February 19, 2025

Linking Northern and Central NJ, Bronx, Manhattan, Westchester and CT

Rav Reuven Taragin

Articles by Rav Reuven Taragin

I Can’t Sleep

It is 3:00 a.m. I am never up at this hour. I need set sleep and get very tired when I don’t get it. And

True Simcha

Zman Simchateinu Though there is a mitzvah of simcha on all Yamim Tovim, only Sukkot is described as “zman simchateinu, the time of our joy.”

Attributing Our Success

Achieving a feeling of bitachon is challenging. It is hard to rely on a force we don’t see that emanates from a Being we can’t

Who We Turn to and Rely Upon

Previously, we explored the fundamental belief that Hashem controls everything that happens to a person and some ramifications of that; the fact that Hashem determines

Where W/He Takes Us

In our last piece, we saw that Hashem’s directorship of the world also applies to the actions and decisions of man (as natural occurrences). Hashem

Doing More Than We Say

שַׁמַּאי אוֹמֵר… אֱמֹר מְעַט וַעֲשֵׂה הַרְבֵּה… (אבות א:טו) שִׁמְעוֹן בְּנוֹ אוֹמֵר, כָּל יָמַי גָּדַלְתִּי בֵין הַחֲכָמִים, וְלֹא מָצָאתִי לַגּוּף טוֹב אֶלָּא שְׁתִיקָה. וְלֹא הַמִּדְרָשׁ הוּא

Protecting Ourselves

משֶׁה קִבֵּל תּוֹרָה מִסִּינַי, וּמְסָרָהּ לִיהוֹשֻׁעַ, וִיהוֹשֻׁעַ לִזְקֵנִים, וּזְקֵנִים לִנְבִיאִים, וּנְבִיאִים מְסָרוּהָ לְאַנְשֵׁי כְנֶסֶת הַגְּדוֹלָה. הֵם אָמְרוּ שְׁלשָׁה דְבָרִים, הֱווּ מְתוּנִים בַּדִּין, וְהַעֲמִידוּ תַלְמִידִים הַרְבֵּה,

Worse Than Extermination

Chanukah parties with family and friends are one of the highlights of this special time of year. Though an appropriate way to celebrate, the Shulchan

Chanukah: Days of Hoda’ah

Rooted In Hoda’ah The Gemara1 describes how (in the years after the miracle) Chanukah became a holiday: “L’shana acheret kva’um v’asa’um yamim tovim b’hallel u’v’hoda’ah,

How Straight Is Beautiful

רַבִּי אוֹמֵר, אֵיזוֹהִי דֶרֶךְ יְשָׁרָה שֶׁיָּבוֹר לוֹ הָאָדָם? כֹּל שֶׁהִיא תִפְאֶרֶת לְעוֹשֶׂיהָ וְתִפְאֶרֶת לוֹ מִן הָאָדָם … (אבות ב:א) As we saw last time, Rabbi

The Space Between Us

רַבִּי חֲנִינָא סְגַן הַכֹּהֲנִים אוֹמֵר, הֱוֵי מִתְפַּלֵּל בִּשְׁלוֹמָהּ שֶׁל מַלְכוּת, שֶׁאִלְמָלֵא מוֹרָאָהּ, אִישׁ אֶת רֵעֵהוּ חַיִּים בְּלָעוֹ. רַבִּי חֲנִינָא בֶן תְּרַדְיוֹן אוֹמֵר: שְׁנַיִם שֶׁיּוֹשְׁבִין וְאֵין