Playwrights are advised that to keep an audience engaged from the first scene until the last, the basic plotline needs the equivalent of a famished

So far, this is the oldest I’ve ever been. Last week I wrote an article about how I’m getting older. Not that I’m old. On

Most children who have attended synagogue have experienced the highs and lows of Junior Congregation. In theory, Junior Congregation is supposed to be a kid-friendly

I did not personally know the journalists killed in Maryland last week. But I felt that I knew them well. They were working in their

May these words of Torah serve as a merit le’iluy nishmat Menachem Mendel ben Harav Yoel David Balk, a”h. This week we learned Zevachim 77.

Part II Last week we explored the three opinions as to when to say Aneinu on a fast day. Ashkenazim, led by Rashi and the

I decided to continue with the Maimonides’ letters topic for another week. This time I will write about my third-favorite letter of Maimonides, a letter

A few years ago, shortly before Pesach vacation, a conscientious student who takes his spiritual growth seriously asked to speak with me in my office.

Parshat Pinchas This Shabbat we inaugurate the three-week mourning period that precedes Tisha B’Av with the reading of the first perek in Sefer Yirmiyahu, in

Part II Initial Reaction of American Jews to the Beginning of the War in Europe American Jewish leaders were not surprised that the war would

(Courtesy of Kollel Chatzos) There’s something about the power of this famous chazal that’s both comforting and compelling. “Kol hamisabel al Yerushalayim, zoche v’roeh b’simchasa…”

There are plenty of resources and organizations that help lone soldiers, Americans who volunteer to serve in the IDF without having any immediate family in