16 Apr A BLUEPRINT FOR A SUCCESSFUL LIFE
In families all over the world and through the millennia, the Seder ritual has started off with the chanting of Kadeish, U’rchatz, Karpas...
09 Apr DAVENING FOR A PURE MOUTH
After saying the Yi’h’yu l’ratzon following Sim Shalom, some people have the minhag to say the kapital of tehillim “Shir lama’alos, esa einai el haharim,” before commencing Elokai n’tzor. This is based on the opinion of the Asora...
02 Apr GETTING READY FOR PESACH
Pesach preparations are complex and multi- faceted. Way before Pesach, many people personally go to the matzah bakery and physically assist in the baking of the matzos, fulfilling the Talmudic dictum, “Mitzvah bo yotzeir m’b’shlucho – It is a...
26 Mar PESACH CLEANING
The world over, Jews will soon be wrapped- up in the annual search for chometz. Most of us are also aware that this is not simply s p r i n g - c l e...
19 Mar THE BRACHOS OF HASHEM’S LIGHT
The bracha of Sim Shalom continues, “Bar’cheinu Avinu. kulanu k’echad – Bless us our Father (Hashem), all of us as one.” The Rokei’ach interprets this to mean, ‘Like our forefather Avraham, who is known as the one,” as it...
12 Mar DAVENING FOR OUR PEACE AND WELFARE
In the blessing of Peace, we ask, “Sim shalom, tova uverachah – Grant us peace, goodness and blessing,” Rav Chaim Kanievsky, zt”l, zy”a, explains we clarify that we only ask for Peace which has the qualities of goodness and...
05 Mar ESTHER’S STORY
The Gemora in Megillah teaches us that Esther requested, “Kavuni l’doros – Affix me for all generations,” please write my story for posterity. This is a very strange request. We know that a common denominator of all our great...
27 Feb GREATLY IMPROVING OUR LIVES THROUGH BETTER TEFILAH
Most of us, upon blunt and honest reflection, will sheepishly and ashamedly admit to ourselves that our tefilos are very sub-par. We realize to our dismay that even though we’ve been praying for decades, we don’t even know...
20 Feb DAVENING FOR PEACE!
The final blessing of Shemone Esrei is Sim Shalom, where we ask Hashem to “Grant us Peace.” The Tur, zt”l, zy”a, explains that since right before this blessing we say the Birkas Kohanim, of which the Torah says,...
13 Feb THE CRITICAL QUALITY OF A GIVING NATURE
Parshas Terumah is all about generosity and giving. This trait translates practically into our most important relationships. Rav Elya Lopian, Zt”l, introduced a fundamental lifetime concept: To strengthen one’s love for another person, one should give to that person. This...