I steer clear of politics. I studiously avoid political discussion both in my role as rabbi of Congregation Shaarei Orah and rebbe at TABC. There

A Joint Bar Mitzvah and Shabbat Chatan Hashem blessed Shaarei Orah with an extraordinarily beautiful Shabbat last week. We experienced a joint simcha of the

Yalkut Yosef vs. Divrei Shalom Ve’Emet This is a hotly debated issue! Chacham Yitzhak Yosef (Yalkut Yosef (25:71) notes that “our” custom is for men

Bracha Achrona on a Liquid A celebrated point of dispute is whether one should recite a bracha achrona when consuming hot drinks. Normally, one recites

American football fans are all abuzz about the dramatic transformation made by the San Francisco 49ers. In 2018 they were at best a struggling mediocre

On the way home from Shaarei Orah this past Friday night, I asked my sons to swerve out of range of a motion detector that

Abarbanel’s Question Abarbanel’s question regarding David Hamelech’s instruction to Shlomo Hamelech to kill Yoav ben Teruyah looms large whenever one encounters Melachim I 2. This

Introduction: A Surprising Delayed Brit Everyone at Congregation Shaarei Orah, the Sephardic Congregation of Teaneck, was ecstatic. A first child was born to one of

Hacham Ovadia Vs. Ribi Messas Chacham Ovadia (Teshuvot Yechave Da’at 6:43) applies the Sephardic practice for only the head of the family to kindle Chanukah

Part I Background in the Gemara and Rishonim The Gemara (Shabbat 21b) states that the mitzvah of lighting Chanukah candles can be fulfilled on three

It is critical to be aware of the threats to our way of life and know how to effectively respond to them. In prior generations,