I would like to share a thought about Yom Kippur. As Rav Dovid Kronglass used to say, this is the most important week of the year. We have a tremendous task in front of us and that...
One of the most urgent segments of our Rosh HaShannah and Yom Kippur liturgy is the proclamation we say with great feeling, “Us’shuvah us’filah u’tzedakah ma- avirin es ro-ah hagizeirah – And Repentance, and Prayer, and Charity remove a...
As we approach a string of three three-day yamim tovim, people are thinking about their hygiene and comfort, including showering and brushing teeth. I will discuss here the longstanding debate about the permissibility of brushing teeth on Shabbos and...
As we find ourselves deep in the heart of Elul—the month of reflection, preparation, and return—Ashkenazic communities around the world are preparing to begin Selichos this coming Motzei Shabbos. A...
“Coronation Night” – that is how one of the great spiritual masters would define the night of Rosh Hashanah. In a 1974 sermon, Rabbi Yosef Dov Soleveitchik (1903-1993), one of the great Jewish thinkers of the last century, related...
A little over a year ago, I got an ice bath and I am proud to say I hardly miss a day of spending three minutes immersed in 45-degree water. Many studies now show the health benefits of...
There are various aspects to the relationship we share with Hashem: at times it is compared to that of a child and father, at other times to a servant and master, and in yet another dimension to a...
Dear Rabbi and Shira I’m engaged to a great young woman. We connect well, have similar life goals, and are excited to get married and spend the rest of our lives together....
