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...