by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Nov 20, 2025 | Lifeline
In this week’s parsha, Avraham went to Abimelech, King of Gerar, to complain about a well of water that Avraham’s servants dug to provide water for his people and flocks, but which Abimelech’s servants had stolen. Instead of simply apologizing and taking...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Oct 17, 2025 | Lifeline
Rabbi Eliyahu Kramer, known as the Vilna Gaon (the genius of Vilna), taught that the entire Torah is contained within its first book, Bereishis (“In the Beginning”), that Bereishis is contained in its first parsha (portion), this week’s reading, that the...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Sep 26, 2025 | Lifeline
In this week’s reading, Moshe announces to the people of Israel that he can no longer lead them. “He said to them, ‘I am 120 years old today; I can no longer come and go, and Hashem said to me, “you shall not cross the Jordan River”’” [31:2]. Lest they think...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Sep 19, 2025 | Lifeline
Several weeks ago, I was honored to be invited to provide a D’var Torah on the High Holy Days, which would be distributed by a rabbinic organization to their membership. I turned it down. Usually, I am not one to turn down such invitations, but to write about the...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Aug 29, 2025 | Lifeline
In our Torah reading, the Jewish nation is told that they may have a king, but “only that he may not acquire a large number of horses for himself, and not return the nation to Egypt in order to add a horse” [17:16]. This is the first thing that we are told...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Aug 22, 2025 | Lifeline
Our Torah reading this week enjoins us to maintain Torah practices, no matter what others believe or have done. This begins within ourselves, as the Torah directs us away from “every man doing whatever is right in his eyes” [12:8]. But we are told not to...
