Articles:
Its Not So Simple!
Beside for having a problem on your hand - you may have a godol on your hand. One of the greatest tragedies of our times is when every once in a while a young man or women makes a decision to walk away from generations of tradition, from years of education, from the...
Behaaloscha 2003
G-d does not always do things to the way we feel they should be done. The Jewish people were ready to move. They were on their way to Eretz Yisroel. But Miriam couldn't move. Miriam became ill with Tzoraas and had to be in quarantine for seven days. Three million...
Counting the Jews – and Every Jew Counts!
Things that we love we count. Why Hashem counts us – and how we have our own counting to do.
The Festival Cycle
Holidays are those times in the year which draw our attention to a special message underlying them. They ask us to take to heart certain fundamental truths that they aim to impress upon us. Rising above the other days of the year, they call us out of our humdrum existence, to dedicate to them our minds and lives.
Our daily life is devoted to our ordinary pursuits and activities by means of which we strive to build our future. The holidays interrupt our labors, to revive those fundamental ideas upon which our life is based.
We Have Arrived in the Land
“Ki Savo – when you arrive in the Land”. We have arrived! God gave us a gift called Israel. He gave it to us once and because of our behavior He took it back. He gave it to us a second time and because of our mishigass He took it away. Now, He’s giving it to us for a third time! Once again – we have arrived!
Ki Savo 2004
As the argument continued Moshe smiled. “Today”, he said, “I see you really are a people!” (Rashi and Mosif Rashi)
Why did Moshe smile? Because today they owned the Torah they felt it was theirs. Each group felt that they deserved the Torah and couldn’t live without it. They loved the Torah and argued for it.
Re’eh 2003
As we welcome in the month of Elul and we begin our preparations for a New Year, we must keep in mind our G-d given challenge. ‘Leshichno Tidrishu’, always keep searching for Jerusalem, ‘Uvoso Shama!’ and you will get there. We are leaving tomorrow!
Eikev 2006
Reflections on the 2006 Israel – Lebanon War through the lens of the Parsha parshas Ekev.
Eikev 2005
We speak of sensitivity as if it is some sort of disease. We often tell our spouses, our children or our employees to stop being so sensitive. We work on ourselves and exercise our emotions so that we should become less sensitive. We speak of sensitivity as if it is...
Eikev 2003
Sensitive people are able to feel what others cannot.
Space has its markers.
When we visit places that we had visited as a child the energy of that place is released and brings back all the memories that seemed to be stored up there waiting for you to return and enjoy them. Time also has its markers. Birthdays, anniversaries, yahrtzeits , all of these markers take us back on a journey as we remember a particular day in our lives, a certain day in history. This Shabbos is a special marker for me personally. Parshas Eikev was the Shabbos of my Aufruf. Many years later the week of Eikev was my first Shabbos in Australia. As time went on Parshas Eikev was also the very first time I spoke from the pulpit of Congregation Bais Torah which led to my succeeding Rabbi Berel Wein and continuing his legacy.
This week, with G-ds help, our family will be moving to Yerushalayim!
Talk to the Rock! G-d May Suprise You
Moshe was grieving for his sister. In his frustration, He admonished the people, and called them "morim" which has the same letters as Miriam (MRYM), he said: Miriam is dead; how will I ever be able to get water from a rock without her? Miriam occupied a very special...
Are You Stuck?
The greatest attribute of our people is that we are a stiff necked people. The greatest fault of our people is that we are a stiff necked people! There was a plague in the desert which was caused by the complaining and bickering of the Jewish people. They were...
Passover
Table of Contents Background The Month Of Nisan Maot Chittin A Pre-Passover Custom Passover Guideline for Passover Preparations The Passover Seder Background Our ancestors originally arrived to live in Egypt in order to escape the harsh famine in the land of Canaan....
Forgiveness Exercises
A. Make a list of the people you have hurt including your relatives. Next to each name indicate what you did and the effect it had. Write down why you feel badly about it. Try asking them or writing them a letter for forgiveness. If the person is no longer alive take...
Defining Spirituality
I once spoke with a man who was stationed outside New Delhi in India, had changed his name to Swama Ganganti and was the head of the entire educational system of Hari Krishna. He came to see me wearing flowing orange robes and with clay on his head. "Why? I asked him....
Peace Within; Peace Without
I recently returned from a trip to Israel. During the four days of my trip, I stood on Har Gilo studiously staring at Beit Jala wondering why anyone would want to shoot at me from what looked like one sleepy village to another. I was frisked from head to toe to enter...
Rise to the Call (2006)
Perhaps our minds are clouded by our idea of what we should become, and G-d's idea just gets in the way. Whatever happened to Betzalel? The Talmud tells a story. Rabbi Tarphon was ill and his very important friends, Rabbi Akiva, Rabban Gamliel and others, came to...
What Is Your Purpose? (2004)
Perhaps our minds are clouded by our idea of what we should become, and G-d's idea just gets in the way. Whatever happened to Betzalel? The Talmud tells a story. Rabbi Tarphon was ill and his very important friends, Rabbi Akiva, Rabban Gamliel and others, came to...