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 …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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7/13/22
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There is no more tragic figure in the entire Torah than Moshe Rabbeinu, our ultimate teacher. And there is no part of the story of his life in the Torah that is more confounding and mysterious …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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7/6/22
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A few weeks ago, at a now much publicized Rosh Chodesh prayer service at the Kotel, things got ugly.
As they have been doing for nearly 25 years, a group …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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6/29/22
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This week’s parsha, Shelach, contains one of the most challenging stories in the entire Torah: the story of the spies.
It’s an incredible moment in Jewish history. With the …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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6/28/22
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Raymond Smullyan, in his book “5000 BC and Other Philosophical Fantasies,” posits the question of two identical twin brothers, one who always lies and the other who always tells the …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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4/6/22
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There are moments in time one needs to forget. Often, though, these are moments we really need to remember.
Such a moment came into my life on Aug 9th (the 20th of Av) in 2001.
An beautiful …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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4/25/22
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It was only a fraction of a moment of my time in the army, but it was a lesson I never forgot, though to this day I am undecided as to whether I agree with it.
We were still in basic training, …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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3/2/22
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Some lessons you learn the hard way, and they are never forgotten.
In Infantry Officer’s training there is an obstacle course known as the “A’son Teva” (Freak of …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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2/4/22
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In 1860, a relatively unknown one-term congressman named Abraham Lincoln stunned the country by prevailing over three prominent rivals — William Seward, Salmon Chase, and Edward Bates …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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2/10/22
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While Westerners most often view Sunday morning as a chance to sleep late, relax with the family, and catch up on the news, for most Israeli soldiers it can be the most depressing moment of the …
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By Binny Freedman
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1/26/22
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