I’m not ashamed of the fact that I love talking to my parents every night There is an image of the Jewish mother, calling from her Florida apartment and leaving yet another message on her child’s phone. In a voice oozing of guilt, she says, “You never call. You never write…” Oye! While it is

A Chasid boarded a plane and took his seat next to a woman who, as it happened, was also Jewish. After squirming in her seat quietly for several minutes, she turned to him with a scowl. “Jews like you,” she said, “you give the rest of us a bad name.” She then felt comfortable to

If one weighs with weights that are deficient by the standards agreed upon in his locality, or measures with a measuring vessel deficient by the agreed standards, he violates a negative commandment, for Scripture states (Vayikra 19:35), ‘You shall do no unrighteousness in judgment, in length, in weight, or in measure. – Maimonides, Mishneh Torah

Food.  If not defined by, our lives are enhanced by it, enriched by it and sometimes troubled by it.  Our days are marked less by hours than by meals.  From the beginning of creation, food has been a lure and a curse.  Cookbooks and diet books dominate bookstore shelves.  Food reviews capture our attention.  There

When we first learn that “Noach was righteous in his generation…” we applaud his stature until the rabbis, on deeper reflection, note that “in his generation” suggests that the bar was fairly low for righteousness when he lived. Abraham, however, is said to have been “righteous” without any qualification. He was truly righteous, in any

There is no disease in the world for which Hashem had not already created the cure. The task is for us to find it! To everything there is a time and a season. So Koehlet teaches, so our lives make clear. Study and prayer are among the great pleasures and joys of my life. But just as

But Zaide made us laugh, Zaide made us sing… – My Zaidy – by Moshe Yess What is the role of a wise, Jewish leader in addressing the wants expressed by his generation? What is his role in communicating the eternal values of our people, while convincing those who come to him with the demands

A young boy runs his fingers over the leather spine of the story book he receives as a Hanukkah gift. He loves the feel of the beautiful lettering playing beneath his fingers. He is entranced by the beautiful illustrations accompanying the stories. He gives no thought to the extra hours his father worked in order

Can a simple top, a delightful toy for children, really speak to me in the aftermath of tragedy? In the aftermath of a Har Nof? Although some might suggest otherwise, questioning how a mere toy, could possibly carry the weight of such an event, I believe that the dreidel in fact can afford insight into

Ours is a time of confusion. Neither Orwell nor Jonathan Swift could have better imagined a world in which black is white, left is right, or up is down. Crass materialism is considered success. Ever more radical ideas and behaviors are considered the norm. Bluster is confused with moral courage. The media is more than