Sedra Ha’azinu, in the main Moshe Rabbenu’s parting song to the people of Israel, and suffused with advice, admonition, prophecy, and blessing, concludes with an enigmatic phrase, “וְכִפֶּ֥ר אַדְמָת֖וֹ עַמּֽוֹ” (Devarim, 32:43). These three...
Our family trip to Israel this summer was nothing short of exhilarating! We spent three weeks in Israel and enjoyed visits to Jerusalem, Gush Etzion, Bet Shemesh, Tel Aviv, Netanya, Caesarea, Haifa, Tiberias and Ramat HaGolan. The trip was extraordinary but nothing...
THE INGATHERING OF THE EXILES The Lord your God will return (ve’shav) your captivity and have mercy on you, and He will return (ve’shav) and gather you from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. If your dispersed will be at the ends of the...
Following the six day war, there existed a widespread feeling in Israel that the nearly unthinkable victory was due to a miraculous intervention from God, and that it heralded the beginning of the ultimate geula. One staunch opponent of this view was the Satmar...
This past week, on the 23rd of Elul, we marked the 23rd yahrzeit of Rabbi Shlomo Zalman Horowitz, the Potoker Rav. Born in the Ukraine, Rabbi Horowitz miraculously survived the Holocaust, hiding for 18 months in the forest and experiencing many near-death...
TRUE HAPPINESS A recurring theme in this week’s parashah is simcha – happiness. In the opening section, which deals with bikurim (first fruits), the Torah states, – You shall rejoice in all the good that the Lord, your God, has given you and your household (26:11). ...
