In addition to gaining sage advice from the Gedolim of Eretz Yisrael, the thousands of bachurim at the kinnus merited to hear words of chizuk and guidance from senior American roshei yeshiva as well. They heard from the zekan roshei yeshiva in America, HaGaon HaRav Shmuel Kamenetsky, shlita, who delivered an audio recording specifically for

In honor of my grand-nephew Yehudah Simcha ben Aryeh Lev entering the brit of Avraham Avinu on 11 Av 5782.

Masechet Ta’anit, filled with discussion of fasting and days of sorrow, ends, as the Talmud is wont to do, on a happy note, as Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel declares that the ultimate days of

When things get tough, there is always one place we can turn for whatever help and support we need—that place is God. In this week’s Torah portion (4:29-31), God assures us that even in difficult times He is always with us and wants us to make our relationship with Him real. By turning to God, we come to feel close to Him, which is the

Towards the end of the first aliyah of Parshat Devarim, Moshe states: “And I spoke to you at that time saying: I am not able to bear you alone. Hashem your God multiplied you and behold this day you are like the stars of heaven in abundance. Hashem, God of your fathers, should add to you a thousand fold and bless you as He declared

The Case

The series of thefts was discovered in shul. One woman, a math teacher, decided to bring up the bizarre theft.

“It was the strangest thing. At first I didn’t take notice of it, but something looked different. And then I realized! Someone

In his introduction to sefer Devarim, Ramban writes that sefer Devarim contains an elaboration of much of what was already previously taught in the Torah. However, before Moshe began this, he first rebuked bnei Yisrael and reminded them of their transgressions, and how much they went against Hashem in the desert and yet, Hashem was

Homo sapiens are unlike any other creature. Brushed by the Hand of God, we are formed in His image. We, alone, possess intelligence, consciousness, freewill, freedom of conscience and creativity. With these remarkable tools, we are expected to perfect a world which God intentionally left imperfect. Gifted with divine tools, we

I was playing baseball as a kid, covering left field, when the batter hit the ball…hard! I moved in to catch it, but realized I misjudged the ball as it flew way over my head. By the time I reached the ball, the batter was on third base. The ability to judge how far an item is from you, and your relationship to it, is called depth

The introductory subject of this week’s Torah reading concerns itself with vows and commitments that a person takes upon himself or herself willingly, by simply stating his or her intention. The Torah places great emphasis upon the spoken word. Everything that is uttered from our mouths obligates us to the commitment attached to it. Words

The Sages instituted many leniencies to permit the classical agunah, a woman whose husband has disappeared and cannot remarry without proof of death. How far would they go? In Ketubot (22b), Rav Assi distinguishes between a case of witnesses who testify that a woman’s husband died, which cannot be verified, and that of witnesses who

In Parshat Matot, Bnei Yisrael go to battle against Midian, seeking vengeance for the 24,000 Jewish lives that perished due to the Midianites. Although Bnei Yisrael came away with a whopping defeat, we find (31:14-16) that Moshe Rabbeinu became angry at the commanders for allowing the women to live, since they were known to have

It may be a bit shocking, but the Marriage Foundation has studied the issue extensively and has determined that, statistically, 31% of second marriages fail. That is not what is surprising, however. The surprising statistic is that 45% of first marriages end in divorce. Thus, second marriages are actually more stable and successful than