Late in Life
Many people wake up one day and realize that they achieved their goals later in life than many or most of the people around them. A person may get married or reach a career milestone much later than their family members …
Thoughts
Short reflections drawing daily meaning from the teachings of the Land of Israel.
59 pieces
Absolute Standards
It is very common for people to judge their self-worth and personal achievements relative to those of others. In fact, whether we like to admit it or not we may even wish that someone else achieves less so that we can be…
I’m not as great as you think
Many people are conscious of how others perceive them and often allow a perception to persist because of the fear that they will not be valued or of being given proper respect for who they are. People often go by percept…
Judging our Sages
Some of us have been disappointed with our religious appointees one time or another. It may be because we felt that they are not qualified for their job or because we felt they have failed us. One could begin to make the…
Do Not Turn Away From Your Own Flesh (Isaiah 58:7)
All of us aspire to have those ideal families which we read about in stories. Accepting, forgiving, social and always there for each other. All too often our families fall short of this ideal, often quite short. We may d…
Why Do We Forget Our Torah Study?
Whether we study Torah casually or on a steadfast and regular basis, we will find that no matter how much we toil and review our studies sooner or later we forget much of what we have learned. Many people get frustrated,…
Auditing
When all is going well many people develop a healthy sense of complacency, while others may develop an unhealthy smugness. We may come to believe that our material success is a reflection of our spiritual success. A pers…
Be careful what you ask for
Even when nothing is truly wrong in our lives many of us will immerse ourselves in our problems and pour out our hearts to God. We'll ask God for all our personal needs, the needs of our families and neighbors and even o…
Jul 22, 2021
Status Quo
In life we often experience antithetical outcomes. We can try hard at something certain that our efforts will pan out yet the results can be quite discouraging. This is true no matter how great our conviction and dedicat…
Jul 21, 2021
Temptation
It is rare to find someone who truly and honestly believes that he is impervious to temptation. However, there could be certain situations where we may reasonably think that temptation can never enter our realm. Repeated…
Jan 8, 2021
Happy Birthday
When we are little, nothing excites us more than that long awaited birthday. It is a day when we are in the spotlight and everyone’s focus is on us. On this day we feel lucky and empowered. As many of us get older, that …
Aug 7, 2014
It's a Miracle!
"Its a Miracle!” - These are words that all us have used and misused. When something unlikely happens we tend to call it a “miracle”. However, many of us will find upon introspection that we use this exclamation rather l…
Aug 1, 2014
Yielding
We are often faced with a situation where we end up yielding to someone else even though we believe that we are equally entitled. This is especially true when we deal with someone who is at a disadvantage. Letting a hand…
כוונות טובות. החלטות רעות
ההחלטות שאנו עושים בכל יום כרגיל מונעות על ידי כוונות בלתי מזיקות. מעטים הם האנשים שאינם מבינים שלהזיק במישהו על ידי מעשהו הוא דבר מגונה! לפעמים אנו יוצאים בנתיב פעולה מסויים דווקא במטרה לעשות את מה שאנו חושבים לנכון. אב…
Letter of the Law
The words of the Torah are absolute and literally binding. Even if we think we understand their purpose we must never deviate from their literal observance. Most of us will agree that the commandments of the Torah are di…
Jun 22, 2014
Do out of Love. Do out of Fear.
The Sages of the Land of Israel teach us that a measure of pragmatism must always be used when dealing with human nature. A person can never be absolutely sure of his true disposition at any given moment. Some people wor…
קורח: המחייב הסופי
בתחילת הפרשה משתדלים קרח ועדתו להפיל את משה ואהרן, מיועדי המנהיגות והכהונה האלה-יות אבל מיתתם המהירה של קרח ועדתו משמשת הוראה על כנותם של משה ואהרן. אולם, חכמינו הרחיבו את תכנית העירעור של קרח והוסיפו שכפר קרח אפילו בתור…
Letter and Spirit
The words of the Torah are absolute and literally binding. Even if we think we understand their purpose we must never deviate from their literal observance. At the beginning of the Parasha, Korach and his co-conspirators…
Israel and the Nations
Jews all over the world are aware of the unusual hostility harbored by the Nations towards our people and our Country. Nevertheless, our long history among the Nations has been studded with periods of neutrality or even …
Productive Punishment
The Torah teaches us about Eve's sin in disregarding God's order not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge. Eve was swayed by the Serpent and not only ate of the Tree herself but also fed it to Adam her husband. The punishment…
קידושי אישה בטבעת
המנהג הרווח בכל קהילות ישראל הוא לקדש אישה בטבעת. גם ידועה לכל יהודי הנוסחה הדגולה "הרי את מקודשת לי בטבעת זו" שמצהיר החתן בשומו את הבטבעת על אצבעה של כלתו. ומודיע בעל הטורים: "נהגו העולם לקדש בטבעת" (אבן העזר, לא). על ה…
May 26, 2014
Good Intentions. Bad Decisions.
Even the purest of intentions can have negative repercussions. The Sages of the Land of Israel teach us that good intentions alone do not always yield good decisions. The decisions we make in our lifetimes are usually mo…
God-Mentor
Our moral and ethical standing on Earth determines our standing in the cosmic realm. What is more is that God's personal involvement in mentoring the Jewish People reflects the unique closeness between God and His People…
Apr 24, 2014
The Size of a Mitzvah
Many people focus their energies on what appears to them to be an important commandment or a Big Mitzvah, often neglecting what they think is not such an important commandment or a Small Mitzvah. What makes one commandme…
All of Israel is Equal
The equality of individuals is usually thought to be a modern concept, one which today defines a desirable society. However, the equality of the Jewish People was already fundamental to the belief system of the Sages of …
Apr 14, 2014
Salvation
When a difficult situation arises in our lives and especially for our nation as a whole, we turn to God with the hope that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. But as time passes and no way out of our situation pre…
Yannai
Yannai was the first of Israel's classic poets which flourished somewhere in the 6th century, just a couple hundred years after the closing of the Talmud of the Land of Israel. Rabbi Gershon known as the Illumination of …
Apr 1, 2014
Everybody Matters
The Sages of the Land of Israel teach us that no matter how small our sphere of influence and no matter how profound the change we seek, our individual efforts are very much notable. It would be fair to say that many of …
Apr 1, 2014
Temptation
It is rare to find someone who truly and honestly believes that he is impervious to temptation. However, there could be certain situations where we may reasonably think that temptation can never enter our realm. Repeated…
"I Don’t Know"
We lay great stress on off-hand knowledge. Who hasn't been impressed by the breadth of knowledge of a great scholar especially one who is proficient in the subjects of the Torah? We may even find that we tend to dismiss …
Mar 20, 2014
Its not your Fault!
When misfortune befalls us some of us will introspect and search within our souls for its cause. We’ll ask ourselves what it is that we have done to deserve this misfortune. Sometimes we may assume that we went wrong som…
Mar 16, 2014
Honor Your Father and Mother
The Biblical commandment of “Honor your father and mother” is a universally accepted ethic known equally to Jews and Gentiles all around the world. Even those of us who are not so fond of our parents or even worse hold g…
Wisdom of Women
The Wisdom of Women One of the special services that the women were able to provide in the construction of the Mishkan was in weaving materials. This was a task which required a special wisdom which only the women posses…
Mar 13, 2014
Turning the Evil Inclination to Good
Even during the Days of Repentance, with Yom Ha-Kippurim right around the corner, we may find that our resolutions for the new year have begun to waver. We may find that some of our sins are not new ones, but ones that w…
Communal Responsibilities
Our Synagogues and communities abound with opportunities for the individual to step up and offer his or her services for the needs of the many. But many communal tasks are often menial and bothersome bearing little prest…
Death and Mourning: A Cosmic Experience
Death and Mourning: A Cosmic Experience God commands Aaron and his children to observe God’s watch for seven days at the opening of the Tent of Meeting. The meaning of “God’s watch” here is not entirely clear. In what se…
Betzalel: Man's Lofty Intellect
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Blessing in our World
Blessing in our World When we contemplate our lives we may observe that one endeavor after another has failed on us. Some of us fault ourselves. We are convinced that success would have been possible if we only tried a l…
Jan 31, 2014
Power of Prayer
The Power of Prayer For many of us the source of our motivation to pray is our belief that we have the power to engage God for our needs. Nevertheless, moments where we fear that our personal lacking and sin will cause G…
Precedence of Disadvantaged
יש קדימה למי שידו על התחתונה שני קדרים שהיו מהלכין זה אחר זה. נתקל הראשון ונפל נתקל השני בראשון הראשון חייב בנזקי של שני. זה בא בחביתו וזה בקורתו נשברה כדו של זה בקורתו של זה פטור שלזה רשות להלך ולזה רשות להלך: (בבא קמא …
Dec 24, 2013
Everybody Counts
Everybody Counts It would be fair to say that many of us have personal peeves and dissatisfaction with our People. We, as a People also freely admit that we have much room for improvement. There may have been a time when…
Do out of Love do out of Fear (Berakhoth 9:5)
עשה מאהבה ועשה מיראה. עשה מאהבה שאם באת לשנוא דע כי אתה אוהב ואין אוהב שונא. עשה מיראה שאם באת לבעוט דע שאתה ירא ואין ירא בועט. (ברכות פרק ט: ה, סז,א) The Talmud Yerushalmi gives us advise on how to worship God and perfo…
Delighting Children on Yom Tov
Delighting Children on Yom Tov Its hard to imagine today a Holiday celebration that does not make the children its center. The obligation to delight our children and include them in the joy of the holiday is found in the…
Makom Kavua
Makom Kavua Praying in the same seat in the same synagogue on a daily basis is commonly perceived as the optimal manner of praying. The Talmud Bavli (Berakhoth 6b) encourages one to designate a place for his prayer (כל ה…
Speech of Righteous Women (Sota 7:1)
Speech of Righteous Women ר' יוחנן בשם ר' ליעזר בי ר' שמעון: לא מצינו שדיבר המקום עם אשה אלא עם שרה בלבד . . . אמר ר' בירי: כמה כירכורי כירכורים הקדב"ה מתאוה לשמוע שיחתן של צדקניות - "ויאמר לא כי צחקת" (ברא יח:טו) (סוטה …
Oct 15, 2013
Announcing Coins
The Mishnah (Shekalim 1:1) teaches that on the first of Adar the courts of each city would announce to their inhabitants and the villages surrounding them that the time has come to bring their contribution of coins to th…
Abstinence as a Remedy for Troubled Times
Abstinence as a Remedy for Troubled Times א"ר אבון כתיב (איוב ל:ג) "בחסר ובכפן גלמוד" בשעה שאת רואה חסרון בא לעולם עשה אשתך גלמודה. (תענית ז,א פרק א:ו) How does one act in times of distress? Rabbi Abun quoting Job teache…
Women Going out Adorned
Women Going out Adorned A woman’s modesty has always been encouraged by our Sages in various degrees and under different circumstances. It has often been considered a woman’s primary beauty and piety. We read in the Talm…
God judges the Jews by Day and Gentiles by Night
God judges the Jews during the Day and the Gentiles at Night א"ר לוי "והוא ישפט תבל בצדק ידין לאומים במישרים" (תהילים ט:ט) הקב"ה דן את ישראל ביום בשעה שהן עסוקין במצות (ואת האומות בלילה בשעה שהן בטילין מן העבירות (ראש הש…
Peace in the Fabric of Jewish Law_Hebrew
השלום במרקם החוק והחיים היהודיים המשנה בפסחים ג:ח רושמת זה ליד זה שלושה דברים: הבאת הפסח, מילת הבן וסעודת אירוסין בבית חמיו. במקום להפריע לקיום של המצוות הללו, על האדם לבטל את החמץ בדעתו אם נזכר שיש לו בבית השלום אינו נז…
Abraham turned Evil Inclination into Good
אברהם אבינו עשה יצר הרע טוב (ברכות ט:ב) Abraham our forefather turned his evil inclination into good אברהם אבינו עשה יצר הרע טוב דכתיב ומצאת את לבבו נאמן לפניך (נחמיה ט:ח). אמר רבי אחא והפסיד? אלא וכרות עמו הברית (והחסד)…
Sep 11, 2013
Peace in the Fabric of Jewish Law
Peace in the Fabric of Jewish Law אמר ר' יוסה בי רבי בון: בא וראה מה גדול הוא השלום שהוקש לשני דברים שחייבין עליהן כרת (פסחים כג,ב) Rabbi Yosa the son of Rabbi Bon said: Come see how great peace is that it was connected …
The Active Role of God and Satan in Man's Affair's
The active role of God and Satan in man's affairs. The Talmud Yerushalmi tends to make plain God's and Satan's involvement in the affairs of man. The Talmud Bavli often extracts the active force in parallel passages. If …
"Better let them remain ignorant of sinning"
"Better let them remain ignorant of sinning". A dilemma that the Rabbis constantly wrestled with is whether to correct the masses of erroneous halakhic behavior. Should they let them continue in their path and sin unknow…
Tradition vs Inquiry in Establishing Fact or Reality in the Talmud Yerushalmi
Tradition vs Inquiry in Establishing Fact or Reality in the Talmud Yerushalmi. We find different approaches among the Sages to the question of how to establish the halakhic status of natural phenomena (e.g. the classific…
Chumra and Prohibiting the Permissible
Chumra and Prohibiting the Permissible (החומרא ואסירת המותר). The Ta lmud Yerushalmi cautions about taking unnecessary stringencies, both in their positive sense of taking upon oneself what is not required and the negati…
Amidah: Sacrifice or Prayer?
Amidah: Sacrifice or Prayer? The Gemara is found in Berachoth 1:1 and discusses the source for the halakhah that during the Amidah we stand with our feet next to each other. We will discuss soon exactly what it means tha…
May 24, 2012
Today
The Jerusalem Talmud Today Notwithstanding the continued interest in the Jerusalem Talmud through out the generations, this Talmud still remains a relatively closed book. A major factor contributing to this paucity is th…
May 24, 2012
Through The Ages
Jerusalem Talmud Throughout The Ages The Jerusalem Talmud did not cease to be studied through out the ages. In Babylonia, the authors of early Halakhic works (originating from Sura) such as Halakhoth Gedoloth, Halakhoth …