Articles:
The Challenge of Chosenness
After the Nazis invaded the small village of Klausenberg, they began to celebrate in their usual sadistic fashion. They gathered the Jews into a circle in the center of town, and then paraded their Rebbe, Rabbi Yekusial Yehuda Halberstam, into the center. They began...
The Company Man
"Do not shame My holy name; sanctify me amongst the people of Israel, I am G-d." (Vayikra 22; 32) This is a strange juxtaposition. Chillul Hashem is the biggest aveira. Kiddush Hashem is the biggest mitzva. One would think that the person prone to making a Chillul...
Israel Independence Day
I originally wrote this article in 2008 but as I review it and read the headlines of the Israeli newspapers it seems even more relevant today. There is nothing that brings out my identity crises more than living in Eretz Yisroel on Yom Haatzmaut. This week a large...
Fire At the Seder
One of the great heroes of the Holocaust was Reb Kalman Klonymus Shapiro, the Piazetzner Rebbe. In the prime of his life as a Rebbe he was taken into the hell of the Warsaw Ghetto. He had a work load like everyone else, suffered from malnutrition, and was surrounded...
God Called Him Moshe
God called him Moshe The name “Moshe” is perhaps the most famous name in Jewish history. Moshe saved the Jewish people; Moshe performed miracles; Moshe told us how to act; Moshe brought us the Torah; Moshe led us through the desert. It is significant to note that...
In the Merit of Esav
In this week's parsha we read about the fateful meeting between Jacob and Esau. Jacob, on learning that Esau is approaching with four hundred men, "was very afraid and distressed" (Gen. 32:8), fearing that Esau might want to kill him for his previous behavior over the...
What Goes Up Must Come Down
If civil war breaks out in Rwanda, it might be because we couldn't find it in our heart to forgive our brother, spouse or neighbor. Jacob dreamed of a ladder. In the dream Angels of G-d climbed up the ladder and then Angels came back down. Angels originate in the...
It’s Only Beans!
Yaacov saw the big picture. Esav saw a bowl of beans. Yaacov saw the big picture; he saw the unfolding of Jewish history. Esav saw a bowl of beans. This is both the story and the message of this week's Parsha. Its not that Esav didn't appreciate his...
Finding the Sparks
The Chasidim speak about raising the sparks. During the process of creation holy sparks flew out of their targets and landed in some of the most unlikely places on Earth. One of the main functions of man is to find these holy sparks, remove them from their unholy...
Abraham’s Retirement Package
For Avrohom Avinu, at ninety nine years old things started popping. When we think about a Bris Milah we immediately conjure up images of a new life, a new beginning and a fresh start. Our Parsha begins when Avrohom Avinu was ninety-nine years old. He had just had a...
Do We Really Believe in God?
We talk and act as if we believe in God but do we really believe? Noach built an ark, gathered animals even devoted his life to warning people about the great flood.
Responsible Chinuch
A Shabbos Shuva Drosha by Rabbi Yaacov Haber, Ramat Beit Shemesh 5770 I remember as a child growing up in ‘anywhere USA’ meeting two shluchim of Torah U’mesorah. They had come to our town to talk to parents about sending their children to a Yeshivah. They were...
Rosh Hashana
Close your eyes and imagine what the world must have looked like on the first day of creation. Pristine, fresh, untainted, healthy and unpolluted. Man is created. He is naive, pure and innocent. His face shines from the goodness of his unadulterated soul. His tongue...
Take Your Shoes Off
When Moshe Rabeinu approached the burning bush he heard G-d speak to him. "Take off your shoes!" G-d commanded. "You are standing on holy ground." Why did G-d command Moshe to take off his shoes, and not to cover his head or prepare his heart? There is a great...
Never Enough!
Moshe stood on Har Nevo on the Eastside of the Jordan. He wanted to enter the Land of Israel. He was only steps away but he was refused entry. He looked at Eretz Yisroel. The Torah records that from that point he was able to see across Israel all the way to the...
Chazon! A Vision
Today I was sitting with my studies in my dining room when my neighbor knocked on the door. He was insistent: "You must come and look!" Behind my home sits one of G-ds masterpieces. The beautiful green Judean hills go on for miles toward Jerusalem and Hebron. One can...
Right Eyed
Some people are right handed while others are left. Apparently, there are right footed people and left footed people. Neurologists have discovered that there are right brained men and women and others that are left brained. The mekubalim have taught us yet another...
The Jewish Response
At this time, during the three week period before the Ninth of Av, when so many afflictions have befallen the Jewish people, I want to suggest to you an outlook appropriate for the period. Let me begin with a true story from the Six Day War. As you may know, many...