יום חמישי, כ״ד תמוז תשפ״וThursday, July 9, 2026
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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.
By Maayan Zik
Catastrophes can strengthen communal ties and can paradoxically be a catalyst for profound positive change.
We do not respond to catastrophe with questions of why and we do not think of calamities gone by in order to be sad. We respond as best as we can.
Catastrophe disrupts our sense of coherence simultaneously – spiritually, psychologically, neurologically. It fractures how we understand ourselves and the world, overwhelming the nervous system’s need for safety and control.
I had planned a different response to the word catastrophe, but living in Israel now, during the ballistic missile barrages from Iran, that word has taken on a new meaning.
Like the word, our personal understanding of these events can change. What once felt like a meaningless, destructive force can, with time and support, reveal its place in our life's narrative.
The Torah singled out igniting fire as the paradigm for Shabbos observance, because our attitude toward one another on Shabbos is what will ensure its observance in future generations.
Acknowledge the fire, respond to the flame. If you don’t, well, you may as well be sloshing through life in a waterlogged rowboat. And who wants to live like that?
In our generation, we are witnessing the revealed yad Hashem – victories against all odds, survival amidst growing hate, and moral clarity in chaos. We are witnessing aish min haShamayim.
We must remember that an uncontrolled fire is destructive and terrifying, but a controlled one is a tremendous object of beauty.
There are many parallels between fire and water, most notably their coequal destructive potential and indispensability to human life.
One potential challenge is that having real pride in one’s country may take away from one’s pride as a Jew, although it is certainly possible to take pride in two nations simultaneously.
In Israel, patriotism is not just about waving flags or singing anthems – it is about extraordinary acts of bravery and sacrifice.
A Jewish patriot knows: you can kill a Jew, but you cannot kill Judaism. In that very act of sacrifice, Judaism is preserved.
By Rabbanit Dr. Adena Berkowitz
In our own community, we balance sharing shortcomings of past generations with teaching how beautiful our mesorah is, its laws and the path it gives us to connect to Hashem and greater ethical refinement.
In Randle Cotgrave's dictionary, in the early 17th century, the word appears as concern for one's country. But it is the etymology of the term that may reveal to us what our tradition has to say about patriotism.
What did they do so well that their legacy is that when I hear their names… I smile?
Laughing puts us at ease. It breaks the ice and creates warmth and connection between people. It boosts our physical and mental health. It helps our minds open to learn. And perhaps most fitting in this case, it is a powerful coping tool.
Moe would show his displeasure with his cohorts by slapping their faces, or poking their eyes out. It might have been fake, but we kids didn’t know that.
It's an amazing thing that G-d placed in our nature that we have the ability to create a circuit within another human being or audience that can, in turn, uplift ourselves through uplifting others.
The physical gags of the Three Stooges continue to be classics, and the kesubah of Moshe and Chana has stood the test of time. So did the marriage the kesubah solemnized.
I look around and see people running around, busying themselves til they drop. No one wants to even stop to think because we are afraid to sit alone in our silence.
What exactly is a schlepper? In that simple scene, he was the one carrying the bags. But the term schlep carries more than just physical weight – it has a certain heaviness to it.
I've learned to honor my own schlep seasons with self-compassion, when showing up is the highest form of courage I can muster.
By Avi Ganz
We have a tendency to relate to our ups and downs in terms of closeness and distance: an up brings us closer to our goals and to G-d, and a down does the opposite.
By Akiva Kra
Some schleps are just plain annoying. Like the 30-minute walk with a group to a friend’s house, only to find no one home. Or schlepping five bags of groceries in the rain because your driver bailed. Brutal.
According to the Baal Shem Tov, every individual carries a divine spark and mission – their own inner degel. Healing begins when we reconnect with this inner identity.
Only when we feel a secure sense of belonging to something bigger than ourselves can we really have the freedom to discover our individuality.
The Israeli flag flew in many places on our recent MDS 8th grade graduation trip to Israel. It flew over the graves of fallen soldiers in the freshest plots on Har Herzl, blew in the wind over the word Yizkor over a pile of cars, burned and shot at the site of the Nova pogrom.
As a member of the New York State Assembly, representing my district and my community, I often feel that I am waving an invisible degel. The manner in which I present myself, the things I say, the culture and traditions I honor, even the clothing I choose – these are all my degel.
By Ariela Davis
At last night’s ceremony at the Kotel in memory of the fallen soldiers, the camera repeatedly flashed to the flag waving in the wind as if it represented everything we were mourning that day. In many ways, it does.
In about thirty seconds, I had reconfigured our life. We would settle by the sea, my husband would become a Masada guide, and I would homeschool at the water’s edge.
We don’t have to wait until we feel inspired to reach for Hashem. We reach out because we feel dry, empty, arid. That’s the moment of connection – not after the storm, but during the drought.
The medrash in Bamidbar Rabbah tells us that the Torah was given through three mediums: fire, water, and the desert. The commonality between these three is that they are all free and accessible. So too, the Torah costs nothing as it is available to anyone who seeks it.
When it comes to Israel we want as much rain as possible in the winter so that our crops will grow and the land will flourish.
Moisture for crops and vegetation? No problem; we had dew every morning. Water to drink for man and beast? No reliance on oases for us, we had be’erah shel Miriam. And so it went for 40 years.
Everything we do in life requires sustenance, and it’s no coincidence that the Torah uses the word lechem to describe not only bread, but all food in general.
By Maayan Zik
Lechem with the Hebrew letters lamed-chet-mem means bread, but can also be a stand in for abundance, livelihood, and sustenance.
It has been asked, aren’t there other foods that are tastier and more exciting than bread? Are we not instructed to consume “fat meat and old wine” to celebrate Yom Tov? Doesn’t bread seems so banal? Is that all that married life is, as exciting as bread?
Trust in Hashem’s ability and desire to provide for us and focus our efforts on simply providing avenues for him to do so.
By David Curwin
The connection between war and welding becomes clearer when we consider that, in ancient times, combat involved close physical contact – just as welding fuses elements 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.
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.
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.
By Rabbanit Dr. Adena Berkowitz
As a religious Zionist, I say the Tefillah L’shlom HaMedina – the prayer for the State of Israel recited in shuls across the world every Shabbat. It includes the iconic words that the creation of the State of Israel is reishit smichat geulateinu – the first flowering of our redemption.
By JJ Eleff
We compare Moshiach times to the ocean because, when you stand at the shore and look at the ocean, all you see is water. But there is an entire world living inside that ocean.
Is the founding of modern Israel the beginning of our geulah? I don't have much to say about whether this is or isn't a messianic moment, but it seems fairly clear to me that the events of the past 80 years can be described as a geulah.
The Chofetz Chaim kept a Moshiach suit pressed and ready. Just as a soldier must be ready for battle, every Jew must be prepared for Moshiach.
When people or publications can't differentiate between evil and the fighting back against it, then there really is no point in engaging in conversation.
In Jewish thought, the raven/crow represents transformation, change, and the hard-earned wisdom that comes from going through darkness.
Noah’s logic is solid. If something is good for neither material nor for spiritual reasons, does it have a purpose?
In an attempt to respond to this quirky Word Prompt word, I googled crows and I learned something fascinating. There is actual meaning behind those annoying shrills and shrieks.
Sometimes in life we are like the raven, tested by Hashem in areas that are precisely our very weakness.
The karpas initiates a curiosity about our redemption and mission in this world. This aligns with the Sefas Emes, which comments that karpas represents the first stage of avodas Hashem.
By the time we get to that portion of the seder, we are so famished, that even a plain potato or bitter parsley and celery taste delicious!
The salt water represents the tears Bnei Yisrael shed while in servitude and the green vegetable symbolizes spring and the renewal of spirit.
Karpas in my home was parsley, although celery was another option. (We did not use potatoes as karpas...)
In Judaism we always have the ability for a fresh new start. The story of Passover depicts us as slaves in Egypt, never giving up the hope of being freed and we persevere, and gain our freedom.
For generations, a Jewish state in Eretz Yisrael was the great hope – Hatikvah – of countless Jews. In 1948, that hope was realized. Yet, hope did not end there – Od lo avda tikvateinu – nor did the challenges.
If a person feels like change is impossible, we encourage hope. If they feel like they can't be fixed, we show them their value.
When we focus on this healing future that exists beyond time, we bring tomorrow's comfort into today's pain. Our suffering doesn't disappear, but it changes as the light of our destination brightens our difficult journey.
This Pesach will be the second year of a wartime Seder and so our Hope for Hashem’s protection will be even more pronounced.
Imber’s words testify to the enduring spirit of Am Yisrael. Even in the shadow of loss, our hope remains. Our deep connection to the land, to our people, and to the promise of renewal endures.
But if "all Jews are Jews, except the Jews I really don't like" is your stance, then you don't actually believe in achdut.
By Solly Hess
There have been moments of national unity in the U.S., where Americans banded together after terrifying circumstances. Think of the kindness and care shown to one another after 9/11. Sadly, that grand-scale unity is more of a distant memory than the ubiquitous flags on everyone’s car window.
Let us also remember that the biggest obstacle to achdut is ego. As people strive to defend their image and self-importance, this can become its own type of avodah zarah that undermines the spiritual values that they think they are fighting for.
According to Ohr HaChaim: The kingdom of Israel will only endure if the heads of the people assemble together (keep the peace amongst themselves).
When we look at others, we should recognize that they carry a spark of Hashem Echad within them. When we think about ourselves, we must also remember that we, too, hold a part of Hashem Echad.
July 3, 2026 
