Mr. Klal Yisrael
The precondition for the acceptance of the Torah, which we will be experiencing again in a few days, was that the Jewish people first achieve the status of “k’ish echad b’lev echad – as...
Ode to Shavuos
Poetry stirs the soul. For better or worse, my favorite mood-setter before Matan Torah is not a particular story, mashal, or medrash. It is a poem, authored by someone who first learned in Volozhin,...
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Petirah of a Gracious Lady
The reaction to the petirah of Lady Amelie Jakobovits z”l shows how to be loved and admired as a person, bring great tribute to the Torah, win widespread recognition – all while maintaining uncompromising...
Notes From a Hollywood Dinner
The key to a successful fund-raiser in our community is often the choice of honorees. You look to find people connected enough that their friends will attend (and contribute) in droves. If you are...
The Mike’s Always On
The British election campaign just ended would seem an unlikely source for a Torah teaching moment, but there it was. One of the blows the Labour Party absorbed in the days preceding the election...
No Smokers for My Daughters
I always find it amusing when readers of fiction seek to engage the fictional characters – or their creator – in argument. Such was the case, in the Mishpacha Magazine serial “Whispers in the...
Insight Into a Perfidious Mind
Richard Goldstone condemned 28 black people to death while serving as a judge in apartheid South Africa, according to Yediot Achronot (as cited by the Jerusalem Post). We could have expected a denial. He...