In Parashat Vaet’hanan, Moshe Rabbenu tells Beneh Yisrael that when they enter the Land of Israel, they will find things readymade for them: Large, good cities which you did not build; homes filled with goods that you did...
Perhaps one of the hardest commandments to understand — let alone fulfill — is Lo Sachmod, not to be jealous. As Ibn Ezra asks (Shemos 20:14), how can the Torah command us not to feel an emotion that comes...
Shabbos Nachamu is a perplexing time. Everyone is heaving a sigh of relief after the intensity of mourning, saying elaborate, tragic sequences of Kinos, and gritty fasting. Once again, we indulge in the merriment of music, meat and wine,...
The Nine Days. Tisha B’Av. A time to remember the churban Beis HaMikdash, the devastation of Yerushalayim, the pain and persecution of our people. Tragically, that was not the last churban to befall our nation....
Vain Tears At the surface, it seems like a very unfair response, recorded in the Talmud: The Torah—in Numbers and again in this week’s portion of Devarim—relates how when the twelve spies returned from scouting the Land of Canaan...
On April 11, 1944, a young Anne Frank wrote in her diary: Who has made us Jews different from all other people? Who has allowed us to suffer so terribly until now? It is God Who has made...
Leading to the sad day of Tisha B’Av, we read Haftarot with the rebukes of the prophecies. These rebukes are meant for us, and we should take them seriously. At the same time, it’s worthwhile to learn from...
Dear Rabbi and Shira, Thank you so much for your column. I enjoy reading it each week. I have been in the dating parsha for about a year now. My problem is...
In this issue we will discuss the halachos nine days. During the nine days we are not allowed to do many more actions than those that are customarily not done from Shivah Asar B’Tammuz through during the time before Rosh Chodesh...
I. Four Exemptions Soldiers in the field are often pressed for time and lack access to basic necessities like water. Of course, they have to eat to sustain their strength. Must a soldier wash his hands ritually before...