I’m feeling okay about the nine days this year. Even Tisha B’Av! That may sound radical, so let’s explain why. The Talmud (Yoma 5) describes a scene toward the desecration and destruction of the Beis HaMikdash by the Babylonians. According to the Medrash in Eicha, a...
Devarim-Chazon
"Chazon Yeshayahu". A vision of Yeshayahu! The Medrash [Shir Hashirim Rabbah Ch. 3] taught that there are ten levels of prophecy. Sometimes prophecy comes in a dream, sometimes as a feeling and sometimes as a voice. Which kind of prophecy was the harshest? Rabbi...
All Alone Together
It's tough to be alone. Loneliness is possibly one of the most painful experiences in the human experience. I'm not sure if there is anyone alive that can take being completely alone. We always read Parshas Devarim on the Shabbos preceding Tisha B'Av. There is a...
The Eicha Revolution
The Kotzker Rebbe observed: “There is no place lonelier than a room full of people.” Walk into a wedding or a Bar Mitzvah. Everyone is eating, dancing and singing. Who would think that loneliness is even possible in this room? But if you are a stranger in that room,...
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...
Shabbat Devarim 5747
A thought for the week on Parashat Devarim
