Rabbi Sender Haber

Rabbi, Monsey, NY

Parashas Shoftim: Royal Retrospection

My father grew up in Buffalo, NY. At one point he decided that he would like to become a Rabbi in Buffalo. He went to Israel and studied in Jerusalem for many years until he was ready to go back and become a Rabbi. Everyone thought he was crazy. “You’re leaving...

Vacation in Lakewood

Vacation where?! I get the same response from everyone. Lakewood is pretty intense town. Even during the three week summer break the dress code stays the same: black pants, white button down shirts, jackets and hats. Everyone davens three times a day in serious...

Good Faith

Several months ago, I received an email from a Navy Officer asking me not to sell his Chometz. He could have sold it to me, but he felt like the buyer would have no access. The Chametz was in an undisclosed and secure location in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, or...

Competing With Ramadan

About fifteen years ago, I joined a group of ten Yeshiva Bochurim and we went on vacation. We rented a house on Hunter Mountain in Upstate New York and we planned daily activities for ourselves. There was a tiny, old, shul in Hunter and (even though we had our own...

Our Battle at Craney Island

On June 19th, 2013, I was honored to share the following words with the graduating class of Toras Chaim elementary school in Portsmouth, VA: The evil prophet Bilaam went up on a mountain so that he could look down and see how isolated and alone we were. We weren’t...