הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, עֲשֵׂה רְצוֹנוֹ כִּרְצוֹנֶךָ, כְּדֵי שֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂה רְצוֹנְךָ כִּרְצוֹנוֹ. בַּטֵּל רְצוֹנְךָ מִפְּנֵי רְצוֹנוֹ, כְּדֵי שֶׁיְּבַטֵּל רְצוֹן אֲחֵרִים מִפְּנֵי רְצוֹנֶךָ. (אבות ב:ד) Rabban Gamliel—the son
Though the Seder night focuses on Yetziat Mitzrayim, we also mention antisemitic episodes that preceded and followed the events in Egypt. The very first Jews
Veha’ir Shushan Navocha The Jews of Shushan were confused. They considered Shushan and the Persian empire their home and viewed themselves as central to its
True Pleasure Last week, we saw that Rebbe Yaakov describes our world as the “corridor” that leads to the “palace” of the next world, where
רַבִּי יַעֲקֹב אוֹמֵר, הָעוֹלָם הַזֶּה דּוֹמֶה לִפְרוֹזְדוֹר בִּפְנֵי הָעוֹלָם הַבָּא. הַתְקֵן עַצְמְךָ בַפְּרוֹזְדוֹר, כְּדֵי שֶׁתִּכָּנֵס לַטְּרַקְלִין: הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, יָפָה שָׁעָה אַחַת בִּתְשׁוּבָה וּמַעֲשִׂים טוֹבִים
Express Our Faith The mizmor dedicated to Shabbat ((Tehillim 92) encourages singing Hashem’s praises: “Tov l’hodot laShem u’l’zamer l’shimcha elyon.” It continues with the famous
Death as Ingathering Whereas Lech Lecha and Vayera depict the lives of Avraham and Sarah, Chayei Sarah describes the transition from them to the next
Day of Purification Though we generally associate Yom Kippur with atonement, the Torah defines taharah (purification) as the day’s goal. “For on this day, He
Expressing Our Faith The mizmor of Tehillim we recite each Shabbat declares the “goodness” of singing Hashem’s praises: “Tov lehodot laShem u’lezamer leshimcha elyon,” (Tehillim
God Intends The Good Yosef Hatzaddik found himself in a terrible situation. Sold into slavery by his own brothers, he had every reason to feel
Though we hope and pray for the best, suffering is part of life and can be hard to handle. In addition to dealing with the
Bitachon is not just a mitzvah. It is also the only way to live without worry. Most people are beset with worry. They worry about
