torah

This week the Torah teaches us the laws of ma’aser sheni. Ma’aser sheni constitutes a tithe in which the apportioned produce is consumed by the… Read More »Joy of Shlepping

Stripping away all the details that oftentimes clutter our lives, we can agree that the type of life that we live is pretty much dependent… Read More »Making Choices

He [Hillel] used to say, one who seeks a name loses his name, one who does not increase [his knowledge] decreases it (or: will perish),… Read More »Chapter 1, Mishna 13(b): The Challenge of Life – Part II

Friday Night EVEN THOUGH THERE is a full week of Bein HaZmanim left before everyone returns to yeshivah and kollel, this week’s parsha kind of… Read More »Fighting Back the Chaos

QUESTION 83: COPYING A CD BEFORE REPLACING IT I borrowed a CD from a friend and lost it. I’m now going to buy the same… Read More »Copying a CD Before Replacing It

“And he did not recognize him because his hands were as hairy as Esav’s, and he blessed him.” (Bereshith 27:23) Immediately after blessing Yaakov, Yitzchak… Read More »False Accusations

Birkas Kohanim is a close encounter with Hashem. Our Sages tell us that Hashem participates in the blessing, and that His Presence rests on the… Read More »Complete Concentration

In the “Shema”, a prayer repeated twice a day, the Torah tells us to serve G-d “with all your heart “(Deuterotomy 6:5). This phrase is… Read More »In the Presence of the Divine: Modalities of Jewish Prayer

One should not be a person of levity and mockery (‘s’chok v’hatail’), nor sad and somber, but cheeful (‘samai’ach’). So too did the Sages say,… Read More »Chapter 2, Law 7(a) – Torah through Laughter

The sadness still lingers in our hearts. Just days ago, we fasted and grieved over the destruction of Jerusalem. We read the lurid accounts in… Read More »A Father’s Love