יום שני, ד׳ אלול תשפ״וMonday, August 17, 2026
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“In a problematic situation, when it is possible to be so critical, it is important to find the good, to connect with it, to love it, to increase it and then let it grow and look at reality,” Fraenkel said.
By JoeSettler
The Mennonites must understand, in God's eyes they are now Cursed.
By Moshe Herman
We can't defeat Israel in field combat, so let us beat them with their own power - the spirit! Thus did Balak, King of Moab reason, and hired the bizarro prophet Bilam to curse the Jews. Rabbi Mike Feuer joins Rabbi Yishai, and a talking donkey, in the fight to turn Bilam's curses into blessings.
For the first time in a while, the main characters of the parsha--Bilaam and Balak-- are NOT the people of Israel.
Bilaam not only doesn't appear to be great, he seems to be base as well as foolish (outsmarted by his own donkey!). So how can the midrash claim he was really at least as great a prophet as Moshe?
By Moshe Herman
This week, a "Spiritual Cafe" hour-long special: The Torah shifts its camera angle from a story about the Jewish people to the perspective of other nations who are afraid of Israel and their God. After realizing that physical weapons are futile, the evil King Balak hires the wicked wizard Balaam to curse the Jews - will he succeed? Rabbi Mike Feuer joins Rabbi Yishai for an in-depth discussion of this epic struggle between blessings and curses and trails the Biblical narrative which includes a wise-ass she-donkey who talks back to her master, a Godly angel with a drawn battle sword, and ill-advised Jewish forays into licentiousness and even fecal idolatry. Don't miss the drama!
By Moshe Herman
Yishai hosts ZOA Israel Director Jeff Daube, International Committee for the Preservation of Har HaZeitim (ICPHH) chair Abe Lubinsky, committee volunteer Dr. Paul Rosenstock and Rabbi Mike Feuer.Daube, Lubinsky and Rosenstock discuss the work of the ICPHH, dedicated to stopping the defilement of Judaism’s oldest and holiest cemetery, with more than 150,000 graves. Through neglect on the part of Israeli authorities and acts of anti-Semitism, it has been desecrated and its visitors and mourners attacked. Then, Yishai is joined by Rabbi Mike Feuer to delve into this week’s Torah portion, Balak, where curses are transformed into blessings.
By JoeSettler
Let's revel in Peter Beinart's unintended "Ma Tovu" praise of the Jewish state: "It’s modern; it’s democratic; it’s pro-American."
August 14, 2026 
