public transit should adopt this custom!
By Anat Coleman
In the end, the corkboards went up, I was relieved that the piles of paper had finally found a home, and the kids now have a new appreciation for the difference between a screw and a nail – and perhaps a bit too much confidence with a hammer in hand.
I smile when I think of him now. I look at the pictures of our past with no regrets, knowing just how fortunate I was to have met this man who adored me and who opened up my world to heights and new experiences, I had never imagined.
Engaging in aimless activity creates the illusion of progress, allowing us to sidestep decisive action that could expose us to failure.
September 25, 2026 
