Hevron, where our forefathers are buried, and the Cave which the Zohar says is the entrance to the Garden of Eden.
Rabbi Kirsch is serving in Lebanon and sent this thoughtful article and photo.
What is unique about the marriage of Rebecca and Isaac? And why is this sort of description never repeated in the Torah?
Why not choose a wife for Yitschak from the families in Canaan? At a deeper level, the problem with the people of the land was not that they were idolatrous, but something harder to change.
If he did, what happened to her?
Why did the Torah find it necessary to testify that she remained righteous throughout her life, from beginning to end? And why did her end come after the Akeidah?
On the 34th Yahrzeit (18th of Cheshvan) of my brother Ha’Rav Meir David Kahana z"l
Are we bodies with souls or souls in bodies? This is not a question about how we will die but about how we live.
In the years ahead, I know these 28 teenagers will continue to grow, and their passion for Torah will continue to inspire those who were fortunate enough to witness this siyum.
This week's piece is dedicated to the refu'ah of my nephew- Noam Avraham ben Atara Shulamit. May Hashem grant him and all the other chayalim a complete and speedy recovery.
Sacrificing selfishness and embracing selflessness.
For Rabbi Kahane's yahrzeit. 'To the young, I offer a challenge. Be Jewish — totally, fully, completely. Throw yourselves into those waters that nourished and gave life — glorious life and meaning — to mere existence.'
The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life. It has revolutionized the way we think about G -d the human soul, the world and our place in it.
Challenges faced by Rav Yitzchok Hutner zts"l in the translation of his books and thought systems into English.
This month's Sara Litton z"l Mid-Monthly Emunah Essay talks about how even a small change in habits can be significant.
The extreme punishment of the people of Sodom came about not only because of what they did, but because of where they did it.
The void in the world—subsequently filled with so much evil—will not be replaced with goodness and holiness until our leaders begin speaking again about God
A personal memory.
Apparently, despite the tragedy and sorrow of our lives in this Land, the flow of nature continues, unperturbed. Yes, the sun is still brightly shining, and waves are still rolling in at the seashore. And kite surfers are catching the breeze.
Young religious Zionist Torah scholars find allusions to Eretz Yisrael in the weekly parsha.
Lawrence Mayor eulogizes the rabbi of the Harborview Beit Medrash congregation in Lawrence, New York and Rosh Mesivta at the Yeshiva of Far Rockaway, says 'Rabbi Kalish was not only a teacher but a guide and a friend to all who sought his counsel.'
This episode is counted by our Sages as the final, culminating test with which Hashem tested Avraham. But then why is it named for Isaac?
So what was this all about?
Abraham's search for truth was also part of truth.
Abraham's great test shows that dedication to God must not simply be a result of a Divine decree, but that we must rise to the level of feeling love and great happiness in fulfilling His Word.
Guests do more for the host than the host does for them. The guests get a meal and a place to sleep while the host derives immense satisfaction and pleasure from providing for them - and merits a mitzva besides.
The Sefer Tifferet Yehonasan [Bereishit 18’ 33’] offers, that in reality, Avraham’s prayers and efforts to save the wicked people of Sodom did not go unreturned
A significant portion of the Dutch population remains passive and even hostile towards Jews, maintaining virulent anti-Semitic sentiments. That explains what has occurred on a deeper level.
A message of unity and mutual respect came forth from Yavneh at the dark hour of national crisis after the Second Temple's destruction.
The meforshim present different ways that mitzvah observance helps us.
Avraham rushed to serve pagan guests.
Sodom and Amorrah are societies where the people mask their immorality behind the disguise of the values of charity and law.
As long as Rachel is crying for her children, she is alive. And so are we. She suffers over our plight, but she is still very much with us. As long as she responds to our prayers and comforts us, she continues to be.
Mother Rachel weeps for her children, says Jeremiah, and today she cries for her daughters, those awaiting their soldier husbands, brothers and sons safe return, and those weeping at new and hallowed graves.
The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life. It has revolutionized the way we think about G -d the human soul, the world and our place in it.
The founders of our nation could not have attained their exalted status without the accompanying nurturing of the Holy Land.
Rachel indeed suffered greatly in her life, but she never gave up.
The basic trait of faith exists in all humans; however, among Jews, it appears with enhanced intensity that drives them towards eternal progress, and rectification of the world.
Kristallnacht marked a dramatic escalation in the Nazi’s treatment of Jews.
Abraham shows un that one must act to save himself, but also pray for G-d's salvation in case it does not work out.
Much happens in the 24 years that Parashat Lech Lecha spans, and it can be summarised in one sentence: By the end of the Parashah, the Jewish nation had come into existence.
Spending a lifetime polishing my coping mechanisms, how do I hear the call?
Why didn't Abraham perform the brit milah before G-d told him to?
It was the task of Avraham and his progeny to pick up where Adam and Noach did not succeed and to lead the world back to Hashem via a restoration of the pristine state of affairs under which the world was created.
God participates in our personal and national development, taking pride in our advances forward and supporting us when the journey seems arduous.
Beware becoming too intertwined with America.
Avraham’s spirit elevated Hagar into an entirely different person.
When a doctor is cutting out cancer, leaving even one cancerous cell behind makes the entire surgery worthless. It needs to be eradicated entirely.
The Tanya compacts four millennia of Jewish wisdom to answer the great personal and existential questions of life. It has revolutionized the way we think about G -d the human soul, the world and our place in it.
Asking for rain comes to remind us that not everything is under our control; this is called humility.
JFK: Let us not seek to fix the blame for the past. Let us accept our own responsibility for the future.
TheTorah commandments to go forth to war when Jewish life in Israel is threatened and the injunction not to stand idly by when your Jewish brother is being killed, these Torah obligations apply to all Jews the world over.
Humans naturally believe , Since Jewish faith manifests in all areas of life, it is a commandment to establish it in three circles that encompass human life: in consciousness, in emotion, and in life as a whole
The rainbow is a symbol of love and unity. Just as the diversity of colour is what gives the rainbow its beauty, so it is with our diversity as a people.
The same Noah who before the flood did not see fit to plead for his generation, now stands, according to the midrash, and demands a promise that there will be no more destruction.
What is the connection between honoring Torah scrolls and respect for human remains?
Young religious Zionist Torah scholars find connections in the weekly Torah reading to the Holy Land.
Thank goodness, Noah was no saint
There is a message in the meanings of two Hebrew words in this week's Torah reading.
