PARSHAS CHAYEI SARAH 5779
STAM TORAH PARSHAS CHAYEI SARAH 5779 “THRIVING WITH DIFFERENCES”[1] Rav Chaim Brisker[2] once quipped to his students, “I don’t want you to learn and to think the way I learn and think. I want you to develop your own way of thinking and learning.” The disciples of Rav Chaim include some of the most prominent […]
PARSHAS VAYERA 5779
STAM TORAH PARSHAS VAYERA 5779 “TRUE ACCOMPLISHMENT”[1] Dedicated in loving memory of my father’s mother, my dear Savta, Mrs. Minnie Staum, whose yahrtzeit is this Friday, 17 Cheshvan. It was an ordinary day in Judge Mindy Glazer’s Miami-Dade courtroom when forty-nine-year-old Arthur Booth appeared before her for his bond hearing. He had been arrested the […]
PARSHAS VAYERA 5779
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Vayera 17 Cheshvan 5779/October 26, 2018 On Yom Kippur a few weeks ago, all day long I couldn’t stop thinking about Titus. That may sound strange, being that Titus is one of the infamous villains recounted on Tisha B’av. He was the commanding Roman general who oversaw […]
PARSHAS LECH LECHA 5779
STAM TORAH PARSHAS LECH LECHA 5779 “SAVE THE WORLD”[1] The former Soviet officer who trusted his gut — and averted a global nuclear catastrophe By Kristine Phillips September 18, 2017 “Just past midnight on Sept. 26, 1983, Stanislav Petrov was on overnight duty inside Serpukhov-15, a secret bunker southwest of Moscow where the Soviet Union monitored its early-warning […]
PARSHAS LECH LECHA 5779
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Lech Lecha 10 Cheshvan 5779/October 19, 2018 It’s not just proper protocol and good manners, but it’s actually an ancient custom mentioned in the gemara. When someone invites you to their home, it’s proper to give them a gift. The gemara (Megilla 26a) states “Abayei said: we […]
PARSHAS NOACH 5779
STAM TORAH PARSHAS NOACH 5779 “LOVEY DOVEY”[1] Chayn Miller is a teacher in Mishmar Hasharon[2]. At a seminar for teachers in Tel Aviv in 2016 she related the following personal anecdote: “During my first year working in the educational system I was a teaching intern. I walked into the first-grade classroom on the first day […]
PARSHAS NOACH 5779
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Noach 3 Cheshvan 5779/October 12, 2018 In Boston they are rejoicing, in Queens they are breathing a sigh of relief, and in the Bronx they are grumbling morbidly. The Yankees season is over! 2018 will not be the year the Yankees win their 28th Championship! To lose […]
PARSHAS BEREISHIS 5779
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Bereishis Mevorchim Chodesh MarCheshvan 27 Tishrei 5779/October 5, 2018 Every year on Shabbos Parshas Bereishis, I would begin my brilliant sermon (I only gave brilliant sermons) in the following manner: “We set out on an incredible journey seven weeks ago. It begin with shofar blowing and […]
PARSHAS BEREISHIS 5779
STAM TORAH PARSHAS BEREISHIS 5779 “THE ULTIMATE BRIDGE”[1] The Chovos HaLevavos[2] relates a poignant parable: There was an island that had a very unusual practice. Each year they would appoint a stranger to serve as their king. There was a single path that led to the front gate to enter the kingdom. On the day […]
Shabbos Chol Hamoed Succos 5779
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Chol Hamoed Succos 19 Tishrei 5779/September 28, 2018 Contemporary halachic authorities rule that one may not run a washing machine or dishwasher in his home during Shabbos. One may not even leave it on before Shabbos so that it will continue to run after Shabbos begins, nor may […]