Here we are—at the very end of the Torah—and the Jewish people suddenly get a new name, used for the first time here and for
Harav Yissachar Shlomo Teichtal, HY”D, was a prominent Slovakian rabbi who was ultimately murdered in the Holocaust and whose view of the world was radically
Bechira—free choice, is a core dimension of our humanity and a foundation of our belief system. As Rambam articulated repeatedly (see Hilchos Teshuva chapter 5,
“L’maan lo niga larik, Let us not toil in vain.” The deepest wish of each of us is that we achieve what we set out
Memory is identity. This was expressed beautifully by Rabbi Sacks z”l in his Haggadah commentary: “There is a profound difference between history and memory. History
Trust is a critical component of any relationship. And it is essential to our faith in God. “Tamim tih’yeh im Hasem Elokecha, Have complete trust
Years ago, I would spend 10 days each summer at a program known as “Sinai Retreats,” spending a nice chunk of each day teaching Torah
There is a word that is found in the Torah a total of four times, three of them in this week’s Parsha (8:10, 8:12, 11:15),
The first promise given to Avraham (Bereishit 12:2) was that he would be made into a goy gadol, “a great nation,” but it is only
We always read Parshat Devarim on the Shabbos preceding Tisha B’Av. This is obviously fitting as the parsha begins by discussing the apparently imminent entry
All over modern Israel, one finds miklat signs, directing passers-by to the nearest bomb shelter. They serve as a painful and poignant reminder of the
As Jews, we are used to fighting for both our physical and spiritual survival. Classic sources saw this duality in the two festivals of Purim
