DEDICATED IN LOVING MEMORY OF ISAAC GAMEL ז''ל BY HIS FAMILY
The Beauty of Rav Yochanan
Yom Kippur 5778, Neilah The Talmud (TB Berachos 5b) tells a story about how during Rabbi Eliezer’s final illness Rav Yochanan came to visit him. Rav Yochanan was a strikingly beautiful person, who literally lit up the room. But in the light, Rav Yochanan saw that...
Na’aseh Adam: Perfecting the Divine Image
Rosh Hashana 5778- First Day Our family was once visiting the National Gallery in Washington. As we passed through the gallery’s display of the works of the Impressionists, we found an artist sitting near one of the paintings with her easel and canvas, working to...
Core Goodness & Boundless Potential
Rosh Hashana 5778- Evening תקעו בחדש שופר בכסה ליום חגינו כי חק לישראל הוא משפט לאלקי יעקב Sound the Shofar at the moon’s renewal, at the appointed time for our festive day, for it is a decree for Israel, judgment day for the G-d of Yaakov. We will recite this verse...
Succos- Everyone Can Be Here
When Hillel the Elder would celebrate the Simchas Bais HaShoeiva, he would say: 'If I am here, everyone is here; if I am not here, who is here? (TB Succah 53a) This apparently egotistical statement would be surprising coming from anyone's mouth; it is astounding to...
Succos- Living in the Clouds
The Yom Tov of Succos recalls the period that Klal Yisrael lived in the desert, surrounded by the clouds of Hashem's presence. Our existence then was truly inverted. Our bread came from the Heavens, while our water came from the rock, from the earth. The goal of...
יש תקוה לאחריתך- Always Hoping, Always Praying
Rosh Hashana 5778 - Second Day The overall life expectancy in the U.S. has begun to decline for the first time since the 1930's. Yes, despite the incredible advances in medicine and public health, overall life expectancy is declining. And it is not because of...
Emunah: Having Faith, Being Faithful: Yamim Noraim Addresses of 5777
The period of the month of Elul and the Yamim Noraim, known as the High Holiday season, is a great gift, מן הטובות אשר היטב השי"ת עם ברואיו Each year we are afforded this opportunity to reflect and to reconnect, to spend weeks engaged with G-d and community on a...
Continuing to Make Things Better
The Torah presents us with apparently contradictory visions of the Jewish soldier. In considering this contradiction, we can find essential guidance for our own pursuit of greatness. On the one hand, we are taught of the spiritual vulnerability of the Jewish soldier,...
Making Things Better – for Others
I just met the Rav of Brisk, Rav Chaim. I kid you not. This past Thursday night, I was returning a rental car at Ben Gurion airport and awaiting a ride to the terminal in a courtesy van. I was waiting together with a man and his teenage son. We introduced ourselves...
Making Things Better
Introducing the Yamim Noraim Theme for 5778 This week's eclipse can help us set the theme for the High Holiday season ahead. The Talmud (TB Succah 29a) attributes the incidence of a solar eclipse to a few possible causes, each of them failures of humankind. This poses...