יום שבת, ט״ו תשרי תשפ״זSaturday, September 26, 2026
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I have deep gratitude for my professional teachers. But the lessons that shaped me most are the ones I learned from my students, especially those who challenged me the most.
By Eli Lebowicz
But there are informal lessons we can glean from different life experiences. Some lessons are small but still important, like make your kids’ lunches the night before so your morning self doesn’t hate your evening self.
We must learn a lesson from King David and focus on overcoming our enemies once and for all.
When we talk about doing something “for the klal,” we are speaking about Klal Yisrael, the Jewish people as a collective, not an abstract category but the very human, physical people that make up our religious nation.
Often, people feel that this kind of volunteerism exempts them from the need to tend to their personal development, their spiritual lives and their interior world.
It is well known that, by working together, people can accomplish far more than if they work apart. This is also true in the spiritual world and is presumably part of the reason a minyan is required for public Torah reading, priestly blessings, repeating the amidah, etc.
When ego or a sense of being worthier or more expert and thus the belief that my way is the only way infiltrates members of the community, it can lead to friction, discord, antipathy, antagonism, hostility and baseless hatred.
By David Curwin
Klal means a general rule or principle, set against prat, the specific case... A klal here isn’t just any rule. It is meant to organize and govern many cases at once, acting as an overall framework rather than a narrow instruction.
By Jordana Baruchov Grreenfield
In sleep-away camp, I began to think of the mistakes I had made and the sins I felt I had accumulated over the years. The weight of that realization sat heavily on my heart. I confided in my sister, unsure of what to do with these feelings. She suggested that I speak to my father.
Being a father has also given me a greater understanding of my relationship with my Father in heaven.
Some communities have renamed their motzei Shabbat learning programs from Avos U’Banim to Dor L’Dor, acknowledging that not every boy has a father or has a father who can accompany him to a learning program.
In today's world, where many suffer from emotional wounds rooted in broken trust, abandonment, or confusion around fatherhood, the Torah reintroduces us to the ultimate, unchanging Father – One who sees, hears, understands, and never withdraws His love.
He was a Torah Scholar who spent his day, every day, learning Gemara until 3 p.m. in his home study. Only after that did he set out for his office at The Jewish Press.
By Anat Coleman
Time fills quickly; we find ourselves running through days packed tightly with obligations and expectations.
By Solly Hess
Growth requires three things: Vision. Planning. Running. Without the third, we’re left in that frustrating dream state of striving, struggling, and going nowhere.
By Martin Bodek
I’ve come a long way since then, and I’m proud to say that I’m the second youngest person ever to complete 25 New York City Marathons, which is completely insanely cool.
The Jewish people weren’t particularly mindful when they left Mitzrayim. They rushed so quickly that their bread had no time to rise. It was a mad dash – they ran! Today, we too have to run when we make our matzahs, like they did. You’ve got 18 minutes: Go!
We know that our yetzer hara (evil inclination) is constantly trying to bring us down, making us feel sluggish, lazy, or insecure. Our daily task is to identify where our thoughts and feelings are coming from.
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Chazal and behavioral science converge on the same principle: inner strength is built up through repeated, values-aligned action – choosing structure over impulse and obligation over comfort.
If one is strong, why does he need strengthening; and if not, how will it help?
We often treat strength like a solo sport, as if needing help means we’re failing somehow. Chizuk reminds us that real strength is often built through connection.
If you want to give chizuk but feeling uncomfortable, that’s good. That discomfort means you’re resonating. The key is holding that feeling – letting it move you to reach out and care, while not letting your chizuk become about soothing your own distress.
No matter who you are, no matter where you come from, it is a gift you can give to others. It's generosity, where one person sees what the other needs, and strives to provide it, and what is more G-dly than that?
Given that most interpreters take the first usage to be related to the practical purpose it served rather than to the divine standard that it met, the original reference to the term also implies that good is discoverable by human reason. G
By Keshet Starr
We want what’s good – for ourselves, for our families, for our communities. But what actually is good?
Now tov was taken as good, satisfactory, a little better than average. But the truth is – tov is a fantastic grade. It tells you that you are at a certain level but there is still room to grow.
By Hillel Fuld
Like many phrases or words in modern Hebrew, the word tov, depending on the context, can mean different things.
Legacy is powerful because it connects us to something larger than ourselves. It makes us feel proud, responsible, and committed.
What I love about this genre is when you realize that the decisions you make early on have significant consequences for sessions that take place weeks or months down the line.
By Adina Broder
The word legacy often carries a sense of weight, as though it belongs to those who have accomplished something historic or have reshaped the world in some monumental way.
Chazal say banav hem ma’asav – our children are our deeds. Maybe that’s the only balance sheet that matters.
I am proud of my family’s legacy which has prompted me to dedicate my time to serving my community.
The dreidel should be celebrated as the healthiest and financially friendly Chanukah item. The dreidel is not fattening – it is 100 percent fat-free, sugar-free and salt-free.
Regardless of our hard work, experience, and effort, we all still need a bit of mazal to be successful. You can make all the right decisions, but if your timing is off, nothing else matters.
Is the dreidel just a toy? To some, possibly. But to those who know it’s supposed history, it’s a device that allowed the safe study of Torah in a time of persecution.
By Avi Ganz
Chanukah tells us that sometimes, especially in the dark and cold of winter/Galus, we need to let go of our supposed control and let the Divine run the show.
Explanations for the dreidel's significance range from the practical to the mystical.
By Eli Lebowicz
Whenever a company or non-Jewish institution must issue a statement of solidarity or seasonal greetings to the broader Jewish community, they always show a menorah for some reason, no matter what the message is about or no matter what holiday it is; it’s not a meaningful message from the goyish world without some candles.
Candles shouldn’t matter anymore. They belong to another age – like quills and clay stoves, things replaced by convenience. And yet, candles endure. They wait on shelves and windowsills, marking moments no lightbulb can reach. We light them to remember, celebrate, begin, end, and to sanctify.
Shortly after my daughter got married, both she and my mother came for the weekend. As we lit candles, I realized that this was the first time that three generations were simultaneously ushering in Shabbos.
One thing they all have in common is the unique character of the candle which shares its light without diminishing its own ability to shine.
By David Curwin
With the arrival of electricity, meanings evolved. Menorah came to mean any lamp or light fixture, while nurah, a modern coinage, was adopted for “light bulb.” That shift left ner to take on its modern meaning: candle.
For such a complex word, it has a real simple etymology – it comes from the word pack, which means… pack! Add a diminutive, pluralize it, and you get pekalach!
When a loved one passes, we don’t wish we could trade them for someone else, even if an illness took them from us in a horrible way or much too soon. Only because we cannot isolate pain from pleasure, love, and meaning is it true that we would not trade away our suffering.
The same word morphed from childish sweetness to an adult weight. And for a while, I thought that was the whole story: that growing up meant swapping candy bags for burdens.
Perhaps we should not sweat the small stuff – the pekalach – but be grateful and feel blessed that we do not have to deal with a life-draining pekel.
We must learn to be grateful for our pekelach in life – our personal lot – because, as the saying goes, if everyone were to place their own bundle of challenges in the middle of the room, each person would ultimately choose their own back again.
I took one bite, said, Blech! and washed it down with the only drink I had, extremely sweet Manischewitz.
I remember growing up, gefilte fish looked different. The traditional old school look of it was football shaped and the size of your hand, not logs.
At 17, I had previously encountered gefilte fish, but I didn't understand that it was a common first course for Shabbos lunch.
Gefilte fish, dips, chopped liver, sweet and sour meatballs – no. Serve the meatballs and the liver as part of the main meal. You can even put out some dips. But skip that first course.
Children are not nachas machines. Children are human beings, messy combinations of nature and nurture, who are put on this earth to navigate their own journeys.
By Avi Ganz
According to AI, nachas is a Yiddish word that translates to deep pride and joy, especially the kind felt from the accomplishments or meaningful actions of a loved one, particularly one's children.
By Ariela Davis
It’s one thing to have nachat from kids because they get a good grade or follow the path we hope they will follow.
Often, parents view nachas as the payoff for cleaning up diapers and vomit, helping with countless hours of homework and hanging on during the roller coaster that is the teenage years. Even if that payment is not made immediately, it is still viewed as deserved when it comes to fruition in adulthood.
Over the centuries, women have taken on positive time bound mitzvot which bring them nachat such as listening to the Shofar on Rosh Hashanah, shaking the lulav and sitting in the sukkah.
By Maayan Zik
By providing a discreet and respectful way to meet temporary needs, the gemach truly embodies the spirit of practical, ongoing community support. It is a powerful example of how shared resources can elevate the quality of life for all.
By Akiva Kra
Gemachs can beat any company. Amazon Prime promises two-day delivery. A gemach says, “Come now.” And if Mrs. Gemach is not home, her 12-year-old will meet you outside. No membership fee, just a thank-you and maybe a babka later.
When a person gives to a gemach and allows a fellow Jew to enjoy the material pleasures you once had, for free, it’s a form of tzedakah. Through simple physical objects, olam haba is attained.
By Martin Bodek
Do you know what the actual plural for gemach is? That’s right, gemachim. However, calling them gemachs is a minhag of Klal Yisrael, and we’re very makpid to keep to those.
By Anat Coleman
These everyday exchanges have not only made life more convenient, but also reminded me again and again of the quiet generosity that lives in a community when people are simply willing to help each other out.
By Rabbanit Dr. Adena Berkowitz
In 2022, Agudath Israel of America circulated on Capitol Hill a legislative memo that pointed out the unique and disruptive challenges permanent DST would present to the Orthodox Jewish community; for example having to pray in synagogues at much later times because of later sunrises and then the challenge of getting to their places of work on time.
As a student in high school, I remember looking forward to the initial “Fall back” where we roll back the clock by an hour and for one or two mornings you felt like you gained an hour of sleep!
By Jordana Baruchov Grreenfield
Hashem builds that spring into our lives; not to break us, but rather to launch us.
On a personal note, those of us with young children know that their bodies don’t respond to the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s manipulation of time.
Perhaps this year we can use daylight savings as an invitation to pay more attention to those we love, and to ensure that we are not overlooking the little ordinary moments that we take for granted.
Healing has taught me something softer. Good does not always arrive loud or dramatic. Sometimes it is subtle, barely noticeable. I just have to slow down enough to see it.
If someone would ask you if you would feel like eating pizza or sushi after eating straight for twenty-four hours, what would you think?
By Nachum Segal
I am amazed at the diverse ways we celebrate Motzei Shabbos and marvel at how many in our community feel the need to make Motzei Shabbos special.
When my great-grandfather, Rabbi Moshe Dubinsky, arrived in America, he was shocked that Melava Malka wasn’t the norm, and marched across the neighborhood, inviting people to take part.
After the tragedy of Charlie Kirk, who was Christian, I was surprised to learn of his call to honor the Sabbath as a means to transform our lives.
The meal need not be elaborate, but the table should be set elegantly. Hymns whose message is to take the Shabbos spirit into the week ahead are sung.
In the Torah, the term laziness is not found; rather, unwillingness is used. This is because our mindset is geared toward being high achievers and creating outcomes that meet the expectations set for us.
The truth is, what we call laziness often has wisdom in it. Your body might be saying slow down. Your mind might be signaling, This feels overwhelming or This is scary.
It is an explanation of convenience when the adults in charge are more interested in blaming than in looking for a more accurate and helpful explanation for what is going on.
Lazy is the shorthand we use when we don’t want to do that work. It’s ironically the path of least resistance – a way to explain our behavior without actually understanding it.
There’s a fine line between lazy and intentional. It may appear like we're avoiding certain tasks, when really we're prioritizing where to expend our energy and focus. (At least, that's what I keep trying to explain to my accountant!)
The Thirteen Middos are more than a prayer formula; they are a blueprint for our personal transformation.
Some of my family’s most joyous memories come from those last few minutes of the Seder, when there are just one or two pages left to turn. We’re about to finish the penultimate song, and we get to its very last stanza – Who knows thirteen?
Everyone was so focused on my brother becoming bar mitzvah that no one remembered it was my birthday too! A milestone birthday. I had become a teenager.
For me as a youngster I couldn't wait to turn thirteen. I would finally be a TEENAGER. The world was going to open up for me.
On a mystical level, 13 is not merely not unlucky, it represents fullness, holiness, and unity, specifically the unity of Hashem.
Today, Chol HaMoed looks different. It’s about the kids. Taking them to the local jumping place, the orchard, or up to the mountains for air that feels fresher somehow when it’s wrapped in Yom Tov.
September 25, 2026 
