by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Nov 30, 2012 | Lifeline
I remember, more years ago than I care to disclose, traveling to Israel for a summer program of study in a yeshiva (rabbinical school) for the first time. I planned the trip carefully; given that the university I was attending ended its year later than most, there...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Nov 9, 2012 | Lifeline
It’s not enough to “talk the talk;” so we learn from this week’s reading. In public, Ephron declared that he would give Avraham the Cave of the Patriarchs for free, but then he expected a massive payment of 400 Centurions (the equivalent of...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Oct 19, 2012 | Lifeline
When Lemech named his new son (at the end of last week’s reading, Gen. 5:29), he called the boy “Noach”, saying “this shall comfort us (yeNaCHameinu) from our work and the difficult labor of our hands.” But the name Noach was prophetic in...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Sep 21, 2012 | Lifeline
Rosh Hashanah, the Day of Judgment, gave us a chance to reflect upon the past, and perhaps make some New Year’s resolutions for the future. So why do we celebrate Yom Kippur, the Day of Repentance, ten days later? First and foremost, our Sages teach us that the...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Sep 7, 2012 | Lifeline
With the presidential race now so prominent in the collective American consciousness, the following story is especially apropos. In the Ohr Somayach Yeshiva in Jerusalem, there was an elderly native of the city who prayed with the Yeshiva each morning. On the morning...
