Perseverance
In this week's portion, Yitzchak (Isaac) reopens the wells dug by his father Avraham, which the Pelishtim had filled with earth. To avoid argument with the shepherds of Gerar, Yitzchak digs multiple new wells, until he finally digs a well and there is no further...
Living It
Many see the value of spirituality, and perhaps its necessity. They seek to infuse their lives with spirituality and nurture their relationship with the Al-mighty. How does one begin to live such a life? Abraham sends his servant Eliezer to find a wife for his son...
Continuing the Mission
What was the difference between Abraham and those who came before him? Why is Abraham known to most of us as the first of our three forefathers, while only those with a more advanced education have even heard of the Yeshiva of Shem [Noah's Son] & Ever [Shem's...
Turn Up the Volume
Sometimes I hear voices -- little voices. I could be at the verge of making a critical remark to a friend and a voice in my head tells me "Maybe you're rushing to judgement. It's possible his intentions were different." Those voices, expressions of a healthy...
We Need You
On the holiday of Sukkos, the Torah instructs us to take four species and wave them together. It seems a quite random act, without obvious meaning. Naturally, Jewish Sages have provided explanations of the deeper meanings behind this apparently bizarre ritual. The...
Yom Kippur Without Walls
Kol Nidrei, the opening prayer of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, comes at perhaps the most somber and awesome moment on the Jewish calendar. The melody is chilling, and it is said while Torah scrolls are held and a mood of seriousness engulfs the room. The...
Lessons from Wood-Choppers
A few days ago, I was invited to a local gathering in memory of David (Moshe Yosef) Reichenberg, who gave his life trying to rescue a child from electrocution during the Hurricane. Rabbi Naftoli Reich of Ohr Somayach shared a thought that has a lot of relevance to the...
Heads or Tails?
On the night of Rosh Hashana, many Jewish families have a custom to eat the head of a fish (gummy candy fish in my house) and say a short prayer playing upon the symbolism of the head. We pray that it be G-d's will that in the coming year "we should be at the 'head'...
Fear Tempered With Joy
In this week's reading, G-d Commands us to bring our first fruits to the Temple, and recite a passage found in the Passover Haggadah: "An Aramite [attempted to] destroy my father, and he went down to Egypt... And the Egyptians oppressed us... and we cried out to...
When the Going Gets Tough, Know That You are Tougher
Sometimes we feel like the challenges of life are insurmountable. When the going gets tough, even the tough want to give up. The Torah portion this week opens with a surprising dispensation for the soldier in the midst of war. "...you see among the prisoners a...
A Hero of Hurricane Irene, of Blessed Memory
For most of us in the path of Hurricane Irene, the storm turned out to be a significant inconvenience, rather than a disaster. Not having power at home for four days was annoying, but hardly a tragedy. The same cannot be said for one family from Monsey. Moshe Yosef...
It’s Alive!
One could read through the Torah and believe that it's merely a record of events, or a book of stories. While the text is certainly in story form, its teachings continue to have eternal relevance. The Torah's story is relevant not merely as history, but as a guidebook...
