by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Jan 29, 2021 | Lifeline
After crossing the Sea of Reeds, the Jewish People found themselves in an inhospitable desert. For 40 years, they ate a miraculous food called Mann, or Manna. Yet we read that G-d also provided both quail and water. Why was it necessary for them to eat food whose...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Jan 14, 2021 | Lifeline
Rabbi Meilech Biederman, a well-known teacher in Jerusalem, shared an incredible message this week, one that is worth sharing almost verbatim. Hashem told Moshe to arise early in the morning and stand before Pharaoh, because that is when he goes out to the water [see...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Dec 18, 2020 | Lifeline
The existence of the Haftarah, at least according to many sources, dates to the time of Chanukah. The Greeks prohibited observing the Sabbath and reading the Torah, and thus rabbis read related portions of the Prophets or Writings instead. These became the Haftarah...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Nov 27, 2020 | Lifeline
Yaakov (Jacob) leaves home, journeying towards Haran, where he knows his uncle lives, hoping both to find safety from his brother, and to marry a daughter from his uncle’s family. At the end of his first day travelling, the verse says that “he came to the...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Sep 17, 2020 | Lifeline
The verse says in Psalms [89:16], “Happy is the nation that knows the Teruah, the sound of the Shofar.” Rav Tzvi E. Hertzberg zt”l asks, “why is it such a great thing to know the sound of a Shofar — and how does blowing a Shofar make G-d less...
