Rebbe Levi Yitzchak, the Berditchever Rebbe (1740 – 1809), was a truly powerful personality. Under his leadership, the Jews of Berditchev were so imbued with eagerness to do mitzvoth, that they rose earlier than usual on the day a newborn was to be circumcised. They wanted to perform the mitzvah even before davening. Yet, on one occasion, the bris milah of the rebbe’s own grandson was delayed until late afternoon. Why? more

Imagine the shul in Sanz on Rosh Hashanah! Worshipers, wrapped in oversized talitot, standing shoulder to shoulder, led in prayer by Rebbe Chayim Halberstam, the Sanzer rebbe. No sound audible, except for the chanting of prayers ascending to the Throne of Glory. more

How can the Jewish people be comforted after the destruction? The Temple hasn`t yet been rebuilt! And why should our generation merit this any more than previous generations?! The Sfat Emet suggested that it`s not the merits of any particular generation that count; rather the accumulated merits of all generations continuously add up ... This truly is comforting, especially as we hear daily about Syria, Iran, internal divisions within Israel ... we really are moving forward, day by day! more

The Roman Emperor Hadrian was determined to rebuild Yerushalayim, not as a city holy to the Jewish people, but rather as a pagan city named Aeolina Capitalina. He re-issued the harsh decrees that Antiochus, the Syrian/Greek had imposed approximately two hundred years before, hoping to extinguish both the Jewish religion and the yearning of the Jewish people for independence from the oppressive Roman yoke. more

Included in our daily prayers is a special petition for rain, which wakens the slumbering seeds of the soil to provide food for mankind. “You cause the wind to blow and the rain to fall.” more

Orthodox Judaism is very difficult, if not impossible to define, since there is no unanimity of opinion as to what exactly one must believe or do to be considered one of its adherents. more

Nearly all civilizations and cultures have been focused upon the importance of time. We Jews are no exception to this well-nigh universal rule. By way of example, one need only cite the famous words of King Solomon as presented in the third chapter of his masterful examination of the human spirit known as Kohelet (Ecclesiastes). more

On the surface, the mitzvah of dwelling in the succah appears to be quite straightforward. The Rambam formulates the mitzvah in the following fashion: What is the mitzvah of dwelling in the succah? One should eat and drink and dwell in the succah for the entire seven-day period both at night and during the day in exactly the same manner that he dwells in his house during the other days of the year. Throughout the entire seven-day period a person should treat his house as a temporary dwelling and his succah as his permanent dwelling. more

There was once a time when mainstream American Orthodoxy was defined by the Hertz Chumash, the Birnbaum siddur and books by the Jewish Publication Society. In recent years, the rise of Haredi publishing house Artscroll, the expansion of newspapers Hamodia and Yated Ne’eman, and magazines such as Ami and Mishpacha, have changed the image of print in the Orthodox community. Dr. Yoel Finkelman of Bar Ilan University chronicles the development of English-language haredi publications in his book “Strictly Kosher Reading,” released over the summer. Dr. Finkelman was raised in Detroit and made aliyah in 1993. He resides in Beit Shemesh. more

Editor’s note: With a double parsha this week and the calendar edging closer towards Rosh Hashana, we present a second Torah column. Rabbi Etengoff is dedicating the following dvar Torah in memory of his sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra, and the refuah shlaimah of Yosef Shmuel ben Miriam. more