PARSHAS VAYETZEI 5778
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Vayetzei 6 Kislev 5778/November 24, 2017 For a period during my youth my parents arranged for my sister Ahuva, and myself to take ice-skating lessons. What I remember the most is the instructor telling us to always lean forward while skating, so if (when) we fall, […]
PARSHAS VAYETZEI 5778
STAM TORAH PARSHAS VAYETZEI 5778 “ULTIMATE CURRENCY”[1] Rav Matisyahu Salomon shlita notes that every year, as we read the parshios in Bereishis, we enjoy discussing the profundity and extent of Avrohom Avinu’s chesed. There always seem to be new explanations and perspectives which expound upon how selfless and extreme the chesed of Avrohom was. Rav […]
PARSHAS TOLDOS 5778
STAM TORAH PARSHAS TOLDOS 5778 “VALUE SYSTEM” The following story was published in Hamodia, Tuesday, August 9, 2016: Under the circumstances, the very fact that such a conversation even took place is astonishing. On a cold day in the fall of 1944, in the constant shadow of terrible death surrounded by unspeakable horror, when Aviezer […]
PARSHAS TOLDOS 5778
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Toldos 28 Cheshvan 5778/November 17, 2017 Mevorchim Chodesh Kislev It was undoubtedly one of the most exciting days of my pre-married life. In 2000, I was one of the older bochurim in the Bais Medrash program of Yeshiva Shaarei Torah. At one point during that […]
PARSHAS CHAYEI SARA 5778
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Chayei Sarah 21 Cheshvan 5778/November 10, 2017 Someone once told me that when people ask each other how they are doing, they mean besides the fact that they’re tired. It’s as if they are saying, “I know you’re tired; that goes without saying. But besides that, […]
PARSHAS CHAYEI SARA 5778
STAM TORAH PARSHAS CHAYEI SARA 5778 “YOUNG AND OLD”[1] It’s pretty amazing that four of our children share birthdays. Two of them are twins, so that’s not surprising. But Aviva and Avi were born on November 7th three years to the day apart from each other.[2] A number of years ago we heard Aviva and […]
PARSHAS VAYERA 5778
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Vayera 14 Cheshvan 5778/November 3, 2017 A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege to accompany the ninth and twelfth graders of our yeshiva, Heichal HaTorah, on the first Shabbatone of the year. The Shabbatone was held at a resort deep in the Catskill Mountains, […]
PARSHAS VAYERA 5778
STAM TORAH PARSHAS VAYERA 5778 “A DIFFERENT MANNER”[1] It was one of the most intriguing stories I have ever read, and yet, I don’t know how many people are familiar with the story: A few years ago, a high-ranking minister and member of the private security cadre of the Queen of Denmark, was walking […]
PARSHAS LECH LECHA 5778
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Lech Lecha 7 Cheshvan 5778/October 27, 2017 This week, Mesivta Ohr Naftali of New Windsor, NY, where I am privileged to serve as General Studies Principal each afternoon, celebrated a special milestone. They have just completed the construction of a magnificent new Bais Medrash, and it […]
PARSHAS LECH LECHA 5778
STAM TORAH PARSHAS LECH LECHA 5778 “ALL THE WAY TO THE TOP”[1] Last year, on Chol Hamoed Succos, our family went to Liberty Science Center, where we met up with my brother-in-law and sister-in-law and children. The Center has an attraction which allows you to sense what it’s like to be unable to see. You […]