Keeping values and meaning in focus.
There is a new, slightly enlarged, version of my reader for Aseres Yemei Tehuvah for 5781, suitable for putting that wandering mind to work while in shul. Contents: Spiritual Planning………………………………………………………… 1 9/11 and How...
The question I started with was wondering about the first two paragraphs of Shema. (Which is what Arukh haShulchan Yomi is up to.) The first paragraph is an exercise of accepting ol Malkhus Shamayim,...
Someone lamented on Mi Yodeya: I wasted my youth. I am 35 years old. I had a toxic relationship with my parents, especially my mother. My career never started, and I am still looking...
A famous rabbi explains the intent behind establishing the book of Yonah as the haftarah for Minchah on Yom Kippur as follows: ×•×›×•×•× ×ª×, ×›×™ ×”××“× ×—×•×©×‘ כמה ×¤×¢×ž×™× ×œ×™×™×ש ×ת עצמו ש×ין יכול לתקן...
התכלת ××™× ×” מעכבת ×ת הלבן והלבן ××™× ×• מעכב ×ת התכלת תפילה של יד ××™× ×” מעכבת של ר×ש ושל ר×ש ××™× ×” מעכבת של יד הסולת והשמן ××™× ×Ÿ מעכבין ×ת היין ×•×œ× ×”×™×™×Ÿ מעכבן ×”×ž×ª× ×•×ª של...
user4762 asked the above question on Mi Yodeya, and I liked how my answer turned out so I’m sharing it here. Question: If I’m unconscious about it should I still apologise? Someone else points...
I was asked the following question, and I was happy with how the reply came out. I just received permission to post the exchange, minus identifying information. Question: I learn in yeshiva kollel in...
I commented on Gratitude: What does “todah†mean? As it stands, it means “thanksâ€. The same root conjugated as “vidui†means to “confessâ€. Last, when the mishnah wants to stress that something is outside...
×מר רבי יהודה ×ž×©×•× ×¨×‘×™ ×¢×§×™×‘× â€¦ ×מר הקדוש ברוך הו×: … ו×מרו ×œ×¤× ×™ בר×ש ×”×©× ×” מלכיות ×–×›×¨×•× ×•×ª ושופרות. מלכיות: כדי ×©×ª×ž×œ×™×›×•× ×™ עליכ×. ×–×›×¨×•× ×•×ª: כדי שיעלה ×–×›×¨×•× ×™×›× ×œ×¤× ×™ לטובה. ובמה? בשופר. Rabbi Yehudah said...
תִּקְעוּ ×‘Ö·×—Ö¹×“Ö¶×©× ×©×וֹפָר, בַּכֵּסֶה ×œÖ°×™×•Ö¹× ×—Ö·×’Ö¼Öµ× ×•Ö¼. ×›Ö¼Ö´×™ חֹק לְיִשְׂרָ×ֵל הוּ×, מִש×ְפָּט לֵ×לֹקֵי יַעֲקֹב. Blow the shofar at the new moon, at the fullness for our holiday. For it is a choq [a trans-rational statute]...
(Updated after Rosh haShanah 5774 with idea from the Tanchuma.) The Ramban, in his Derashah leRosh haShanah, writes that a shofar is a keli, a formal utensil in the halachic sense. For this reason,...
We open the Shemoneh Esrei by referring to Hashem as “Hashem Elokeinu vEilokei avoseinu — Hashem, our G-d, and the G-d of our ancestors….” Three distinct ways of perceiving G-d are being given here:...
We don’t feel a need to observe Mother’s Day, because the mitzvah of kibud av va’eim means that every day is Mother’s Day. – Rabbi Shpitzer, my 5th grade rebbe This sentiment is far...
“Aspaqlaria: Aseres Yemei Teshuvah” (49 pages) is a collection of essays adapted from those that appeared here on the subjects of teshuvah, shofar, vidui, and the Aseres Yemei Teshuvah. It is in Adobe Acrobat...
At one point in my career I was working at a bank that took on a large initiative to formalize its processes. Everything done within the bank had to follow procedures, with the requisite...
I had the severely painful experience this past Sunday of attending the levayah for a six year old boy r”l. Reuven Dovida”h went for a walk with his father R’ Yehuda Herbst and R’...
×מר ×¨×‘× ×•××™×ª×™×ž× ×¨×‘ חסד×: ×× ×¨×•××” ××“× ×©×™×¡×•×¨×™×Ÿ ב×ין עליו, יפשפש במעשיו. ×©× ×’ (××™×›×” ×’): × Ö·×—Ö°×¤Ö°Ö¼×©Ö¸×‚×” ×“Ö°×¨Ö¸×›Öµ×™× ×•Ö¼ ×•Ö°× Ö·×—Ö°×§Ö¹×¨Ö¸×”, ×•Ö°× Ö¸×©×וּבָה עַד ×”’. פשפש ×•×œ× ×ž×¦×, יתלה בבטול תורה. ×©× ×מר (×ª×”×™×œ×™× ×¦×“): ×שְ×רֵי הַגֶּבֶר ×ֲשֶ×ר...
Caveat: Most of these entries are extrapolations from something I learned. In this case, the entry is a chidush on top of an earlier chidush. In Mesilas Yesharim ch. 24, the Ramchal describes the...
(My first attempt at this post was seriously flawed, both typographically and in flow. This is a significant reworking. If you have ideas for further improvement, they’re eagerly invited.) I Why is it that...
Many thanks to Jon Baker for recording my talk before selichos at the Yavneh Minyan last motza’ei Shabbos. The material: An audio recording is here. And here is the handout. The first two pages...
(Significantly expanded in response to writing on the subject for Yashar, the magazine of The Mussar Institute. -micha) I The most powerful High Holidays experience of my life was eight years ago. A week...
(Significantly expanded May 6th.) When someone hears bad news, such as a death, the gemara (Pesachim 50a) tells them to say the berakhah of “Dayan haEmes“. This phrase is often translated “the True Judge”...
In Tomer Devorah, Rav Moshe Cordevero explains the 13 attributes of Divine Mercy, in particular showing them as exemplars for us to follow — “just as I Am Merciful, so too you be merciful.”...
י״ט באלול תשפ״א – Fri, Aug 27, 2021
כ״ו באב תשפ״א – Tue, Aug 3, 2021
י׳ באב תשפ״א – Sun, Jul 18, 2021
The Source that a Reshus haRabbim Requires 600,000 People
י״ב בתמוז תשפ״א – Mon, Jun 21, 2021
The King’s Highway, A Metaphor
י״א בתמוז תשפ״א – Sun, Jun 20, 2021
Emunah Peshutah vs Machashavah
י״ז בכסלו תשס״ה – Tue, Nov 30, 2004
Balancing Simplicity and Authenticity
כ׳ בתמוז תש״ע – Thu, Jul 1, 2010
י׳ באדר א׳ תשע״ד – Sun, Feb 9, 2014
י״א בטבת תשס״ה – Wed, Dec 22, 2004
When Science and Torah Conflict
ט״ו בטבת תשע״א – Tue, Dec 21, 2010
