יום שני, י״ג אב תשפ״וMonday, July 27, 2026
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Possibly the most pertinent description of Rebbi, found in Gittin 59a, where he qualifies on the very short list of those who have Torah u’gedulah be’makom echad, Torah knowledge and political greatness simultaneously.
By Rabbanit Dr. Adena Berkowitz
Worried that the Oral Law, the Torah She'ba'al Peh, would chas v’shalom be forgotten or accidentally changed, he decided to gather the laws, organize them and compile them as a permanent record that lasts to this very day.
Most focus on the writing of the corpus of the oral Torah (which may actually not have happened until later). Yet much more significant was how he organized its contents, something one might easily dismiss as merely technical.
While we’re complaining that we don’t have time for seder because of some shtus, Rebbi was writing the Mishna with one hand, holding up the klal with the other, and still finding time to give kavod to every last talmid chacham like they were Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai himself.
Living in gratitude, with intention and purpose, especially the ultimate purpose, can positively affect your mood, outlook on life, and how your day-to-day interactions are experienced in a fundamental way.
As our table is comparable to the Altar, and our bread like an offering brought on the Altar, we wash our hands before eating bread and thereby sanctify our eating.
While we wonder if the head of the household could perhaps cut a little bit quicker, we are forced to pause at the beginning of the meal, with all the things we want to share on our minds, and wait quietly to connect the mitzvah of netilas yadayim with the lechem mishne.
By Eli Lebowicz
Washing our hands is one of the most common Jewish practices, which is also why it’s one of our most disliked practices. I’ve heard that our frequent hand-washing could be why many fewer Jews were victims of the Black Plague.
With regard to netilas yadayim, one of the points he emphasized was that we are recognizing and acknowledging the sacredness of our hands, which we use to do the daily work of elevating this world.
By Maayan Zik
The imagery of sand also illustrates the vastness and diversity of the Jewish people around the world, for there are many different types, colors, and shapes of sand, much like our people all over the world.
The Kli Yakar interprets Hashem’s comparison of the Jewish people to sand in an interesting way. He points out that sand is always subjected to forces from the waves, but it always holds together and never dissipates.
Our lives have a time limit. Some of us may have a bigger personal hourglass; some have smaller ones. Nonetheless, the sand in our unique hourglass is flowing down and our time in this world will conclude.
The Jewish people have a collective mission. Each grain of sand contributes value in restoring the world according to the Divine will.
The humble grains that mark time in an hourglass are the building blocks that make up our world.
Torah Judaism makes all sorts of demands on us; of practice and belief, of moral stances that conflict with the culture around us. We have to contend with them, and prepare our children to contend with them.
Rivka. The name of my grandmother. A Holocaust survivor, a partisan, and a rebuilder of worlds.
By Solly Hess
We must be careful not to limit Rivka’s legacy to a few highlights – the switch of the blessings, her zerizus in helping Eliezer – we must see the big picture and understand the foundational role she played in our history.
By Anat Coleman
I was relieved to study the parsha further as an adult and have the opportunity to re-explore what may have actually occurred to/with Rivka.
Rivka didn’t gloat to Yitzchak about the prophecies that she received. She learned from her prophecies and from her life experience about what needed to be done in order to insure proper continuity.
My husband Daniel and I moved from New York to Los Angeles 12 years ago, and during 10 of those years, we've had an orange tree in our backyard. This is common in LA, as the weather is ideal for growing produce.
The contest was arranged by a navel orange company. The ask? Send us a photo of your family enjoying our oranges.
By Akiva Kra
I wish I could write an easy, 150-word guide on how to peel an orange; A step-by-step process of how to get the first part of the peel off, how to peel any of it without squirting the juice everywhere and getting sticky hands, and explaining how to avoid so many of the other unaddressed challenges in this underappreciated task.
I always thought it was amazing that oranges are a winter fruit loaded with vitamin c and other antioxidants allowing us to prepare ourselves and defend ourselves from all the viruses that come our way during this time.
By hashgacha, the same day, I interviewed Nova survivor Ofri Reiner, who shared an incredible story about oranges. For many Nova survivors, oranges have become a symbol of hope.
Everything changed this year, and I venture to say I'm not the only one with this experience. My eyes have been opened. I have learned so much. I have heard so many stories. I have seen so many faces.
By Sara Blau
When I think of IDF, I think of exceptional, special spiritual powers.
This sacrifice reminds me of our brave IDF members, who have had to give up so much time with their families in order to carry out the holy work of defending the State of Israel.
To fight in the IDF, the first Jewish fighting force in 2,000 years, is an amazing honor and is a life-changing experience.
The soldiers go out to war with the Shema on their lips. It's been very hard this past year and so many holy soldiers have been killed, but they went out in the name of Hashem, very devoted to the land and people of Israel.
Bruriah was a female scholar, but in addition to being brilliant in her knowledge of halacha, she was also considerate, brave, resilient, and defiant.
For me, as much as the name Bruriah invokes the intrepid and scholarly Talmudic heroine, it brings to mind a street. A humble, narrow lane not far from where I live.
Bruriah is touted as a daughter of one talmid chacham and wife of another, yet her mothering or wifely duties are never described or lauded.
Today, with the news out of Israel shocking and saddening us constantly, as parents we often find ourselves needing to shield our children from the anxiety we are feeling. It is hard, but it’s a must, and we can draw strength from Bruriah’s choice.
Let’s face it: in a community where Sara and Rivka are seen as the epitome of tznius, Bruriah might feel like it’s too loud, too forward. Maybe some see it as a statement.
Perhaps this Moed – literally meaning "set time" – can indeed become a set time for creating positive family memories, rather than stress and tension. It can even be a set time for growth.
Wouldn’t you think that it would be the easiest holiday that would have the most people celebrating? Something like, say, Shavuot which has no chametz or seder and is just two days long. Shouldn’t easier be more celebrated?
By Martin Bodek
Whatever we think, whatever we do, whatever direction our hearts point us to as we come to this yahrzeit, let’s be sure to fill it all with meaning.
The intention is that Israel will be redeemed by the Torah in body and soul and mind to be entirely holy, and that the general correction will be over.
The moed is experienced through the va'ad. In other words, we only relate to and perceive that particular time within the context of our collective experience of the holidays.
When we open our homes, we create an atmosphere that elevates not just the meal but the entire spiritual experience.
But as much as I love guests, the whole experience really makes me nostalgic for my seminary/college life when it was so easy to call up a family, or call up a friend, and make a Shabbos or yuntif chavaya (experience).
By Avi Ganz
There is no Hebrew word for "history." There is the modern Hebrew's "historiya," but the Torah doesn’t seem to afford any significance to history qua history.
Casually, he leaned over in his high chair, locked eyes with my mother and said, Hi. It was the tiniest of moments, over in a blink, one I would have missed had I continued to obsess about the food situation.
Admittedly, in my own home, I need a reminder to recite ushpizin. It's all too easy to get caught up in a myriad of other distractions while preparing to eat in the sukkah.
By Adina Broder
Forgiveness by our fellow man results in him putting aside his pain and resentment, even though those feelings were justified. This is an incredible act of emotional generosity.
An apology is so much more than just saying the words I’m sorry.
Slicha takes on a different significance during Yom Kippur when we are reminded that not one human exists without fault.
By dvora
On a personal level, man to man, when you forgive someone for a perceived slight, you reclaim your peace of mind.
Why are we so stubborn as adults, who should know with so much more reason and logic, that if we just say sorry, we would be able to move on from arguments so much faster.
Perhaps it's a benefit to us that we can't see real kings today. It allows us to strengthen our desire, so as we gather in shul this year, we not only crown Hashem as our melech...
Even if we have a theoretical understanding of the sort of mighty and absolute monarch used as a metaphor for G-d, it is very distant from our actual experience.
These ideas come together when you consider one of the most powerful paragraphs we say – Adon Olam. It opens with a mind-blowing statement – Hashem is the Master of time (olam), who reigned (malach) before any form was created.
Perhaps this is why Aleinu, a declaration of faith and belief in G-d as king, is a centerpiece of the Mussaf on Rosh Hashana. In saying it, we are challenged to ask a simple yet uncomfortable question. Have we made G-d our King?
By David Curwin
It’s also notable that while the Torah mentions many foreign kings, none of Israel’s leaders, including Moshe, are ever given the title melech.
It’s heartening to see the once virid foliage turn crackly and dull, but this is requisite needed for its overall survival.
Leaves represent the cycles of life and how where we seem to be can be deceiving, and how we are all connected.
By Keshet Starr
As a kid who grew up in a place without seasons, watching the leaves fall in autumn is still magical. And yet, the beauty of the changing colors masks the harder elements of the cold winter to come.
The question to be asked is this: how many leaves do we need to add to the table to accommodate the guests coming for the Shabbat meal?
By Hillel Fuld
Just as leaves blow in the wind and are impossible to retrieve, so to, a word. Once it’s out there, it’s impossible to get it back. But this concept doesn’t stop with words.
...our relationship with G-d is anything but impersonal. Like a marriage, it takes body and soul, words and actions, commitments, failures, and fixing.
By Rabbanit Dr. Adena Berkowitz
A beautiful imagery developed from Chabad thought envisions G-d being in the field and this is our opportunity to come closer to Hashem, so to speak, panim el panim, face to face.
Call out to Hashem when He is found, call Him when He is close. He is not just approachable, to every Jew He is dodi, My beloved.
Enigmatically and somewhat controversially, Rambam interprets the nature of this loving relationship to depend on intellectual understanding of G-d and His works: according to the level of knowledge, so can be the love.
The gematria of dodi is 24. The gematria of Hashem’s name is 26. To reach a level of G-dliness we must add two – oneself and Hashem, in a mutually caring and giving relationship.
She is not only my mother-in-law, but also, the first Jewish mother I've ever known, so I'm a convert. Yes, it's different from having a non-Jewish mother, but in a wonderful way.
By Eli Lebowicz
We actually had a baby earlier this year and my in-laws lived with us for a month afterwards, because I needed more comedy material. And boy did that work.
The Gemara is reminding us of the potency of this unique relationship and that it must be treated with care.
The stereotype of the meddling, overbearing shvigger can cause tension even before the relationship has a chance to develop. For many, the fear of not meeting expectations or navigating potential conflicts is significant.
As we saw in the recent Olympics relay races, the baton is passed forward and the passer steps away; so too when a man or woman marries, parents have to let go of their biological baton.
In essence, shira connects to the soul by expressing, reflecting, and amplifying the deepest aspects of our human experience, making it a powerful medium for both personal and spiritual connection.
I’d been singing Birkat HaMazon since childhood. I never had stopped to consider how it sounded to others. Which is the best way to sing of all. Now I sing all the time. On or off tune, I don’t know or care.
By Akiva Kra
Song clearly can reflect deep emotions and also can represent unbound joy. However, not every time is meant to have singing.
My name is Shira. But it’s not Shira. It’s actually Tzivya Chaya Liba. I didn’t like that name very much, and I have a feeling my parents didn’t either.
A song is the pen of the heart. It expresses the deepest parts of our hearts and souls, that which cannot be expressed through the medium of finite syllables.
It seems like forshpayz specifically refers to cold appetizers. In contrast, smorgasbord can include hot, cold, and a broader array of eats.
By Maayan Zik
Of course, I was generally aware of appetizers, but had no idea it held such a special space in the hearts of Eastern European Jews.
Jewish culture is just like the melting pot of America. We come in all colors, stripes, and flavors, and we are all lovable. The initial taste might be foreign at first, but when you really sit down to enjoy the meal together, you will grow to love it, too.
Picture this: It’s Sunday morning, you’ve just grabbed bagels and lox from your favorite appetizing shop. That smoked salmon? Forshpayz. Cream cheese schmear? Forshpayz. Whitefish salad? Forshpayz. This isn’t just any starter; it’s a whole production number.
It’s not just my stomach that craves forshpayz all year long; it’s my neshama.
Boker tov is not merely a salutation to others wishing them a “good morning,” it is also a mandate for myself to set a proper mindset to start my day.
By Nachum Segal
Kudos to those who give better impressions of themselves and our people by regularly adhering to these practices.
Let us all pray to Hashem for many more boker tov's when all our enemies will be destroyed.
By Martin Bodek
Reminds me of a famous Nathan Birnbaum vort: “The secret of a good sermon is to have a good beginning and a good ending, and having the two as close together as possible.”
July 24, 2026 
