Enthralled by Wells It seems that our Avos, the Founding Fathers of Judaism, were enthralled with wellsprings. First, the Torah tells us of Avraham’s involvement in well-digging and his rebuke to the king of the Plishtim for allowing his...
A dear friend of mine often sees headlines or stories in the secular world and tries to seek deeper meaning behind them. In this case, he posted on his WhatsApp status a picture of a football player and...
As New York prepares for the ‘free for all’ mayor- with subways and buses becoming fare-free, an interesting halachic question arises: may one ride a free bus or train on Shabbat? How convenient it would be— imagine riding across...
Dear Rabbi and Shira , Hi. I’m a weekly reader of your column. I figured this was the right place to ask my question. On my friend’s very first date, she got...
Rav Chaim Soloveitchik on Avraham’s Priorities: When Avraham told his servant to swear that he would faithfully fulfill the mission to find a wife for Yitzchak, the Torah describes Eliezer as “the elder statesmen of his home and the one...
In our Maariv prayers, we make a very important request of Hashem. “V’haseir Satan mil’faneinu u’mei’achareinu – Remove the Satan from in front of us and from behind us.” The simplest explanation of this petition is that we ask...
The Midrash (Bereishis Rabba 58:3) states, “Reb Akiva was teaching Torah and saw that his students were falling asleep. To awaken them, he asked, “Why did Esther rule over 127 countries? It’s because her ancestor Sarah lived 127 years.” The Chidushei HaRim zt’l explains that...
Can I buy non-kosher pet food to feed my pets? Yes. You can purchase non-kosher pet food. However, make sure that the pet food is not Basar B’chalav. This is because there is a prohibition...
The Torah in Parashat Hayeh-Sara tells the story of Eliezer, the trusted servant of Abraham Abinu, who was sent to find a suitable wife for Abraham’s son, Yishak. Abraham told Eliezer to go to his homeland, Aram Naharayim,...
On a recent Friday afternoon, my friend Chayale received a surprise gift package – a bottle of wine and a cake. She wasn’t expecting Shabbos guests. It wasn’t her birthday or anniversary. Her curiosity...