My Mother
01/16/2024 03:32:59 PM
Jan16
My mother, Leah Bas Meir, known to all as Lorraine (née Rubin), was born on January 16th, 1930, in the Hunts Point neighborhood of the South Bronx. At the time of her birth, the South Bronx was about 60% Jewish. The entire borough achieved a distinction that no other New York City borough ever claimed:
Read more... I am Yosef. Is my father still alive?
01/15/2024 03:14:47 PM
Jan15
”I Am Yosef. Is My Father Still Alive?” This is perhaps the most famous and perplexing question asked in human history. All the commentators ask, why would Yosef ask, ”Is my father still alive?”
Read more... Forgiveness
01/08/2024 02:04:44 PM
Jan8
”Hashem forgives, and in so doing, teaches us to forgive.” (Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, The Dignity of Difference, p. 154) Rivka called me before Rosh Hashanah. Rivka lived in Eretz Yisroel for almost fifteen years and kept in contact with me. Through phone calls and emails, I followed her life.
Read more... A Hard Day
12/25/2023 04:01:03 PM
Dec25
It was an unusually cold day in Yeshivas Kerem B’Yavneh.The Rosh Yeshiva, HaRav Chaim Yaakov Goldvicht (1924-1994) was giving a Sicha (a semi-informal talk). He was seated on a chair at the front of the Yeshiva and looked regal to me. He was our connection to the past and our hope for the future.
Read more... The Hug
12/11/2023 06:50:59 PM
Dec11
The anticipation was unbearable. It was a time we were both waiting for since October 7th, Simchas Torah in Israel. He was called from his house on that Shabbos and except for a few hours here and there had not been home for any extended period.
Read more... Resilience
12/11/2023 06:46:26 PM
Dec11
When one spends Shabboss in Yerushalayim, Shabbos does not end. It continues way into Motzei Shabbos, especially on Chanukah. The reason is that the lights of Chanukah on Motzei Shabbos illuminate the entire city for hours and hours after Shabbos has officially ended.
Read more... Shabbos - Chanukah
12/08/2023 09:43:05 AM
Dec8
I am home! It makes no difference if there are long breaks in between, here is home! As I walk the streets of this special holy City- I feel as I belong. I am B’Soch Ami (amongst my people).
Read more... What a Difference
12/07/2023 03:37:52 PM
Dec7
I am sitting at the gate watching the crowd and waiting to board the flight to Eretz Yisroel.However, somehow today, everything seems different. I no longer feel secure. No one said a bad word, and no one looked at me with a scowl. However, it’s not the same. I no longer feel this is my home.
Read more... The Wedding
12/06/2023 11:26:30 AM
Dec6
The Chasunah took place on a rainy Sunday in December. The bride was seated on a Kallah chair, and wellwishers gathered around her to say Mazel Tov.The Chosson sat at the head seat in the Chosson's Tisch, surrounded by relatives and friends.
Read more... The Chanukah Gift
12/06/2023 10:37:26 AM
Dec6
It was a cool, crisp, clear day in Washington, DC. I was joining the largest gathering of Jews in the history of American Jewry. I joined the throngs of Jews gathered together in unity to show our support for our Jewish brethren in Israel.
Read more... Saved by Love
11/28/2023 10:19:10 AM
Nov28
Leah was very nervous about the upcoming Pesach. It had been years since she had moved from Yerushalayim to New Jersey, and much had transpired. She had grown up in Chareidi Yersushalayim yet had to find her path in Yiddishkeit.
Read more... Loneliness
11/22/2023 10:40:52 AM
Nov22
”I wanted to go. I felt it was important. Numbers count. We live in a country where we are allowed and expected to express our feelings. I wanted to go. Yet, there were many reasons not to go.
Read more... Washington Rally
11/14/2023 11:02:10 AM
Nov14
As I write these words, I am in Washington DC. I have just Davened Vasikin in front of the White House. It felt like Neila, Simchas Torah and Tisha Bav all wrapped in one.
Read more... The Wake-Up Kick
11/09/2023 01:14:19 PM
Nov9
In the early morning of Thursday, May 18, 1978, a young, strapping nineteen-year-old Yeshiva Bachur boarded a train at Penn Station in New York. He was not alone on the train. There were approximately 1500 young people and several Rabbonim who were also passengers on that train.
Read more... Kaddish
10/26/2023 11:41:26 AM
Oct26
It was early on Tzom Gedaliah when I received the call. The nursing home identified him as Lawrence Stein*. However, I knew him as Laibel. As the screen displayed ”Saint…Healthcare, ” I understood he was in a non-Jewish facility. ”Am I speaking to “Father” Rabbi Eisenman? ”
Read more... What Can We Do?
10/19/2023 10:02:53 AM
Oct19
My son Tuvia is one of the 360,000 reservists called up to defend the Jewish nation. He serves in Unit 9306, Combat Company Aleph, in the Northern Shomron. As we all know, Israel was caught off guard by the brutal and murderous attack.
Read more... What We Can Do!
10/16/2023 10:18:30 AM
Oct16
One improvement we can all do starting NOW- is the total Elimination of cell phones doing davening. No more catching up on the news during Chatzaras HaShatz. No more looking at emails in shul. We can create a cell phone free zone in our shul!
Read more... A Giant of a Man
10/13/2023 12:00:09 PM
Oct13
I was shocked when I heard of his passing. It was sudden and unexpected. I had only met him twice in person and spoken on the phone a few times.Yet, I knew I had to go to the Shiva home.
Read more... Some Give Blood - Some Take Blood
10/11/2023 05:41:45 PM
Oct11
We know that the Jewish people are in a very difficult situation. However, we can never despair or give up hope. Our enemies attempt to take precious Jewish blood. Yet, we respond by giving our precious Jewish blood.
Read more... Difficult Days
10/11/2023 05:31:51 PM
Oct11
We know that the Jewish people are in a very difficult situation. However, we can never despair or give up hope. As our enemies raise their evil hands to commit unspeakable acts of brutality and murder, we, too, raise our hands..
Read more... The Masked Man
09/26/2023 12:39:39 PM
Sep26
I am looking straight at him. I have known him for years. He is mired in emotional turmoil. I ask him what's wrong. ”I feel completely inadequate for the task before me.” I was unprepared for his candid revelation.
Read more... The Most Powerful Words
09/14/2023 12:29:15 PM
Sep14
He would never make eye contact, no matter how hard I thought I tried. This had been going on for ten years. Even during Covid, when I approached him in what I hoped would perhaps pave the way to reconciliation, things did not work out as planned.
Read more... Yisroel ben Esther, Hodu L'Hashem!
09/06/2023 11:49:08 AM
Sep6
I had heard the news via a text. Yisroel ben Esther was awake and alert. Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude to Hashem. Yet, our Tefillos are still very much needed, and the path to a complete recovery is still before us.
Read more... Yisroel ben Esther
09/06/2023 11:43:35 AM
Sep6
Many of us are looking for Zechusim for Yisroel ben Esther- that he should have a Refuah Sheleima. Yisroel is now in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit at St. Joseph’s Hospital. He needs a Refuah Sheleima. He needs our Tefillos.
Read more... The Escape Artist
08/25/2023 10:51:44 AM
Aug25
He had avoided this moment for thirty years. For three decades, he had successfully evaded, dodged, and sidestepped this confrontation through excuses, trickery, and any pretext he could think of. He was the master escape artist.
Read more... How to Avoid Decades of Resentment
08/11/2023 10:57:20 AM
Aug11
It was over forty years ago, yet I recall the incident as if it was yesterday. I am sitting across from Rav Pam ZT”L at Yeshiva Torah V’Daas. I could not contain my feelings of hurt and resentment.
Read more... HaShem is Truly Everywhere
08/09/2023 10:28:08 AM
Aug9
The plane touched down at 4:02 A.M.- 23 minutes early! I was picked up by a Baal Chessed and arrived in Passaic ay 5:22. By 5:30 i was already in Shul with Talis and Tefillin ready to daven with sunrise.
Read more... The Jewish State
08/08/2023 12:02:06 PM
Aug8
Yesterday, my wife and I went into a store to purchase a few things. We spoke to the proprietor and we inquired as to what we needed. When we were finishing up and getting ready to leave, I noticed that the man, was closing the lights and also preparing to leave.
Read more... Tefillah
08/08/2023 10:00:38 AM
Aug8
We are familiar with the reality that one can daven anywhere in the world and Hashem hears our Tefillos. Nevertheless, Chazal tell us that our Tefillos go ”through” the place of the Beis HaMikdash and from there to Shomayim.
Read more... The Kosel
08/08/2023 09:52:14 AM
Aug8
This Morning We Decided To Make Our Way Back to the Wall. When one walks in the early morning to the Wall, one sees people from all types. The common denominator of these people is that their main focus is to pour out their hearts to Hashem.
Read more... Thu, May 8 2025
10 Iyyar 5785
Important Links
Join our Email Lists 
Monthly Calendar (PDF)
Weekly Announcements (PDF)Mobile Apps
Zmanim
Thu, May 8 2025 10 Iyyar 5785