The namesake of our parasha is Balak, King of Moab. He correctly believed that his country was existentially threatened by the fledgling Jewish nation. As such, he sought to annihilate us before … more

Court: A place and a system any healthy society needs, but no one really wants to visit. Just like a judge: Someone you want as a friend, but not someone you want to meet at work all too often. A date in court is not something most people look forward to, and the feelings such a visit generates range from frustration and trepidation, all the way to outright fear and terror. more

The name name “Be’er Sheva” appears a total of nine times in Sefer Bereishit, and serves as the opening verse of our parasha, Vayatze: “And Jacob left Be’er Sheva and … more

In 1925, the American Astronomer Edwin Hubble demonstrated (as an extension of Vesto Slipher’s discovery in 1918) that the universe was not static, it was expanding: every galaxy in the … more

The second verse of our parasha presents the commandment to offer a korban olah, a completely burnt offering, in the Mishkan and later the Beit Hamikdash: “Command (tzav) Aaron and his … more

This week’s parsha, Vayeitzei, relates a powerful, primal vision of prayer: Jacob, alone and far from home, lies down for the night, with only stones for a pillow, and dreams of a ladder, with … more

One of the well-known halachot found in our parasha, Emor, is the law of retributive justice (lex talionis), known popularly as “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth (ayin tachat … more

I remember, as a high school student, hearing our rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, relate one of the questions he used to ask when interviewing prospective rebbeim for our high … more

Q uite a few years ago, I spent almost every Sunday afternoon in one of the great museums of the city where we then lived. I no longer remember what first stimulated my interest in art, and … more

Issue of Dec. 12 2008 / 15 Kislev 5769 Cedarhurst - Kehillas Bais Yehudah Tzvi (The Red Shul) will resume a weekly late night seder each Thursday night in the shul at 395 Oakland Avenue, running … more