Yankel - Part Two
07/09/2025 03:25:47 PM
Jul9
This story was never meant to be serial. However, today I must make an exception and present part two of what may be an ongoing saga. For those who need refreshing, a few weeks ago (Short Vort on 6/13/25 to be exact), I related the story of R' Yankel, The Yid from the American Dream. In short, I regaled myself (and hopefully my readers) with the tale of how I masqueraded as the Rav's gabbai, allowing me to assist another Yid in Davening Mincha.
Happy Birthday to the Kingdom of Kindness
07/04/2025 10:34:24 AM
Jul4
Regarding the kindness (Chesed) that our government, the United States of America, has bestowed upon us —which Hashem in His abundant mercy on the remnant of Jews from the countries of Europe, and the remnant of the Torah giants and their disciples which He has brought here to reestablished both the old institutions of Europe as well as new ones.
Hodu Lashem Ki Tov- Thank Hashem, for He is (always) Good
06/26/2025 12:38:28 PM
Jun26
I urge everyone to do what I did today. I called and wrote to the President to express my deep sense of gratitude to the man who did what no other President has done before: he mobilized the United States armed forces to protect the Jewish people by bombing the Nuclear Reactors in Iran.
Sensitivity
06/20/2025 12:27:11 PM
Jun20
Recently, a woman wrote to me asking how she could properly address the following issue. She has many family members in Israel, including one who is on the front lines. She told me that she feels hurt when she meets people she knows and they don't inquire about the well-being of her family members.She knows that their seeming indifference to her plight is not intentional; however, she wants to understand how to avoid feeling slighted or developing a negative attitude toward these individuals.
Feeling the Pain
06/17/2025 02:44:31 PM
Jun17
It was Thursday evening at the Shul. I was in the middle of a shiur. One of the participants asked a question about leaving his computer on all of Shabbos to periodically check the newsfeed. After going through a brief discussion of the possible Halachik issues involved, I asked cluelessly, ”Why are you asking this now? Things seem relatively quiet. ”
The American Dream
06/13/2025 12:26:39 PM
Jun13
The man on the line sounded desperate. ”Ich darf a Minyan fur Mincha, ”- he blurted out, ”I need a minyan for mincha. ” ”I am at this place called American Dream, and it's time for Mincha, and I need a minyan. Can you help me? ”
Heavy Lifting
06/12/2025 12:21:19 PM
Jun12
Parshas B'Halosecha is one of the most varied and diverse Parshios of the Torah. The topics range from the Menorah to the Man and many other assorted subjects. Yet, at the beginning of the Parsha, right after the Menorah, we are introduced to a subject that stands out for its uniqueness in the Torah.
A Painful Letter
06/09/2025 12:23:56 PM
Jun9
It was a beautiful spring day in May. I took a walk and passed the baseball field at Tennyson Place. A group of yeshiva boys and their rebbe were playing a game of baseball. I heard the crack of the bat and saw the ball sail into the outfield. Suddenly, I was no longer in Passaic; I was back in Brooklyn at Prospect Park, and the year was 1972.
Loneliness
05/30/2025 12:29:41 PM
May30
It was a beautiful spring day in May. I took a walk and passed the baseball field at Tennyson Place. A group of yeshiva boys and their rebbe were playing a game of baseball. I heard the crack of the bat and saw the ball sail into the outfield. Suddenly, I was no longer in Passaic; I was back in Brooklyn at Prospect Park, and the year was 1972.
How High Should We Hold Our Heads?
05/25/2025 12:11:16 PM
May25
I noticed today in the Israeli and Jewish media sources the following ”news” item: (JTA) — Guy Christensen, a TikTok influencer with more than 3 million followers, came out in support of the shooting attack that killed two Israeli embassy employees. ”I do not condemn the elimination of the Zionist officials who worked at the Israeli embassy last night,” Christensen, a Gen-Z influencer who goes by YourFavoriteGuy on TikTok, said in a video posted Thursday.
All the news that's fit to print?
05/23/2025 10:15:22 AM
May23
Two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington were shot and killed Wednesday evening while leaving an event at a Jewish museum, with police saying the suspect yelled, ”Free, free Palestine” after he was arrested. Yaron Lischinsky, 30, who grew up in Israel and Germany, and Sarah Milgrim, 26, who was from Kansas, were killed in the attack.
The Shiva Visit
05/16/2025 10:54:46 AM
May16
The man arrived at the Shiva with jeans and a worn jacket. His Yarmulka was perched awkwardly on top of his large head of hair. Yet, he was not uncomfortable sitting among the yeshivish group of men. He had no trouble following the seamless mix of Hebrew, Yiddish, and Gemara-Loshon.Nevertheless, he was clearly the ”elephant in the room. ”
The Last Shiur
05/15/2025 04:00:31 PM
May15
It was Wednesday, April 16, 1986. I sat with a handful of other Talmidim as we waited in a state of uncertainty about whether the Rebbe would arrive. We all knew the Rebbe was battling lung cancer, and his ability to give Shiur was becoming more challenging by the day. Many of the Talmidim had already gone home for Pesach (It was one week before Pesach), and others began leaving as morning became early afternoon with no sign of Rebbe.
The Cups Stops Here
05/08/2025 12:01:02 PM
May8
Nobody ever said being a rabbi would be easy. However, I never thought among my duties would be the role of ”Barista-Bouncer”. Oy, the trials and tribulations of the rabbi. Oy, the trials and tribulations of the rabbi. Once upon a time, a Shul- and I use the word literally, namely, the room designated for davening, prayer, Tefillah- as opposed to the edifice itself, which can include the lobby, library, and classrooms- was sacred, Kadosh, a room to be approached with reverence, awe, Yirah and treated with the utmost respect.
Read more... Infallibility
05/08/2025 10:21:30 AM
May8
As a rav, I receive many interesting phone calls. This morning, as the white smoke bellowed forth from Vatican City, I received a call from a news outlet. This reporter has contacted me in the past regarding the situation in Israel, as well as before the Jewish holidays. Over the years, we have developed a friendly rapport, and I feel comfortable that he is never out to get me or misquote me.
Maftir On Shabbos HaGadol
05/07/2025 12:21:45 PM
May7
It was a week before Shabbos HaGadol, and I was discussing with Rav Leib* the Halachos of Erev Pesach, which falls on Shabbos. Rav Leib is a recognized Talmid Chochom and a Baal Chessed second to none. His day is filled from morning to night with Torah and Chessed. Yet, somehow, Rav Leib always finds time for me, and I cherish our friendship. As we were discussing Shabbos HaGadol, Rav Leib unexpectedly waxed nostalgic.
Read more... Yosef Leib ben Moshe HaLevi Z”L
03/30/2025 12:12:27 PM
Mar30
As a rav, I often have to officiate at funerals of people I’ve never met — elderly parents of members of my congregation, for example.
This time, I was asked to attend the levayah of Yosef Leib, a 65-year-old man who passed away alone in his apartment. I had never met him, but he must have been an exceptional person.
He was a devoted...Read more...
In Memory of Binyamin Zev ben Shlomo Herzka on his 19th Yahrtzeit
03/24/2025 02:38:10 PM
Mar24
Tonight, the 25th of Adar, is the 19th Yahrtzeit of my father-in-law, Willi Herzka. My father-in-law was one of those saved from the Holocaust via the Kindertransport. The Kindertransport was a rescue operation that brought nearly 10,000 Jewish children from Nazi-occupied Europe to Great Britain between 1938 and 1940.
Read more... L"zecher Nishmas My Father - Yoel Moshe ben Yosef Nosson Z"L
03/13/2025 01:18:56 PM
Mar13
Today is the 26th Yahrtzeit of my father, Yoel Moshe ben Yosef Nosson Z’l. My father was born in 1925 in Yerushalayim. His maternal great-great-great-grandfather- Rav Zalman Tzoref Salomon, emigrated to the Eretz Yisroel with the Talmedei HaGra (The Students of the Vilna Gaon) in 1811.
Read more... Letting Things Slide
03/07/2025 11:32:20 AM
Mar7
The Chupah had ended; it was time for me to leave. The one-hundred-and-fifty-mile round trip to Lakewood is grueling, and I longed to get home. The ride is getting longer and longer. I was moving quickly from the Chupah room through the lobby, attempting to make a beeline to my car.
Read more... The Hidden Tzaddik of Yerushalayim
02/25/2025 01:29:34 PM
Feb25
I am writing these words from Yerushalayim where I made an unexpected trip on Sunday. My Uncle, R’ Avrohom Shlomo ben Yosef Nosson Nota, passed away in Yerushalayim on Shabbos. My uncle was a great man.
Read more... In Memory of Kfir and Ariel Bibis HY'D
02/21/2025 11:16:52 AM
Feb21
Today is a difficult day for the Jewish people. We all heard the almost incomprehensible report from Israel that those who seek to destroy us brutally murdered Ariel and Kfir Bibas. At the time of their abduction, Kfir was nine months old, and Ariel was four. The enemy did not return the lifeless body of their mother, Shiri. How do we react to such savagery?
Read more... The Super Bowl Meets the Super Mom
02/19/2025 11:14:12 AM
Feb19
An estimated 127.7 million viewers tuned in for Super Bowl LIX on Sunday, February 9, making it the largest audience for a Super Bowl and for a single-network telecast in TV history. Many frum Jews were among the watchers. Yet, as I have mentioned before in this column, I neither critique nor condone those who partake. As I have learned from the rabbinate, we all need some downtime — it’s the halftime we can all do without.
Read more... The Halftime Show
02/11/2025 12:11:20 PM
Feb11
Thank you to all who responded so enthusiastically to my review of the Sefer Minhagei HaMischak HaGadol, which is already being referred to simply as “Hilchos Super Bowl.” I thank all of you who responded with comments and halachik insights. A number of you have asked me some questions, and since we are at the halftime show, I will attempt to respond.
Read more... Super Bowl Sunday
02/11/2025 11:58:44 AM
Feb11
Today, February 9, 2025, is, according to millions of people, a Nationally Celebrated Holiday. ”Super Bowl Sunday” is guaranteed to garner the largest American TV audience for any event broadcast during the year.Over 124 million Americans will assemble in living rooms, dens, college dorms, motels, and saloons across America.
Read more... The Snow, The Car, and The Rabbi
01/30/2025 03:00:16 PM
Jan30
January 20th, Martin Luther King Day was bitterly cold this year. Heavy snow the night before left everything buried in white. Years ago, I learned that while a national holiday is a welcome day off for many, I am ”on call” the entire day. The minyanim are crowded, and people drop by to schmooze.
Read more... The Wedding
01/08/2025 12:00:25 PM
Jan8
It was Erev Shabbos Parshas Zachor in 2023 when Esther Jaffe, wife of Efraim, my next-door neighbor for thirty-three years, passed away. Efraim is not just my next-door neighbor; our homes, built 110 years ago, are almost physically attached. Our homes are so close that we can shake hands if we both extend our arms out our windows!
Read more... The Matzav
01/01/2025 02:47:52 PM
Jan1
There are those who believe life has returned to “normal” in the land of Israel. They claim the crisis is over, and so we can let down our guard (was it really ever up?), relax, open our Chanuka presents, overstuff our stomachs with jelly-filled donuts, and spin the dreidel and ourselves into a dizzying state of delusional denial. Woe to those who validate their lack of empathy for the Jews of Eretz Yisroel by deluding themselves into believing that all is fine.
Read more... The Friend
01/01/2025 12:42:38 PM
Jan1
It was Sunday, day seven, just minutes before nightfall, when the phone rang. Although we anxiously awaited the anticipated phone call, I picked up the receiver in my usual carefree manner. Only after I heard rapid-fire Yiddish coming loudly through the receiver did I realize this was THE CALL!
Read more... The Wait
01/01/2025 12:14:43 PM
Jan1
”Ma, why can't we just light already?” I pleaded. In her calm yet resolute fashion, my mother quietly said, ”We will wait for your father to come home and then light the Menorah together as a family.” I was nine years old and living in Brooklyn. My father, a photographer, had the difficult job of traversing the tri-state area, taking pictures of newborns, and hoping to eventually sell the photographs to support his family.
Read more... Page 1 of 6Next »
Sun, July 13 2025
17 Tammuz 5785
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Sun, July 13 2025 17 Tammuz 5785