ROSH HASHANA 5775
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Rosh Hashana of 5775 29 Elul 5774/September 24, 2014 EIRUV TAVSHILIN for Shabbos Shuva A friend of mine once asked me what I would do if nothing unusual happened to me or anyone in my family throughout the week. Would I not write a Musings column that week? […]
PARSHAS NETOZVIM-VAYELECH 5774
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Netzovim-Vayelech 23 Elul 5774/September 19, 2014 — Motzei Shabbos – Selichos Pirkei Avos – Perek 5-6 This past Shabbos, Chani and I had the pleasure of joining my older brother and sister-in-law, Rabbi Yitzie and Racheli Staum, in Chesterfield, Missouri at the bar mitzvah of […]
PARSHAS KI SAVO 5774
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Ki Savo 17 Elul 5774/September 12, 2014 Pirkei Avos – Perek 3-4 One Shabbos afternoon during the summer of 2010, in the Staum bungalow at Camp Dora Golding, a four year old boy (whose last name happens to be Staum) decided to jump off the top bunk […]
PARSHAS KI SETZEI 5774
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Ki Setzei 10 Elul 5774/September 5, 2014 Pirkei Avos – Perek 2 How many taxes are filed on the night of April 14? Just ask all the accountants who come to the Seder bleary eyed. And how many people file for extensions and don’t complete them until […]
PARSHAS SHOFTIM 5774
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Shoftim 3 Elul 5774/August 29, 2014 Pirkei Avos – Perek 1 One year when we arrived home in August after being away in camp for two months we found that our air conditioner wasn’t working adequately. The way I saw it, the big air conditioning machine thingy […]
PARSHAS RE’EH 5774
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Re’eh 26 Menachem Av 5774/August 22, 2014 Pirkei Avos – Perek 6 — Mevorchim Chodesh Elul After two exciting months of non-stop action and activities, the bustle of camp has been stilled, and another great camp season has come to an end. Campers and staff have returned […]
PARSHAS EIKEV 5774
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Eikev Pirkei Avos – Perek 5 — 19 Menachem Av 5774/August 15, 2014 During the last few weeks, when I or one of my editors read something I typed we noticed that the same mistake keeps surfacing – I missed a ‘u’. In fact, two weeks ago […]
PARSHAS VAESCHANAN/SHABBOS NACHAMU 5774
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Vaeschanan/Shabbos Nachamu Pirkei Avos – Perek 4 — 12 Menachem Av 5774/August 8, 2014 A number of years ago, one of our children had been learning about the importance of prayer, turned to Chani and said, “Mommy, could you daven that Hashem take away my hiccups.” It […]
PARSHAS DEVORIM/ SHABBOS CHAZON 5774
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Devorim/Shabbos Chazon Pirkei Avos – Perek 3 — 5 Menachem Av 5774/August 1, 2014 I was eight years young. My mother’s father – my Zaydei – had recently passed away, and I was still trying to come to terms with the concept of death. I was having […]
PARSHAS MASEI 5774
“RABBI’S MUSINGS (& AMUSINGS)” Erev Shabbos Kodesh Parshas Masei Pirkei Avos – Perek 2 — 27 Tamuz 5774/July 25, 2014 – Mevorchim Chodesh Menachem Av They just couldn’t be prouder. Twelve years earlier they had undergone the arduous process of making Aliyah, which entailed moving away from much of their family and friends. They had […]