What does it mean to ‘Live Life to the Fullest?’
It takes some a near-death experience to realize just how fragile and uncertain our lives really are. There are also those so preoccupied with questions of existentialism, they can’t revert their focus to everyday reality.
Does Zionism Equal Judaism?
Is Zionism part and parcel of Judaism? This question has been argued for more than a century with no conclusive answer in sight. I’d suggest there is no clear answer;…
The War of Ideas: Sickly left posts video showing random Jews and Arabs kissing
In his collection of political articles titled, “War of Ideas” former Likud MK Moshe Feiglin discusses the crucial differences in thinking between the Left and Right. Feiglin realized the need…
There’s no “bad” in the world (based on the teachings of Rav Nachman)
If we believe in G-d, we believe that: Everything comes from Him and G-d is all-good and all-merciful. While these basic principles of faith originated with the Jews, they aren’t…
Elul and Lessons in Spirituality
The holy month of Elul is upon us once again. The Chassidic masters taught that this is the month when the Gates of Heaven are open to our prayers more…
Why they hate us: Anti-Semitism Explained
The Jewish people have been persecuted since the dawn of mankind. When Abraham, the first Jew, sets out on his quest to reveal the true G-d and rid the world…
Prominent Minority Activists Lead Panel Discussion at Tel-Aviv University on Intl’l Human Rights Day
Yesterday (Tues, 11/12), the Im Tirzu movement held two panel discussions related to the international celebration of “Human Rights Day.” Prominent activists from the right attended and made it clear…
Interview with Baruch Mordechai: IDF Soldier in Need
Baruch approached me yesterday and asked if I could help him with his wedding. Having loyally served his people and the country he loves, he now finds himself in difficult financial straits. Here’s an interview I conducted with Baruch:
An Interview with Chaya Chertok
It was a breezy night in Jerusalem. People from around the world were dining in fancy restaurants in the city center. Chaya Chertok, a close friend of mine from Chicago,…
“Only in Israel:” Praising the Land in the holy month of Elul
I’ve gone more than a month with no blogposts. Not a good feeling when before I was posting once a day or at least a few times a week, but…
Do Thieves Have a Conscience: The Best Jewish Marriage and Relationship Advice
Two Select Chapters from a booklet on Jewish marriage and relationship advice that have given me a better perspective on relationships and the world around me (dedicated to the speedy…
Moshe and Aharon; Models of Brotherhood and Leadership
Moshe and Aharon – brothers and leaders – both appear in this week’s Parsha, Parashat Te’zav’e, though in very different ways…Since his appearance on the biblical stage in Parshat Shmot until the ending of the five Chumashim, this week’s Parsha is the only one where Moshe’s name does not appear, though he is referred to constantly as the entire Parsha is addressed to him.
The Mishkan and Jewish Donations – who’s doing whom the favor?
“People some times ask me – rabbi, doesn’t it make you a little uncomfortable traveling around the world asking people for money? I tell them – no, not in the least! I know that these schools are our future and that the work they do is wholly, aimed at bettering the Jewish people and the world entire”.
Brand Spankin New Haveil Havalim: Macabbi Loses 1st in 18 Tries; World Still Here
And now, for the moment y’all were so eagerly anticipating…this week’s Havel Haveilim posts (none of which consequently, covered Macabbi–or the wonderful world of b-ball):
BDS vs. BS”D; meat, milk and true moral sensitivity
God: “And remember, Moshe, to keep kosher, never cook a kid goat in its mother’s milk. It is cruel.” Moshe: “God, so are you saying we should never eat milk and meat…
Presenting this Week’s Haveil Havelim…in Which Stephen Harper Says What We Were All Thinkin’
Public notice: Haveil Havelim is the veteran weekly Jewish blog carnival. It floats from blog to blog coordinated on our facebook page. You can submit your articles via blog carnival….
Yitro, Stephen Harper and John Kerry – Advice vs. “Advice”
To what degree should we listen to the advice of our allies and other nations? One could argue that we should take it very seriously. Moshe
takes the advice of his non Jewish father in law, a political and religious leader of a foreign, pagan, nation on a very sensitive topic – how to run our judicial system.
Conviction and National Self Worth On the Beaches of Yam Suf (or the lack thereof)
Look carefully at the following image: …
High Fashion, Auto Anti-Zionism and The Plague of Darkness
Let’s say my name is Jim, I speak English and I happen to wear Calvin Klein shirts. Or that my name is Natasha, I speak Russian and I happen to wear ‘Zara’. Do any of these practices constitute a transgression of Torah or any paragraph in the Shulchan Aruch? No, they do not. Why then, of all things, did we merit being redeemed from Egypt for “not changing our language, our names and our dress”?
A Zionist Paradigm Shift in Parashat VaYera – Stop Talking “Security”, Start Talking “Destiny”!
Sometimes, when reading the Parsha, a political message jumps right at you, accusingly: Moshe relays the people’s complaint to Hashem and accuses – “why have you done evil to this people!… from the time I came to Pharaoh… he did evil… you did not rescue your people!”
Hilchot Shabbat: Chicken Grease on Fingers
Avramy ate chicken at the Friday night seuda. Now his hands are greasy. He remembered that last week his father, after eating a pomegranate, cleaned his hands with water as opposed to with a cloth napkin. Avramy is now wondering if he must do the same.
On Parshat Shmot: It’s up to YOU!
In this week’s parsha, Shmot, we witness the coming to power of a new Pharaoh who “did not know Joseph” and the subsequent enslavement of the Jewish people. It’s in this parsha that the baby Moshe is delivered out of harms way; placed and sealed into a tiny basket by his parents, Amram and Yocheved, and found by Pharaoh’s righteous daughter, Batya.
More Soup, Please!
Mr. Goldberger loves eating hot soup on Shabbos. He often takes seconds. Lately, he heard in Hilchos Shabbos shiur that one should be careful not to re-heat liquids that cooled down. After enjoying his first bowl, Mr. Goldberger started wondering: should he dry the ladle before taking seconds?
“He Who Lives Outside of ‘The Land’ is Like he Who Has No God:” Insights on Parshat Va’yetze
Ramban, on the other hand, says that (translated from Hebrew): This is not a condition as Rashi says, but a vow and “unless I return to my father’s home, I will not follow in the ways of Hashem in the Promised Land at the location of this stone where I will built a House of G-d and bring the ma’aser. And there’s a (secret) in this matter (from כתובות ק”י): Anyone who lives outside of ‘The Land’ is like he who has no God.”
Hanging Things on a Tree During and Before Shabbat
A Mishna in masechet Shabbat2 lists kotzer (reaping) as one of the avot melachot. The definition of kotzer is detaching a living thing from its source of nourishment3. This melacha applies even to things that are not growing from the ground. For example, the Gemorah says that a person transgresses Shabbat if he removes mushrooms that grow on the edge of a bucket, since they receive their nourishment from the water that is located there4.