Parsha

  THE AVERAGE AMERICAN Parashat Mishpatim ויתיצבו בתחתית ההר, And they stood at the foot of the mountain. (Shemot 19 ;17) Avdimi Bar Chasa said that this passuk teaches you that G-d turned the whole mountain over their heads. He said, if you accept the Torah, good. But if not, שם תהא קבורתכם, over there…

JEWISH PEPPERSPRAY Parashat Yitro We are never defeated unless we give up on G-d. We cannot allow ourselves to get used to the current situation: Israel news does not go a day without an attack. I attended a Bar Mitzvah in the Aish Hatorah building in Jerusalem this last week. I parked in the Har…

THE P3 TREE MODEL OF THE SUCCESSFUL Tu Bishvat   On Tu B’shvat, we don’t say Tachanun; we do not confess our sins, for it is a day of celebration. We celebrate the trees, חג לאילנות.  It is considered a new year in regard to tithing. Why does the birthday of the tree fall at…

AN ONION FROM BRESLEV Parashat Bo   In Kiddush Levana, we mention something odd. We praise G-d for making a world that runs like clockwork, and for the fact that all of nature serves G-d happily. And then, this is what we say, וללבנה אמר שתתחדש עטרת תפארת לעמוסי בטן שגם הם עתידים להתחדש כמותה…

PLAN FOR A CHANGE Parashat Vaera A few weeks ago, I coached a yeshiva student who was in somewhat of an identity crisis. He decided that he wanted to be what he called “a Halacha Jew”. He wanted to keep halacha down to the smallest detail. The problem was that this boy was very far…