There is an old rabbinic anecdote that relates that once a rabbi was called upon to deliver a eulogy for someone who had no redeeming social value whatsoever. The rabbi was naturally hard pressed to think of anything positive to say about this evil person. So, when he spoke, he solemnly pronounced: “No matter how evil the deceased truly was he was still a far better person than was his... READ MORE →
יש אנקדוטה שמספרת שפעם רב נקרא לשאת הספד על מישהו שלא היו לו שום תכונות טובות. מטבע הדברים, התקשה הרב לחשוב על משהו חיובי לומר על אותו רשע. ולכן כאשר דיבר, אמר "לא משנה כמה רשע היה המנוח, הוא היה טוב הרבה יותר מאחיו!"... READ MORE →
I have recently returned from a week-long visit to South Africa where I participated in the Sinai Indaba II conference sponsored by the office of the Chief Rabbi of South Africa, Rabbi Warren Goldstein. The conference brought noted scholars and personalities from the Orthodox Jewish world – albeit of differing outlooks and backgrounds – to conduct classes and lectures on Shabat, Sunday and... READ MORE →
לא מכבר חזרתי מביקור בן שבוע בדרום אפריקה, שבו השתתפתי בכנס סיני אינדבה II בחסות משרד הרב הראשי של דרום אפריקה, הרב וורן גולדשטיין. הכנס כינס מלומדים ובעלי שם - מרקעים שונים ובעלי השקפות שונות - מהעולם היהודי האורתודוכסי... READ MORE →
Earlier this month, in an attempt to prepare for one of my Shavuot night lectures, I was searching to find the source of one of a number of quotations that I wanted to use. I remembered the name of the book where the exact quotation could be found and then began a search of the books that I have here in my apartment in Jerusalem, confident that it was here somewhere. Thank God, I have an... READ MORE →
I believe that there is a great deal of difference between unity and conformity. Unity signifies a basic agreement upon principles, accepted values and a willingness to cooperate with others in spite of differences of opinion regarding particular details, tactics and quirks of personality. Conformity, on the other hand, demands complete agreement on details and an acceptance of outside authority... READ MORE →
All societies require leadership and guidance in order to function correctly and efficiently. Though we all state that we crave less intrusive government in our affairs it has become patently obvious that anarchy is even a worse state of affairs. In Jewish life there existed in both First and Second Temple times two parallel systems of leading and governing the people. One was the temporal... READ MORE →
Last week for various reasons, none of which were connected to my piety, I arrived at the synagogue for the morning prayers service very early – so early in fact that I was the one who unlocked the gates of the synagogue for entry. As I sat there alone in the synagogue waiting for the rest of our faithful to arrive, I looked around the synagogue room. In my mind’s eye I was no longer alone... READ MORE →
The tendency to always blame someone else for one’s own shortcomings is a well-known and well-practiced human trait. In our current society, where this trait has been taken to new heights of absurdity, the criminal is never guilty. Rather, it is the societal conditions that exist that force the criminal to behave as he or she does that is to blame. It is the abused and not the abuser that is... READ MORE →
