by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Nov 14, 2014 | Lifeline
Following the death of his wife Sarah, Avraham purchases the Machpela cave from Ephron the Hittite to use as a burial site. Ephron makes it sound as if he is prepared to give the cave to Avraham, but in the end takes a tremendous sum for the property. At the end of...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Nov 7, 2014 | Lifeline
Have you ever heard of Elimelech Goldberg? Don’t worry, I hadn’t either. [Dr. Elimelech Goldstein, the volunteer medical director of Hatzalah of Baltimore, is a friend and former roommate, but that’s another story entirely.] But if you’re...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Oct 31, 2014 | Lifeline
In this week’s reading, we learn about two wealthy individuals. Avram, as he was then called, gave up his local work and reputation to move to the land of Cana’an, where, he was told, he would receive much greater blessings. And, as promised, he prospered....
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Oct 8, 2014 | Lifeline
One of the themes of the holiday of Sukkos is that we are all bound together. The Torah tells us to take four species: the Esrog, a citrus fruit with a pleasant taste and smell; the Lulav from a Date Palm which produces fruit but is not fragrant; Hadasim, myrtle...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Oct 2, 2014 | Lifeline
On Yom Kippur, we are invited to “clean the slate” of all the misdeeds of the past year. In a way, it’s like hitting the reset button. When we restart our computer, all of the old programs that were sitting there, using memory and slowing down the...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Sep 24, 2014 | Lifeline
Each week, as I write this note, I try to say something tied to the weekly Torah reading. On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, I’d like to speak a little bit about Shabbos! Well, not just the theory or regular practice, but a special Shabbos that is planned for October...
