As we approach Yom HaShoah (Holocaust memorial day on 27 Nissan), Yom HaZikaron (Israel’s Memorial Day on 3 Iyar) and Yom Ha’Atzmaut (Israel’s Independence Day on 4 Iyar), Rabbi … more

I close my eyes and I’m there: a moment full of sound and fury and signifying … everything. Bullets flying everywhere, smoke grenades making it difficult to see, M-203 grenade … more

He was 137 years old. He had been through two traumatic events involving the people most precious to him. The first involved Isaac, the son for whom he had waited for a lifetime. When he came, … more

Dedicated to the sacred memories of my sister-in-law, Ruchama Rivka Sondra, my sister, Shulamit bat Menachem, and Shifra bat Chaim Alter, and the refuah shlaimah of Yosef Shmuel ben Miriam. Rav Aryeh Kaplan zatztal translates some of the key verses in our parasha in the following manner: more

The shofar sound this past Sunday began the wake-up call of the month of Elul that reminds us that Rosh Hashana will soon be upon us. As I look back at notes from previous years, I have found that the commentary of Rabbenu Bachaye on these coming parshas has found an important place in my own Elul and Teshuvah-focused experience. more

William Faulkner was a master of writing single sentences that span an entire page. Though they run on and on, the sentences could not be marked as “run-on” by a grammar teacher. It is a unique skill possessed by the loquacious, which marvels readers. The longest sentence I am aware of in the Torah has 34 words in it (Shmot 32:1). more

Moshe saw all the work, and behold they had done it. Just as G-d commanded, so they did. And Moshe blessed them.” more

They were a small group of pioneers with a mission. The year was 1940, and Jews by the tens of thousands were being herded into the ghettos of Nazi-occupied Europe. And while the Nazi hierarchy was meeting to determine the “final solution to the Jewish problem,” this small group was preparing the groundwork for what they believed would be the influx of refugees who would need a home and a place to call their own. more

In the middle of Devarim Chapter 4, in this week’s parsha Vaeschanan, Moshe describes a future when the people abandon G-d in pursuit of idols: “G-d will spread you among the nations, and … more

He never returned phone calls. He certainly never returned e-mails. He rarely smiled. He had very sophisticated tastes in wine and fine liquor. A seven-course gourmet dinner with a wine pairing at … more