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,...
Make Things Happen!
Yaakov's son Reuven saw that his mother Leah was barren. It was harvest time and Reuven was walking through the fields. He stumbled upon some dudaim, a medical herb that he thought would improve the Shalom Bayis situation at home. He picked them and gave them to his...
You Never Lost It
What do you do if you are going crazy looking for something you misplaced and you just can't find it anywhere? Say the following: 'Rabbi Binyamin said: The whole world is blind until G-d opens our eyes and we see' (Breishis Rabba 52) Then make a pledge to the charity...
An Honest Mitzvah
Mitzvah, honesty, Amalek, Moses, Whenever we perform a mitzvah, we should ask ourselves whether our motive is perhaps to avoid doing some other less pleasant, but more important, mitzvah.
Hearts Of Darkness
Everyone has been asking: "Rabbi, what time can I daven in the morning? It seems to get light so late!" There are a number of answers to this question. One third of all adults in the USA own a smart phone. Within seconds you can get the exact moment of Alos HaShachar,...
Ruach
The hopeful and encouraging words of Moshe fell flat. "I have come to set you free! G-d has made me a messenger to facilitate the Geula!" But They did not listen to Moshe because of shortness of breath, kotzer ruach, and because of strenuous work. What is this "Kotzer...
Just Do It!
Shmuel Fixler A"H, a wonderful Jew who lived in Buffalo, NY, when I served as Rabbi there, once taught me a valuable lesson. Reb Shmuel was a Holocaust survivor. He had been through Hell, and the Nazis not only murdered most of his family, they also killed his...
A Little Eisavkeit
Lately, I’ve been intrigued by the struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, Yaakov and Esav. The actual struggle between these two brothers became the prototype of the Jewish struggle with myriads of outside forces and enemies that wanted to destroy us....
Soul Sacrifice
We know about giving up some of our personal comfort to help someone else. We know about giving up some of our spirituality to save a life or to help another human being live healthier. We even know about giving up personal comfort to help someone spiritually. But how...
