“When Esav was forty years old, he took as a wife Judith daughter of Beeri the Hittite, and Basemath daughter of Elon the Hittite; and they were a source of spiritual rebellion to Yitzchok and to Rivka.” Bereishis 26:34-35 Esav was forty when he married. Up to that point, his focus in life was living…
This parsha contains a lot of foundational concepts to guide us in yiddishkeit, from acceptance to zeal. We see shidduchim, mourning over loss, bitachon, and suffering. Given the recent climate of events, it seems most appropriate to focus on bitachon and suffering.
How does one process the recent events that have fallen upon klal yisroel? How do we respond? How can we protect ourselves from harm?
Rabbi Tzvi Hollander, a frequent guest to our community, once shared a chiddush, a novel idea, with me regarding the Pesach Seder. He said when it comes to the Seder, we are all guests, even the Baal HaBayis, the host. As a result, when the Seder falls on Friday evening, we don’t sing Shalom Aleichem….
Last year I shared a mashal from the Arvei Nachal and words of insight from Rabbi Benzion Twerski on a way to approach this season and grow from it.
What’s the point of Shavuos? Is it cheesecake, or something more meaningful? Let’s find out.
The season of receiving the Torah is upon us. Now, time for cheesecake.
Today is 18 Iyar. Today is Lag B’Omer. Today is the day we build an inner bonfire. Tune in to learn how.
According to Bilvavi, there are three ways to grow spiritually:
Learn how to “be the matzo” and humbly grow during this period of Sefirah.
The Gemara, Pesachim 116b, teaches us that every generation should view itself as if it was the generation that left Mitzrayim. If we consider this in light of the bnei yisroel’s first Pesach, we have an interesting situation. HaShem instructs klal yisroel to take hyssop, dip it in blood, and paint the doorways of our…
The sidra gives us a retelling of the different korbonos that can be brought. Near the end, we are given an accounting of the sacrifices to bring for unintentional sins. We have a list for the Kohen, for a ruler, and for the individual. There’s a common misconception that has been made regarding the notion…
