T here 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 …
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By Binny Freedman
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3/20/24
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In a cattle car in Poland, in the summer of 1942, Reb Azriel Dovid Fastag, a composer for the Modzitzer Rebbe, was headed to his death in Treblinka. Over a hundred Jews, forced to stand for days on …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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3/13/24
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In 1860, a relatively unknown one-term congressman named Abraham Lincoln stunned the country by prevailing over three prominent rivals — William Seward, Salmon Chase, and Edward Bates — …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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2/21/24
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A former chief rabbi accused and arrested for possible bribery and embezzlement, a rabbinic leader found guilty of inappropriate behavior with his students, and yet another rabbi accused of bribing …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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2/7/24
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May 1948. Tough times for the Jewish people, particularly for Jews struggling to claw out a place for themselves in a land they hoped to claim as their own.
A few months after the United Nations …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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1/24/24
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I recall an incredible series of coincidences that to me were nothing short of miraculous. A student had been desperate to speak with me, and we finally managed to connect in New York the day before …
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By Binny Freedman
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1/10/24
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Anger is one of life’s greatest challenges. Who can resist and overcome its formidable temptations?
There is a fascinating moment in this week’s parsha of Vayishlach that …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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11/29/23
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At the end of every command-course in the Israeli army, a questionnaire known as a Sociometric test is given to each cadet. It’s a pretty simple form: each soldier is asked to list five fellow …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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11/15/23
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Akeidat Yitzchak, the binding of Isaac, is one of the most challenging stories in Jewish history. A parent is asked to do the unthinkable — to sacrifice his beloved son, in the name of … …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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11/1/23
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Contrary to popular myth, there is no better or worse way to lose someone close to you, but there is definitely a worst way to find out about it.
It had been a long day, and I was finally …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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10/18/23
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