I have magnificent in-laws. They are loving, generous and kind. In no manner, whatsoever, have they ever inadvertently precipitated a national disaster with repercussions reverberating

Last week, we observed that Abaye often referred to his uncle and teacher, Rabba bar Nachmani, as “Mar/Master.” Thus, when on Bava Metzia 107a, Abaye

The day after Yom Tov is called Isru Chag, which literally means “bind or connect the festival.” What is it all about? Where does Isru

This word appears 29 times in Tanach, all but one time in the plural. (The exception is Hoshea 5:8: “chatzotzrah.”) The most common spelling of

A number of years back, when Israel received a number of additional F-35 fighter planes from the United States, the following question was posed to

This vision is an inspiring one, but also a difficult one. It demands each person get to know themselves in a deep way — at

At one hundred and seventy six verses, Naso is the longest of the parshiyot. Yet one of its most moving passages, and the one that

Rabbi Zeira’s 100 Fasts Daf Yomi participants recently learned an astounding report about Rabbi Zeira (Bava Metzia 85a). When this great (and colorful) Amora made

Right after Shavuos last year, I took my son on a hike called Stairway to Heaven, in Vernon, New Jersey. At the top of the

In Sefer Bamidbar, all communication between God and Moshe seems to occur in the Mishkan (see Rashbam, Ibn Ezra and Chizkuni on Bamidbar 1:1). However,

Parshat Naso This week’s haftarah relates the miraculous birth of Shimshon—Samson—who, even before his birth, was marked for exceptional accomplishments and for leadership in Israel.