If I Forget Thee
“If I forget thee O’ Jerusalem, let my right hand wither” (Psalms 137:5 - Im esh’kachech Yerushalayim, tishkach y’meenee)...poignantly expresses the Jewish people’s longing for Jerusalem.…
Jews and War
The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) is one of the world’s top fighting forces. This is not so surprising when one recalls that the Bible is filled with references to military might. Even…
Hey Handsome
Religion is about spirituality, morals and becoming a better person. One might, therefore, assume that physical beauty is beyond the Torah’s spectrum of interest. But the Torah makes a…
North American Shtetl
The word shtetl, invokes images of the pre-Holocaust Eastern European Jewish community. It might come as a surprise, therefore, that there actually are shtetlach in North America! Here…
Personal Responsibility
In the beginning, there was...taking responsibility for one’s own actions. This important lesson is found in the very first portion of the Torah not once, but twice. Adam and Eve were…
The Fast Of Gedaliah (Tzom Gedaliah)
The Fast of Gedaliah is observed to commemorate the murder of Gedaliah the son of Achikam, which is described in the last chapter of the Second Book of Kings. This murder resulted in…
The Incomplete Repentance
“Repentance” sounds like a grand and powerful word. In truth, the most important adjective that must be attached to the act of repentance is the word “sincere.” At one time or another, we…
The Importance of Dad
Where does a child learn to be a mentsch? From his/her parents! Indeed, in the Talmud (Sukkot 56b) it even notes that a child repeats in the streets what he/she hears at home.…
Shabbetai Zvi, False Messiah
Born in Smyrna, Turkey, in 1626, Shabbetai Zvi was considered a promising Talmudic scholar who showed strong skills in the study of Kabbalah (Jewish mysticism). However, he was noted…
The Book of Ruth
Ruth was the Moabite wife of Machlon, one of the sons of Elimelech and Naomi, a wealthy couple who had fled Bethlehem during a bitter famine and settled in Moab, a neighboring country…