Seconds, then minutes. The boat overturned in the murky waters of the Yarkon River, trapping the woman who had been energetically rowing moments before. Even the air bubbles had ceased. A small … more

Do we have the right to test G-d? Can we sit back and wait for G-d to give us a sign as to what we are meant to do? Or perhaps we are meant to live in somewhat of a fog, so as to preserve intact our freedom to choose and make decisions in this world? This week’s portion, Chayei Sarah, contains a fascinating story on this topic: Avraham is getting on in years, his beloved wife Sarah is now gone and buried, and it is apparently time for Yitzchak to find a wife. So he calls in his trusted servant, Eliezer, and sends him on a mission to find a suitable mate for his son. more

Tibor Rubin was a Corporal in the Korean War when his battalion was ambushed by thousands of Chinese troops in the battle of Unsan, North Korea, in the fall of 1950. The Americans’ firepower … more

A few weeks ago, at a now much publicized Rosh Chodesh prayer service at the Kotel, things got ugly. As they have been doing for nearly 25 years, a group … more

Eternity. What does it mean? Does anything really last forever? Many years ago, in the pre-dawn darkness on an empty Jerusalem road, I discovered just how fleeting life can be. After a very late … more

There is a darkness sometimes that rages within which can overpower our very being… I had a Battalion commander, who took the first watch on the tank after a brutal day in the Lebanon war. It was the third night of fighting, and the men by now were near exhaustion. more

At times like these, my thoughts often go back to Dani Moshitz, one of my closest friends, who was killed in a terrorist ambush in 1984 at the Kasmieh bridge in Lebanon. Thirty years later, his intense love of Torah and of the land of Israel remain an inspiration. more

The banging on the door was a shock, but everyone knew what it meant. The summer of 1938 was not an auspicious time to be Jewish in Berlin, yet Hans was not Jewish, or at least he was not Jewish … more

Chapter 28 in last week’s parsha of Ki Tavo is one of the most difficult and harrowing chapters in the entire Torah. Yet, along with chapter 30 in this … more

I have long been intrigued by one passage in this week’s parsha, Beha’altecha. After a lengthy stay in the Sinai desert, the people are about to begin the second part of their … more