PARSHAS CHAYEI SARAH 5776
STAM TORAH PARSHAS CHAYEI SARAH 5776 “MOST BEAUTIFUL” Harav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv zt’l related a parable about a young Rabbi of a small town who was not a very proficient speaker. He had terrible stage fright and prepared extensively for every lecture he delivered. In fact, he would begin preparing his Shabbos Shuva and Shabbos […]
PARSHAS CHAYEI SARAH 5776
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Chayei Sarah Mevorchim Chodesh Kislev 24 MarCheshvan 5777/ November 25, 2016 No one was complaining about the weather last week in New York, especially last Shabbos. Sixty degrees with bright sunshine in mid-November is well above the average temperature for this time of year. But within a […]
PARSHAS NETZOVIM 5776
STAM TORAH PARSHAS NETZOVIM 5776 “FACING WHICH DIRECTION” Rabbi Elya Meir Bloch zt’l, the Telsher Rosh Yeshiva, was once in the Chicago train station with a few of his students, waiting to board the Pacemaker to New York. A few feet away stood the Sunshine Express to San Francisco. Rabbi Bloch asked his students, “How […]
PARSHAS NETZOVIM 5776
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Netzovim 27 Elul Av 5776/ September 30, 2016 Pirkei Avos – Perakim 5-6 Nothing these days seems to be simple. Simple is too boring for us. So everything has to have a lot of fanfare and become a big production. This includes the packaging of products. Sometimes […]
PARSHAS KI SAVO 5776
STAM TORAH PARSHAS KI SAVO 5776 “EVERLASTING JOY[1]” Rabbi Noach Weinberg zt’l would often relate that what he felt was the key to everlasting happiness could be understood from the following story: “Imagine someone is standing on the ledge of the seventieth floor of the Empire State Building in New York, perching to jump. “You […]
PARSHAS KI SAVO 5776
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Ki Savo 20 Elul Av 5776/ September 23, 2016 Motzei Shabbos – Haschalas Selichos Pirkei Avos – Perakim 3-4 It’s something we probably don’t appreciate enough. It’s a wonderful thing to be part of a community that is so eager to perform acts of chesed for […]
PARSHAS KI SEITZEI 5776
STAM TORAH PARSHAS KI SEITZEI 5776 “ELEVATING LIFE” One day during the summer of 2011/5771, our family visited Quiet Valley Historical Farm in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. It is a historic farm preserved exactly as it was in the early 1800s after a German Lutheran family settled it in the late 1700s. The tour was especially meaningful […]
PARSHAS KI SEITZEI 5776
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Ki Setzei 13 Elul Av 5776/ September 16, 2016 Pirkei Avos – Perakim 1-2 The following is an addendum to last week’s Musings. I am including (in italics) last week’s Musings, followed by the addition: It’s fascinating how new words are constantly being added to our […]
PARSHAS SHOFTIM 5776
Rabbi Dani Staum STAM TORAH PARSHAS SHOFTIM 5776 “RIGHT OR LEFT” I have heard the following story related by Rabbi Mordechai Finkelman on a number of occasions[1]: There was a fifty-year-old man whose health had been becoming progressively worse for a few years. His eyesight was blurred, and his hands and legs became less and […]
PARSHAS SHOFTIM 5776
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Shoftim 6 Elul Av 5776/ September 9, 2016 Pirkei Avos – Perek 6 It’s fascinating how new words are constantly being added to our lingo, based on the advancements of technology. People casually speak about doing things that would have made no sense just a few […]