A male child’s first haircut is called an upsherin, which is taken from the German words “sherr” (cut) and “up” (off). It is also called chalakah. The mitzvah accomplished by cutting the hair is forming peyos on the child. The Chinuch...
INGREDIENTS: 1 1/2 sticks margarine 3/4 cup cocoa powder 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 3/4 cup brown sugar 3 eggs 3/4 cup flour Dash of salt 1/2 cup chocolate chunks DIRECTIONS This rich fudgy brownie is made with brown butter (or in...
This week’s parsha opens with the pasuk, “Shoftim v’shotrim titen lecha b’chol sh’arecha, Appoint judges and officers in all your gates.” (Devarim 16:18) The Torah is instructing the Jewish nation to appoint judges and officers in...
In this week’s parsha, we are commanded to adhere to the teachings of the Jewish Court: “According to the teaching that they will teach you and according to the judgment they will say to you, shall you do;...
I. Forbidden Images With Barbie in the news, it is an opportunity to discuss the halachic implications of Barbie dolls. From the perspective of hashkafah, there is much to discuss about the unrealistic body dimensions of Barbie dolls and...
It is told that in 1957, a large edifice in Tibet needed to be relocated, and so all the furniture, including a large, ancient clay statue, had to be moved. As the people were carrying this...
Parashat Shoftim begins with the command to appoint judges throughout the land: “Shoftim Ve’shoterim Titen Lecha.” While the simple meaning of this Pasuk is that it refers to courtroom judges, there is also an additional level of interpretation. The...
The Sefer Ha’Ikrim teaches: Just as we are certain the sun will shine tomorrow morning, that is the degree of certainty we should have that Hashem will help us. In fact, we are so confident that Hashem will help that...
First Anecdote: A man goes out with a woman on their first date. For the first three hours, he talks only about himself, his history, accomplishments and interests. Finally, he turns to her and says: “Enough of me...
Last week, we explained the objective of Elul is to achieve Ani l’Dodi, a closeness to my Beloved, namely to Hashem. We also suggested that a great way to acquire dveikus, attachment to Hashem, is to make meaningfully...