PARSHAS KORACH 5779
STAM TORAH PARSHAS KORACH 5779 “EACH HIS ROLE” This week, on Wednesday morning, our family received the painful and bitter news that our Bubby, my mother’s mother, Rebbitzin Fruma Kohn, passed away. Generally, our memories and thoughts turn to the recent past. But for a moment we can turn the clock back to […]
PARSHAS SHELACH 5779
STAM TORAH PARSHAS SHELACH 5779 “ON A MISSION”[1] In our world, we often ask others what they do, where they work, or who they work for? When attending an upscale event, such as a wedding or dinner, it is not unusual for there to be young men or women who serve as waiters […]
PARSHAS BEHA’ALOSCHA 5779
STAM TORAH PARSHAS BEHA’ALOSCHA 5779 “STOP GRUMBLING”[1] It was late afternoon in the office. The employees had the glazed “4:30 pm look” in their eyes that waited longingly for the clock to strike 5 so they could go home. Suddenly, the CEO burst into the room and began screaming: “SAVE YOURSELF! SAVE YOURSELF! IT’S […]
PARSHAS NASO 5779
STAM TORAH PARSHAS NASO 5779 “PLAN B”[1] On Nov. 18, 1995, the acclaimed violinist, Itzhak Perlman was performing at Avery Fisher Hall in New York City. Perlman had polio as a child, and has braces on both legs, and walks with the aid of two crutches. Walking out onto stage isn’t easy for him. […]
PARSHAS BAMIDBAR/SHAVUOS 5779
STAM TORAH PARSHAS BAMIDBAR/SHAVUOS 5779 “THE INNER VOICE”[1] One night, an elementary school teacher was sitting on her living room couch grading the essay’s her students wrote about something they wished for. Her husband was sitting next to her checking his emails and social media accounts. Just when the teacher thought she’d finished […]
PARSHAS BECHUKOSAI 5779
STAM TORAH PARSHAS BECHUKOSAI 5779 “ERECT BEARING” During my first years in chinuch I had the good fortune to be the School Social Worker of Yeshiva Bais Hachinuch. Bais Hachinuch was created for students who struggle academically in the mainstream yeshivos. The greatness of the yeshiva is that there are no more than twelve students […]
PARSHAS BEHAR 5779
STAM TORAH PARSHAS BEHAR 5779 “WITH CORDS OF LOVE” The following are my personal notes from the remarks delivered by my rebbe, Rabbi Berel Wein, at the Torah Umesorah convention, Shabbas Kodesh parshas Behar 5768, May 1998: The haftorah of parshas Behar relates that just prior to the destruction of the first Bais Hamikdash, G-d […]
PARSHAS EMOR/ LAG BAOMER 5779
STAM TORAH PARSHAS EMOR/ LAG BAOMER 5779 “NO EXCUSES”[1] During my late adolescence, I had to make an appearance in traffic court to fight a ticket. My father accompanied me for moral support. After I explained my case about what occurred, the judge asked me for my plea – ‘guilty with an explanation’ or ‘not […]
PARSHAS KEDOSHIM 5779
STAM TORAH PARSHAS KEDOSHIM 5779 “ABOVE AND BEYOND” Rabbi Returns $98k He Found in Desk Bought on Craigslist Nov. 12, 2013 A Connecticut rabbi who bought a used desk on Craigslist for $150 discovered that it wouldn’t fit through the door into his study. As he took the desk apart to get it inside, a […]
PARSHAS ACHREI MOS 5779
STAM TORAH PARSHAS ACHREI MOS 5779 “THE HEART OF THE MATTER” Rabbi Ezriel Tauber zt’l[1] related[2] that he was once traveling with Rabbi Shimshon Pincus zt’l. While they were conversing, Rabbi Tauber asked Rabbi Pincus what he would do if he found out that his mother’s mother wasn’t Jewish and therefore, he wasn’t Jewish.[3] Rabbi […]