by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Mar 7, 2012 | Lifeline
One of the major themes of the holiday of Purim is that events around us may not be as they seem, that this is a “topsy-turvy world” where things may be the opposite of what they appear to be. Reading the Megillah, one gets the impression that Mordechai...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Feb 17, 2012 | Lifeline
Many people labor under the misimpression that the traditional Jewish Sabbath, (Shabbos or Shabbat, depending upon whose pronunciation you use) is a limiting experience. You can’t go places, you can’t do things, you can’t even pick up the telephone...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Feb 3, 2012 | Lifeline
This week’s reading describes the miracle of the Mahn (Manna), the miraculous bread which G-d gave to our ancestors to eat in the desert. The people said they were hungry, they complained, and they were given an open miracle in return — along with...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Jan 20, 2012 | Lifeline
After the impact of six plagues, Pharoah had no choice. He would have had to give up. The commentaries (Ramban and Seforno) say that when G-d told Moshe that “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and I will increase my signs in my wonders in the land of...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Jan 6, 2012 | Lifeline
The blessing Jacob gives Judah concludes with the words: “his eyes will redden from wine, and his teeth white from milk.” Rabbi Yochanan says homiletically (Kesubos 111b) that you can read it as “teeth whiter than milk” — to give a smile...
