Marrying Against Parental Wishes
When Mom and Dad say No The Maharik, Moreinu Harav Yosef Kolon zt”l Do parental objections to a child’s choice of marital partner carry any halakhic weight? The Maharik (Moreinu Harav Yosef Kolon zt”l — Italy, 1420-1480, student of the Maharil) Relations between parent and child can become quite complicated, especially as both get older. […]
Confusion in Krakow
Rav David Horowitz zt”l in the “Piskei Teshuvot” A man in Krakow became ill with typhus, a highly contagious disease. He was, thank G-d, sent a cure, but was forced to remain in the hospital for a month of recuperation. He naturally asked that his tefillin be sent to him. This simple request, however, created […]
I Forgot Bircat HaOmer. What Now?
Hagaon Rav Shlomo Kluger zt”l in “Haelef Lecha Shelomo” Forgetting to count the Omer is particularly distressing, especially missing a full day, because from that day on one can no longer count with a blessing. One rabbinical judge (in the 1600s) suggested a solution: If you forgot to say the bracha, take the Amud for […]
The Tu B’Shvat – Shabbat Shira Connection
Synthesizing the Physical and the Spiritual Mrs. Deena Nataf, Midreshet Rachel V’Chaya The 15th of Shevat is the point at which most of this year’s rains should have fallen. This time of year revolves around geshem, rain, and beracha, blessing — especially in Eretz Yisrael, where rainfall is inextricably bound up in our relationship with […]
Shvat: A Time to Grow
by Shprintzee Herskowitz, Midreshet Rachel v’Chaya Not many people appreciate the importance of the month of Shvat. Shvat is most known for the fifteenth day of the month called “Tu B’Shvat” or the “tree holiday”.Unfortunately, since we are not much of an agricultural society today, the significance of trees, and thus the month of Shvat, […]
The Lesson of the ‘Bokser’
by Rebbetzin Ruthie Karlinsky It’s cold outside, raining, maybe even snowing…. It’s the middle of the winter for most of us; Chanukah is long gone and Purim and Pesach are still a few months away. It’s the month of Shvat and on the fifteenth day we celebrate Tu B’Shvat. But what celebration are we actually […]
Communal Prayer: Is This My Minyan or All of Our’s?
Rabbi Elie Silverberg Today is the Tenth of Tevet, one of the six fasts we are commanded to undertake during the year. It represents the date in the Jewish calendar on which our enemies besieged Jerusalem. Eventually the walls of Jerusalem were penetrated on the Seventeenth of Tammuz and the Beit Hamikdash was destroyed on […]
“Sof Maaseh B’Machshava Techila”
The Month of Tevet, From Beginning to End Rabbi Dovid Kamenetsky We usher in the month of Tevet on a spiritual high. The first two days of the month shine with the brightest Chanuka lights, seven and eight candles respectively. However, just over a week later, we seem to lose all our excitement with the […]
Rome – The Divider
by Rabbi Menachem Farber Teves, the month the destruction of the Temple commenced, is a time to contemplate what those who destroyed the Temple were attempting to do. The end of Parshat Vayishlach describes to us in a very cryptic form the history of Esav/Edom. The last pasuk speaks about Esav at the pinnacle of […]
Playing Checkers on Chanuka
A Chassidic Story The following story is told about the Holy Tzaddik Rav Nachum of Stefanesht, of blessed memory. One time during Chanuka he suddenly entered his beit medrash where there were a number of people sitting playing checkers. When they noticed that their rebbe was standing over them they became very afraid. He spoke […]
