On Friday, May 16, Jews around the world will celebrate Lag Ba’omer. Lag Ba’omer is a joyous day. In Israel, thousands flock to Miron, the burial site of Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai, the second-century Talmudic sage who passed away on this day.
Rabbi Shimon was the first to publicize and record …
Finding G-d
This week we marked the anniversary of the destruction of the first and the second Holy Temples in Jerusalem. This is without question the saddest day in the Jewish calendar. On this day, on the ninth of Av, we reflect on our exile and the many troubles we experienced. We …
Be An Unselfish Star
Shortly before his passing, Moses translated the Torah into all the extant languages of his time. The Torah could now be read and understood in Egyptian, Hittite, Assyrian, Aramaic, etc. This was considered a good thing. Many years later, the Greek King Ptolemy commissioned seventy-two Jewish sages to translate the …
Israel’s War is My War
“Will your brothers go to war while you sit here?”
After our ancestors conquered the lands on the East bank of the Jordan River, the tribes of Rueben, Gad, and half of Manasseh, asked for permission to settle there. The wide-open grasslands were perfect for pasture and these tribes were shepherds. …
Going Against Your Grain
Pinchas went against his grain when he slayed the Jewish prince Zimri who was openly cohabitateing with the Midianite princess Kazbi. Kazbi’s father, a powerful Midianite prince, coerced her into venturing among the Jewish men as a common harlot. Zimri, a Jewish prince grabbed her by the hair and dragged …
Lift Up, Don’t Put Down
On occasion, we all need to correct or critique someone. It might be a colleague, employee, sibling, child, or even a spouse. How do you tend to do it? Would you say something like, “You’re doing it all wrong, here watch me,” or “Let me show you a more efficient …
The Rebbe, Thirty Years
Tuesday, July 9, the 3rd of Tamuz, will be thirty years since the passing of the Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, my mentor, teacher, and inspiration. He was not just my Rebbe. He was the Rebbe of the people. Jews from far and wide consulted him. They sought his advice, …
G-d Is Knocking, Answer the Call
Moses appointed twelve emissaries to scout out the Holy Land and return with a report. The representative for the tribe of Ephraim was Moses’ primary disciple, Joshua. Until this time, the lad’s name was Oshua. But Moses added a letter to his name and called him Joshua.
Rashi, the famed eleventh …
Our Inherent Need to Matter
Would you rather earn a meager salary or be a kept man or woman and live in luxury? Most people like to live in luxury, but not at the price of their self-image and soul.
Reflecting on our early history, G-d lovingly proclaimed to Jeremiah (2:2), “Go and call out in …
Parsha Insights »
Korach: Food for Thought for your Dinner Table
Sunday: Ice
The name Korach shares its root letters with the Hebrew word Kerach, Ice. Korach led a rebellion against Moshe and the Divine order. What led Korach, a distinguished member of the tribe of Levi, to betray his tribesmen and his holy mission? It was his apathy. He was consumed …
Yearly Cycle »
The Nerve and The Miracle
I met a lovely young lady by the name of Chana Libah. She is a remarkable person and an amazing optimist. She had suffered multiple tumors and was in recovery from her latest bout. Chana Libah, undergoing a treatment regiment that would break a lesser person, spoke of her
travails with …
Concepts »
What Can We Do?
These past two days have been the most difficult for our people in the last fifty years. It was Simchat Torah, a time for rejoicing, yet it was a time of horror. Nearly a thousand members of our family were brutally murdered, more than a hundred were taken hostage, and …
Rabbi’s Desk »
What Can We Do?
These past two days have been the most difficult for our people in the last fifty years. It was Simchat Torah, a time for rejoicing, yet it was a time of horror. Nearly a thousand members of our family were brutally murdered, more than a hundred were taken hostage, and …
