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PARSHAS VAYESHEV 5777

STAM TORAH PARSHAS VAYESHEV 5777  “HOLY LIGHTS”           Yosef Begun, the noted Russian refusenik, wrote of his experiences:           “It was in the grim Russian winter of 1971 that I celebrated my first real Hanukkah, in prison.   “I was confined in the notorious Moscow prison, Matroska Tichina, in the company of a rather large […]

PARSHAS VAYISHLACH 5777

STAM TORAH PARSHAS VAYISHLACH 5777  “NEVER DEFEATED”  King Louis XIV of France once asked Blaise Pascal, the great French philosopher of his day, to give him proof of the existence of miracles. Without a moment’s hesitation, Pascal answered, “Why, the Jews, your Majesty-the Jews.”  “What is the Jew?…What kind of unique creature is this whom […]

PARSHAS VAYETZEI 5777

STAM TORAH PARSHAS VAYETZEI 5777  “THE BIGGEST FOOL” Alice had volunteered to bake a cake for the Ladies’ Group but forgot to do it until the last minute. She remembered on the morning of the bake sale and panicked. After rummaging through cabinets, she found an angel food cake mix and quickly made it while […]

Hesped for Rav Aharon Kotler

Dear All, Below is a hesped (eulogy) that my Zaydei, Rav Yaakov Meir Kohn, gave for his rebbe, Rav Aharon Kotler zt’l, whose yahrtzeit is tonight – 2 Kislev.  [It is also the yahrtzeit of the Lakewood Mashgiach, Rav Nosson Wachtfogel zt’l.] I sent this hesped out a few years ago in honor of my […]

PARSHAS TOLDOS 5777

STAM TORAH PARSHAS TOLDOS 5777  “PRAYER FOR CLARITY” Whenever Richard Cory went down town, We people on the pavement looked at him: He was a gentleman from sole to crown, Clean-favored and imperially slim. And he was always quietly arrayed, And he was always human when he talked; But still he fluttered pulses when he […]

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 VAYERA 5777

STAM TORAH PARSHAS VAYERA 5777  “THE OTHER GUY” These thoughts are lovingly dedicated in memory of my Savta, Mrs. Minnie Staum, Shprintza bas Avrohom Yitzchok a’h, whose yahrtzeit is Friday, 17 Cheshvan. Rabbi Yitzchok Zilberstein shlita[1] relates the following story: A man in Eretz Yisroel was driving along a road late one night through an […]

PARSHAS LECH LECHA 5777

STAM TORAH PARSHAS LECH LECHA 5777  “THE ROAD HOME” Rabbi Noach Weinberg zt’l, the legendary founder and Rosh Yeshiva of Aish HaTorah, related[1]: “Years ago my father taught me the Mishna in Avos which states, “In a place where there is no man, strive to be a man.” In 1966 I opened a yeshiva for […]

PARSHAS NOACH 5777

STAM TORAH PARSHAS NOACH 5777  “WHAT YOU DO WITH IT[1]” The owner of one of the largest kosher American confectioners was also a major supporter of the famed Bais Medrash Govoha in Lakewood, NJ. On one occasion, at a large function, he had the privilege to introduce Rabbi Shneur Kotler zt’l, the then Rosh Yeshiva […]