Category: Uncategorized
Choosing The Tree Of Life
Anyone who’s had to deal with kids, either as a parent or as a teacher, has heard the battle-cry and defense “He made me do it!”. As the adults in the room, we work hard to convince our charges that we can’t help or…
SPARKS OF LIGHT
It was a Friday afternoon, a short winter Friday, and I found myself sitting in a doctor’s office on the bad side of town. On a fluke, we hadn’t been able to get insurance clearance before this date, and this was the only possible…
Standing Before Hashem
One of the most tragic decisions made by the government of the State of Israel was the decision to purposefully and viciously secularize the migrant Yemenite children. Taken away from their parents, who were often told they’d succumbed to disease and died, these children…
The Comfort of Knowing Hashem
Shabbos Nachamu, named for the first word in the Haftorah, starts a cycle of seven weeks called the “Sheva D’nechemtah”. These seven weeks between Tisha B’av and Rosh Hashana mark an uptick and change in the tone of our relationship with Hashem. Whereas Tammuz…
Lessons Learned From the Lion of Av
‘Aerodynamically, a bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly. But no one told the bumblebee…so she flies.” I read this quote on a bumper sticker years ago and thought it was a cool trivia fact but not much more. Almost three years ago, the message…
Yosef’s Struggle: From Yosef Hatzadik to Moshiach Ben Yosef
This is the second part of our Tammuz post. For Part One, click here http://Goo.gl/cKzpvq. Babies, from almost the minute they are born, are looking to connect and interact with their parents. From a remarkably young age, they are able to tease and flirt,…
TAMMUZ: SEEING HASHEM
Nature is not natural, it’s supernatural. My middle school principal, famous for his aphorisms that helped us remember the messages of his parasha classes was especially excited about this one. While I no longer remember the lesson this saying was taught in connection to,…
Beyond the Inspiration
Wow. Amazing shiur. What a Yom Kippur! That was scary—a real wake up call! I feel so uplifted, as if I’m a new person. I’m ready, I’m committed. This is it. A new me has be born. Sound familiar? Famous last words, you might…
Moshe, Dovid, and What the Other Nations Rejected
Walk through any Bais Yaakov elementary school this week and the halls will resonate with the same song: ‘Hashem gave us a present, do you know what it was, He gave us the Torah and we must keep its laws…’ It’s the second stanza…
Preparing to Accept The Torah: Part One
All things in life require preparation. Inspiration doesn’t happen on its own, and neither does spiritual growth. Matan Torah, as a world-changing event, required major prepation. As we discussed in a previous post (https://goo.gl/xwJu7k), the weeks of Sefiras Ha’omer were given as a guide…
Korban Pesach: A Lesson of Exclusivity
The term ‘blood libel’ is one we are all familiar with. We’ve heard stories from all areas of the world, in generations past. The more recent stories and the ‘trials’ are recorded in history books and studied, while the more ancient stories are recounted…
An Amazing Story of Genetics & Hashgacha Pratis
A Brief Explanation Of Genetics Genetics are a sensitive subject, made touchier by some general confusion on the subject. When something is wrong with a child, on top of all the serious fear and confusion, the idea of people attributing it to ‘genetics’ and…
