30 Jan WAR AND EPIDEMICS
The 1848 (5608- 9) cholera epidemic has become famous in Jewish history because it was the moment when the 37- year old Rav Yisrael Salanter first took on a leadership role. Rav Dov Katz, in his Tenu’as Ha-Mussar (vol....
16 Jan SCIENTIFIC EXPERIMENTATION ON TREES
In their first three years, trees produce fruit that are orlah, which we are forbidden to eat or derive any benefit from them. We exhibit the important trait of patience in order to give the tree time to grow...
09 Jan MAY WE DAVEN FOR IDF SOLDIERS ON SHABBOS?
In 1438, a great meeting of German rabbis was convened in Nuremberg during which the rabbis issued a number of communal enactments. During Shabbos davening, R. Nosson of Eiger, a senior rabbi who had taught many of the rabbis...
02 Jan WHAT TORAH SHOULD A SOLDIER LEARN?
A soldier in active times, which sadly we find ourselves at the time of this writing, often has only a few minutes a day in which he can learn Torah. In this extremely limited time, what should he...
26 Dec JEWISH SOLDIERS AND THE WAR DIVORCE
Soldiers go out to war and do not know if they will return. If the worst happens and they do not return, their wives cannot remarry without proof of death. To avoid the possibility of widespread agunah problems, for...
19 Dec BRINGING A GUN INTO A SHUL
Laws about gun control serve as perpetual fuel for political debates. However, everyone agrees that some people should carry guns in some circumstances. Whether police officers or soldiers, on duty or prepared for duty, some people need to carry guns...
12 Dec CHANUKAH AND DAVENING FOR IDF SOLDIERS
How does a soldier light Chanukah candles? There is an important rabbinic commandment to light Chanukah candles (really, flames) for all eight nights of Chanukah. Normally, we light in our homes, either in the window or right outside the...
05 Dec CHANUKAH AND DAVENING FOR IDF SOLDIERS
I. Davening for a Soldier We daven for a time when there will be no more war. We also daven that until that time arrives, our soldiers return from the battlefield to their families and their lives. Is...
28 Nov SHABBOS SHOES
I. Shabbos Clothes We greet Shabbos and spend the entire day clean and proper, dressed in fine clothes. Do we also need to wear fine shoes that we have designated for Shabbos? The Gemara (Shabbos 119a) says that...
21 Nov RELIGIOUS INSPIRATION IN RESPONSE TO CRISIS
I. Aliyah in Response to Crisis We learn from Ya’akov that the common response to danger, to plead with G-d, is proper. People promise to become better if they or their loved ones survive the crisis. They genuinely grow...