Joe Godin was back in his element, serving samples of his special cornbread and onion jam at the new and expanded kosher food section of ShopRite in Englewood on Sunday, June 11. Since his restaurant Smokey Joe’s in Teaneck closed in 2016, Godin has focused on his catering business. Now he’s branching

My children all called Rabbi Dovid Kaminetsky, z”l, “Zaydie.”

I imagine that some of yours did too. Or could have. It’s true that my children enjoyed a family connection with Rabbi K, and that surely impacted how they thought of him. By virtue of my sister’s marrying

The word legend has several definitions. In its noun form, it is used either to relate a story, portrays an extraordinarily famous individual or detail an inscription, especially on a coin or medal. As an adjective, legend describes someone well-known. Rarely, though, can one find a person or entity that would deserve the

Seven years ago, when I was marching in the 63rd Salute to Israel Parade, I vividly recall the emcee announcing RYNJ with a special welcome to Rabbi Dovid Kaminetsky. As part of the introduction, it was announced that Rabbi Kaminetsky has marched at practically every Salute to Israel Parade. This past week, thousands of lives

I was recently interviewed for the alumni section of the Rosenbaum Yeshiva of North Jersey’s annual report. Among the questions I was asked was, “What advice would you give to current RYNJ students?” Without thinking twice, I said, “Spend as much time as you possibly can with Rabbi Kaminetsky. His incredibly loving

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 51. These are some highlights.

Zevachim 51: Should you choose to daven at the farther shul?

Bamidbar 13:1-33

“Do you believe in miracles?”

That was the famous line from sportscaster Al Michaels on February 22, 1980, when the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team beat the seemingly unbeatable Russian national team at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics during

The Greatness of Ribi Shalom

The greatest halachic authority of Moroccan Jewry in recent times was the universally respected and consulted Sephardic rav of Yerushalayim, Ribi Shalom Messas זצ”ל. Ribi Shalom is regarded by many as the second-greatest Sephardic posek in the prior

Many of us are aware that the oldest complete Hebrew Bible is the Leningrad Codex, which dates to the early 11th century. It is currently stored in the National Library of Russia in the city of St. Petersburg (formerly called Leningrad). Earlier than this, we have the Aleppo Codex, which dates to the 10th century.

Parshat Shelach

Whenever discussing this week’s haftarah that relates the story of the spies sent by Yehoshua before the Israelite invasion of Eretz Canaan, the first issue that comes to mind is why. Why would he have sent spies when he himself was directly involved in the terrible events

Shlomo Hamelech stated: “It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of celebration, and the living will give heart.” (Koheles 7:2)

Although simchos are beautiful and uplifting, most of the time we don’t leave inspired. In fact, on the way home from a wedding we often

Part III

The 16th century saw an unprecedented explosion of Jewish historical writing. According to Yerushalmi, “Within the span of 100 years no less than 10 major historical works were produced by Jews.”

This would seem to contradict Yerushalmi’s