Our parsha contains two juxtaposed mitzvot with seemingly no connection between them: “When you slaughter a peace offering to the Lord, you shall slaughter it for your acceptance. It may be eaten on the day you slaughter it and on the next day, but anything left over until the third day shall be burned in fire … When you reap the

It is a topic that is often under much discussion in Israel. What should citizens do after they have neutralized, so to speak, someone who had stabbed and killed Israeli citizens just moments beforehand? Is it immoral to kill them? Are they not still a future threat?

It must be understood that anytime

 This week is a double parsha of Acharei Mot and Kedoshim. Parshat Acharei Mot starts with the words Hashem spoke to Moshe after the death of Aharon’s sons. One could then assume that the rest of parsha will speak about the death of Aharon’s sons and how everyone felt about it, but it doesn’t. The parsha starts

A friend recently shared a picture of a group of Jews being led to the concentration camps and then directly underneath was another picture of soldiers standing upright, protecting Israel. The picture so quickly conveyed the sentiment of this time on the modern Jewish calendar of Yom HaShoah and Yom Ha’atzmaut—how the Jewish people went

One of the most difficult concepts to deal with is the Torah’s admonition in this week’s parsha to not follow in the ways of the nations (Vayikra 18:3). What does this mean and what are the limits? Was this only an admonition for the Jews at the time they were entering Canaan? Was it also meant for future generations? Does it apply

Once, the famed Mashgiach of Mir—Rav Yerucham Levovitz—met an irreligious German professor, and Rav Yerucham attempted to draw this person back to Torah. The professor began asking Rav Yerucham of his knowledge of certain philosophical books, but one by one Rav Yerucham replied that he had never read any of them. “So how can you say

They are barely 12 years old, they refer to themselves as an “internet startup,” and they lack the deep resources of Jewish communal juggernauts like the Orthodox Union, Yeshiva University and ArtScroll. Yet Aleph Beta has managed to forge an innovative path in Torah study and attract 11,000 paid subscribers and more

Frequently, when I meet someone from the Philadelphia area, they ask me if I’m related to “Mrs. Hansi Bodenheim.” “That’s my Oma (the German term for grandmother),” I respond. “I loved your grandmother,” they often tell me. She was a librarian and preschool teacher at the Torah Academy of Philadelphia for close to 40 years.

“Listen, boychik, ven I vas much younger in da Bronx, the Ruf of de shul of Bais Shraga allowed it. Dat’s gut enuf for me. If its gut enuf for Maariv, it should be gut enuf for Sefiras HaOmer.”

“The Mishna Berurah says that when the mechaber says, ‘mibod yom,’ it’s referring to after bein

While it’s clear from the Torah that man was created last in the process of the creation of the world, David Hamelech—at first glance—seems to put a puzzling twist on the creation of man: “Last and first you created me,” (Tehillim, 139). It sounds from David that while man was created last, he was also created first! How could

For most ordinary human beings, getting out one book is a formidable experience that can take lots of time and energy, and when done, leave them eager to finally rebalance their schedules.

Rabbi Daniel Friedman of Teaneck, however, is surely no ordinary human being. Over the past two years,

On Pesach, as we go through the Haggadah, we learn about the four sons. Before learning about the children it says that we should bless The One who gave His nation the Torah.

Why is that?

Each one of us can have a different perception of what it means to be wise,