In 1925, the American Astronomer Edwin Hubble demonstrated (as an extension of Vesto Slipher’s discovery in 1918) that the universe was not static, it was expanding: every galaxy in the … more

The second verse of our parasha presents the commandment to offer a korban olah, a completely burnt offering, in the Mishkan and later the Beit Hamikdash: “Command (tzav) Aaron and his … more

This week’s parsha, Vayeitzei, relates a powerful, primal vision of prayer: Jacob, alone and far from home, lies down for the night, with only stones for a pillow, and dreams of a ladder, with … more

One of the well-known halachot found in our parasha, Emor, is the law of retributive justice (lex talionis), known popularly as “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth (ayin tachat … more

I remember, as a high school student, hearing our rosh yeshiva, Rabbi Shlomo Riskin, relate one of the questions he used to ask when interviewing prospective rebbeim for our high … more

Q uite a few years ago, I spent almost every Sunday afternoon in one of the great museums of the city where we then lived. I no longer remember what first stimulated my interest in art, and … more

Issue of Dec. 12 2008 / 15 Kislev 5769 Cedarhurst - Kehillas Bais Yehudah Tzvi (The Red Shul) will resume a weekly late night seder each Thursday night in the shul at 395 Oakland Avenue, running … more

Some of the curses in the tokhacha are meant to hit so close to home. Verses 28:29-33 describe how some things we might take for granted could easily be unequivocally stripped from us. more

Never, as long as I live, will I forget that moment, when the sounds of children’s laughter on a beautiful, peaceful Jerusalem afternoon were shattered by the screams of terror and agony that are the music for the dance of the suicide bomber. more

The Torah uses two phrases several times to indicate a longer-range prediction or association of fact. One phrase is “ad hayom hazeh,” literally translated to mean “until this … more