PARSHAS BO 5776
Rabbi Doniel Staum, LMSW Strivinghigher.com STAM TORAH PARSHAS BO 5776 “WITH HEADS HELD HIGH[1]” During the Communist regime in Russia, Rav Yaakov Galinsky zt’l, the beloved maggid from B’nei B’rak, was imprisoned in Siberia. Every morning, he and the others in his unit would be marched off to backbreaking slave labor. When they returned […]
PARSHAS BO 5776
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Bo 5 Shevat 5776/ January 15, 2016 It’s perhaps the most rabbinic word in the dictionary. If a person has aspirations to become a rabbi, aside from knowing halacha and how to develop a practical lesson from the parsha, he’s gotta be able to pronounce the word […]
PARSHAS VA’ERA 5776
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Va’era Mevorchim Chodesh Shevat 28 Teves 5776/ January 8, 2016 Periodically at a simcha the waiter will give the guests a choice about what kind of soup they would like. When the waiter asks me if I would like vegetable soup or broccoli soup, I often reply […]
PARSHAS VA’ERA 5776
Rabbi Doniel Staum, LMSW Strivinghigher.com STAM TORAH PARSHAS VA’ERA 5776 “DIVINE DE-NILE” The following excerpt is from an article entitled, “For Everything a Blessing”, by Dr. Kenneth Prager. It was printed in the Journal of American Medical Association[1]: “Over the years, reciting the asher yatzar has become for me and opportunity to offer thanks not […]
PARSHAS SHEMOS 5776
Rabbi Doniel Staum, LMSW Strivinghigher.com STAM TORAH PARSHAS SHEMOS 5776 “WHAT CHARACTER” Rabbi Baruch Diamond, the Rosh Kollel of Yeshiva Shor Yoshuv in Far Rockaway, NY, is a beloved Rebbe. Some years ago a young woman who was ‘in shidduchim’ and was close with his family asked him if he could look into a […]
PARSHAS SHEMOS 5776
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Shemos 21 Teves 5776/ January 1, 2016 It was so strange. This week on Tuesday morning, those of us in the New York area, awoke to ice and snow. After a December which boasted days when it was warmer and brighter in New York than in […]
PARSHAS VAYECHI 5776
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Vayechi 14 Teves 5776/ December 25, 2015 Someone once quipped that their mother was always serving leftovers; they have never found the original! Everyone seems to groan when they hear that they are having leftovers for supper. Some mothers try to reason with their family “You […]
PARSHAS VAYECHI 5776
Rabbi Doniel Staum, LMSW Strivinghigher.com STAM TORAH PARSHAS VAYECHI 5776 “PERENNIAL PARENTING” The following excerpt is from Rabbi Dr. Abraham J. Twerski’s book, It’s Not As Tough As You think, chapter 62): “You’ve heard of the “empty nest syndrome”. Children grow up and go off to study. They marry and move to another […]
PARSHAS VAYIGASH 5776
Rabbi Doniel Staum, LMSW Strivinghigher.com STAM TORAH PARSHAS VAYIGASH 5776 “BACK AGAINST THE WALL” In his noted “Shabbat Shalom Weekly” for parshas Terumah 5769, Rabbi Kalman Packouz[1] related the following story: “I once asked Reb Noah[2] for his favorite joke. He gave a little laugh and then proceeded to tell me, “There was once a […]
PARSHAS VAYIGASH 5776
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Vayigash 7 Teves 5776/ December 18, 2015 One morning this week one of my fellow rabbeim chided me for eating a Greek Yogurt during breakfast. He wanted to know how I could eat anything Greek during Chanukah. I continued eating my yogurt without replying. When the […]