Parshas Miketz — Lying Eyes
A botanist named Joseph Banks who was aboard Captain James Cook’s 1770 voyage recorded in his diary that while the 106-foot-long Endeavour sailed along the east coast of Australia, native fishermen totally ignored the...
Flames Unseen
“If Christians knew the effect of church bells on the Jewish soul, they would ring them all day long.” –Rav Yisrael Salanter, 19th century December was the beautiful season. Twinkling lights and golden bells, red...
The Parachutist and the Rabbi
At age 29, Rabbi Boruch Boudilovsky, former IDF combat paratrooper, parachuted into London as the associate rabbi for the Borehamwood Synagogue. Along with him came his Rebbetzin, Esther (nee Poupko) and several small children....
However, Reality
The Hebrew word for “mourning” is introduced in Vayeishev to describe Yaakov’s response to the apparent death of his son Yosef: “Vayis’abel (Beraishis 37:34). The word “eivel” — “mourning” — is composed of the...
Thinking Out of the Box
Yaakov famously sequestered Dinah his daughter in a box as he prepared to meet Esav his brother. That, according to the Midrash Rabbah brought by Rashi (Beraishis 32:23). His reason for hiding Dinah, the...
The Real Reason So Many Orthodox Jews Voted for Trump
An article with that title appears at the Forward and can be read here.
Defending Rabbi Sacks
A comment I received on my recent tribute to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z”l is important enough to deserve a more thorough response than usual. You’ll find the comment below, followed by my long reply...
Undeserving (Parshas Vayeitzei)
Some people’s default attitude in life is “I really deserve more than I have”; others are prone to feeling that “I really don’t deserve what I have.” Most people fall somewhere on the spectrum...
Two Encounters With HaRav Dovid Feinstein, zt”l
By Rabbi Akiva Males Klal Yisroel mourns the recent passing of HaRav Dovid Feinstein, zt”l. In his quiet and unassuming manner, Rav Dovid — as he was fondly referred to by so many —...
“If Only…”
It’s human nature, when faced with something tragic, or even just disturbing, to say to oneself, “If only…” “If only I had done this… or we had done that… or not done this… or...