by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Oct 3, 2022 | Lifeline
In Psalm 130, there is a statement that requires explanation. “If G-d should preserve wrongdoing, HaShem, who will stand? Because forgiveness is with You, in order that You be revered.” [130:3-4] The first of these verses seems straightforward: since we...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Sep 23, 2022 | Lifeline
Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Judgment, is also, per the majority opinion in the Talmud, the sixth and final day of Creation. It is on this day that Adam and Eve, the first couple, were brought into the world. And as we know, Adam was initially Created as a single...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Aug 5, 2022 | Lifeline
In this week’s Parsha, the first in the Book of Devarim, Deuteronomy, Moshe recounts before Israel the episode of the spies, in which one representative of each of the twelve tribes entered into Israel to spy it out, and they returned with an evil report (see...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Jul 21, 2022 | Lifeline
In this week’s reading, G-d tells Moshe to ascend Mt. Avarim and look upon the Promised Land, which Moshe would not enter. Rather, he would soon pass away, as his brother Aharon had before him. Moshe immediately (and selflessly) calls upon HaShem to appoint a...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Jun 2, 2022 | Lifeline
Saturday night begins the holiday of Shavuos, the day when we received the Torah at Mt. Sinai. There is a common custom, observed in many Jewish communities, to spend all of Shavuos night awake, studying Torah, preparing to receive it in the morning. This custom...
