There is a pasuk in the Book of Yirmiyahu (8:6) which, I believe, encapsulates what this month, the month of Elul, is all about. Yirmiyahu made the following observation about the people in his time: There is no...
May one buy cut fruit from a store that does not have a Hechsher? No! We get this question all the time. People are invited all the time to meetings in non-kosher places...
Make a Confession! I want to achieve an ambitious goal with this essay: I want to bring back confession to Judaism. People attribute confession to Catholicism; they think it is the job of the priests. I believe it...
When you ask a rabbi a question, you are committing yourself to following his answer. But what if you didn’t ask? Do you still have to follow his ruling? Put in a different way, and a bit more...
The Kasav Sofer, zt”l, zy”a, says that the blowing of the shofar during Elul reminds us of the objective of shapru ma’aseichem, make your ways prettier. (Shofar and shapru, to be pretty, share the same root.) One of the...
Consider a scenario where an individual is brought before a court on suspicion of grave offenses. Incriminating actions are captured in recorded videos, seemingly providing concrete evidence. However, the accused contests the charges, admitting that they appear in the video...
Linkage Between Sinas Chinom and Absence of Simcha [Between Needless Hatred and Absence of Joy] At the end of the Tochacha [verses of rebuke in our Parsha], the pasuk [verse] says that these ninety-eight terrible curses come “as the...
If your child or grandchild ask you – do you care more about my being happy and successful or my being kind – what would you answer? Our Parsha tells the story of the rebellious son. Our Rabbis teach...
Sometimes, one writes an article that touches a familiar chord with the reader, evoking a memory. This past week, I wrote about hashavas aveida, the mitzva of returning a lost object. The article prompted my...
The Torah in Parashat Ki-Tabo presents the Misva of Bikkurim, which obligates a farmer to take the first fruits that ripen, bring them to the Bet Ha’mikdash, and give them to the Kohen. The unique importance of...