This past week we celebrated Rosh Chodesh Elul, a major step toward our upcoming encounter with the Almighty on Rosh Hashanah. As such, Chodesh Elul emerges as the preeminent time to prepare … more

During the Holocaust, the Klausenberger Rebbe, Rabi Yekutiel Halberstam, passed through the gates of hell many times. In the Warsaw Ghetto, the work camps and death marches and the final … more

Elul is the time to intensify and enhance righteous behavior in the individual and in society, thus creating an opening for emunah and yir’at shamayim Elul is the time to intensify and … more

This Shabbat has two complementary identities. It is known first and foremost as Shabbat Parashat Re’eh after the name of this week’s Torah reading, and secondly, as Shabbat Mevarchim … more

This week’s parsha, Re’eh (literally: “See!”) is all about learning to see the world through different eyes. This may explain why the particular mitzvah of being joyous on … more

Moses, having set out the prologue and preamble to the covenant and its broad guiding principles, turns in our parsha, Re’eh, to the details, which occupy the greater part of the book of … more

An interesting phrase appears at the end of last week’s parsha and at the beginning of this week’s, Eikev, and they are the only places where it appears in the Torah. The phrase is … more

As a parent, grandparent, and psychologist, I am often considered to be something of an expert on parenting and child-rearing. In that capacity, I have frequently been asked to review books on … more

The Torah is an incredibly rich work of interwoven thoughts and ideas. While this is true in general, I believe it is particularly the case regarding Sefer Devarim. Our parasha, Eikev, contains a … more

Other than former current events, nothing dates a Jewish book more than when discussing or quoting a deceased great rabbi with “Rabbi So and So, Shlit’a, says…” The … more