Parashat Pinhas begins with Hashem’s announcement of the rewards that He would be giving to Pinhas, the grandson of Aharon. The background to the story is the sin of Ba’al Pe’or , when Beneh Yisrael became involved with the women of the nation of Moav, and also worshipped the god of Moav. Hashem punished the people by bringing a plague which killed…

The Hovot Ha’levavot writes that when a person goes out to work in the morning, he should have kavanah (the intention) that he is now performing a mitzvah , fulfilling Hashem’s command that he work to earn a livelihood. A person shouldn’t go to work begrudgingly, wishing he could just stay home and do nothing. Rather, he should think to himself tha…

Parashat Hukat tells the famous story of Moshe’s hitting the rock. To briefly review – Beneh Yisrael found themselves without water in the desert, and they argued with Moshe, demanding water. Hashem commanded Moshe to assemble the people around a rock, and to speak to the rock, whereupon it would miraculously produce water. Moshe gathered the peopl…

Parashat Korah tells the tragic story of the uprising led by Korah against Moshe Rabbenu. The first pasuk in the parashah lists the names of the other prominent figures in this revolt, one of whom was a man named On ben Pelet. The Gemara observes that although On ben Pelet is mentioned in this first pasuk , his name never appears again anywhere in …

Parashat Shelah tells the tragic story of חטא המרגלים – the sin of the spies. Moshe sent twelve spies into the Land of Israel to see what it was like before Beneh Yisrael proceeded to the land. Ten of the twelve spies returned with a negative and frightening report, and the people decided they did not wish to proceed. Hashem responded by decreeing …

In 1943, shortly after arriving in the United States, Rav Aharon Kotler founded the Lakewood yeshiva with a small group of approximately fifteen students. The establishment of such an institution was seen as crazy. At that time, America was not a place where people sat and learned Torah. America was a place where Jews worked and made money. If nece…

Most people have this terrible habit of determining how their lives are going by comparing themselves to others. They look around at other people’s homes, careers, children, vacations, and so on, and then see how their own lives compare to other people’s lives. This is a very unhealthy way to live. This creates a lot of anxiety, and makes it all bu…

זמן מתן תורתנו Celebrating OUR Acceptance of the Torah It is customary on Shavuot to read Megilat Rut , which tells the famous story of Rut, a woman from the nation of Moav who decided to join the Jewish Nation. There is a certain irony in the fact that on this day, when we celebrate Matan Torah , we focus our attention on the story of somebody who…

There is a halachah which, at first glance, does not seem to have any practical relevance to us, but in truth, as the Vilna Gaon explained, conveys a vitally important lesson for each and every person. The halachah addresses the situation of a person who owns a field that is surrounded by other fields on all four sides. If the owner of one of the f…

The Mishnah in Pirkeh Avot (4:1) famously teaches, איזהו חכם הלומד מכל אדם – “Who is wise? He who learns from all people.” The Mishnah here defines the term חכם as referring to a person who learns from everyone. In a different context, however, the Rabbis seem to give us a different definition of the word חכם (“wise”). The Gemara, in Masechet Kiddu…

The Mishnah in Pirkeh Avot (3:5) cites the following teaching from Rabbi Nehunya Ben Ha’kaneh: כל המקבל עליו עול תורה, מעבירין ממנו עול מלכות ועול דרך ארץ. וכל הפורק ממנו עול תורה, נותנין עליו עול מלכות ועול דרך ארץ. Whoever accepts upon himself the yoke of Torah – the yoke of the government and the yoke of worldly needs are removed from him. And w…

Today, Rabbi Feivel Mashinsky is the director of Kupath Ezrah of Rockland County. Decades ago, the longtime Monsey resident was a talmid of the Klausenberger Rebbe zt”l, and the interactions that he had with the rebbe forever changed his life. Rabbi Mashinsky merited a close connection to the rebbe, including writing his shiurim and shmuessen. In t…

From the time that Rabbi Chaim Aryeh Zev Ginzberg was a young yeshiva bochur learning in Eretz Yisroel through today as a seasoned rov for almost 40 years, he had the merit to do what most of us just dream about. He had developed a close and personal connection to almost all of the gedolei hador of the previous generation and spent a great deal of …

Angels in Orange contains incredible stories of emunah, hashgachah, miracles and courage as more than 1,700 United Hatzalah volunteers rescued and treated the wounded on Simchas Torah, October 7th, 2023. Bestselling author Rabbi Nachman Seltzer has written their amazing stories of courage and survival with great sensitivity for reader’s feelings. W…

The Torah commands in Parashat Kedoshim (19:16), לא תלך רכיל בעמך – introducing the prohibition against gossiping, sharing negative information about other people. Why do so money people indulge in gossip? Why are there those who spend entire Shabbat and holiday meals talking about how other people dress, about other people’s houses, about other pe…

A life lived with tranquility and confidence. Success in business. Protection in times of danger. And, greatest of all, a way to strengthen our connection to Hashem. Yes, the blessings of bitachon are immeasurable. But how do we truly incorporate such trust in Hashem into our hearts? The Talmud Yerushalmi, the Zohar, the Maharal and many other sour…

Every morning, we recite a series of berachot , thanking Hashem for some of the precious blessings that we have in our lives – such as the ability to open our eyes and see ( פוקח עורים ), to get dressed ( מלביש ערומים ), and to stand up straight ( זוקף כפופים ). One of these berachot is שעשה לי כל צרכי – thanking Hashem for “fulfilling all My needs…

The Mishnah in Masechet Pesahim (116a) establishes the halachah of מתחיל בגנות ומסיים בשבח – which means that when we tell the story at the seder , we must begin with the negative side to the story, and end with the positive side of the story. We do this in two ways. First, we announce, מתחילה עובדי עבודה זרה היו אבותינו ועכשיו קרבנו המקום לעבודתו …

In Reb Reuven Feinstein on the Haggadah, Rav Sholom Reuven Feinstein, the esteemed and beloved Rosh Yeshivah of Yeshiva of Staten Island, guides us through the Seder. Indeed, as we enjoy this Haggadah masterpiece, we begin to actually feel that we are sitting with the Rosh Yeshiva at his Seder table. In this Inside ArtScroll interview, the Rosh Yes…

Much of Parashat Tazria is devoted to the laws of tzara’at – a type of plague which came in various forms, affecting either a person’s skin, his clothing, or his home. Our tradition teaches that in ancient times, tzara’at would befall a person as a punishment, mainly for the sin of lashon ha’ra – gossip and negative speech about other people. One o…

Rav and founder of Machon Maggid Harakiah in Cedarhurst, NY, Rabbi Daniel Glatstein is one of the contemporary Jewish world’s most popular speakers and respected maggidei shiur. In his unique Haggadah Shel Pesach, he treats the Haggadah text not as a series of unconnected “vertlach,” but as a living, unified document, mirroring the slavery, miracle…

Parashat Shemini tells about the events on the inaugural day of the Mishkan, when Aharon and sons served as kohanim for the very first time. After the seven-day period when they were prepared to be kohanim, on the eighth day, they began performing the service in the Mishkan. In honor of the event, Aharon offered a number of sacrifices. He offered s…

Rav Yisroel Alter, the Beis Yisroel, became the Rebbe of Gur at a time of deep darkness. Just a few years earlier, tens of thousands of Gerrer chassidim had perished in the Holocaust, and the few who’d survived faced the daunting challenge of beginning new lives. Rav Yisroel became the Rebbe – and he rebuilt a world, miraculously leading Gerrer cha…

I once went into a classroom of 8 th -grade girls before Rosh Hashanah to speak to them about growth and change. I began by asking each student to specify one thing which she would like to change during the upcoming new year. I was expecting to hear answers such as “Improve my concentration during prayer,” “Being more careful about saying berachot …

On Shabbat Zachor – the Shabbat before Purim – we read as the haftarah the story of the war waged by Shaul, the first king of Israel, against the wicked nation of Amalek (Shmuel I, chapter 15). Haman descended from this nation, and so on this Shabbat, we read of the war that was fought between our ancestors and Haman’ ancestors. The story begins wi…

The Gemara in Masechet Megillah (12a) tells that the students of Rabbi Shimon bar Yohai asked him why the Jews at the time of Mordechai and Ester deserved the decree of annihilation. Rabbi Shimon challenged them to suggest their own answer. They proposed that the Jews deserved to be destroyed because they participated in Ahashverosh’s feast. Rabbi …

We call it “hashgachah pratis” — the understanding that Hashem is continuously in our lives, and not just in historic events and obvious miracles. Hashgachah pratis tells us that Hashem is with us in traffic jams, in hospital wards, and while we’re waiting for a delayed plane to take off. He is with us even in our times of suffering. Everything, bu…

Parashat Vayakhel begins with Moshe Rabbenu assembling Beneh Yisrael to convey to them the commands for the building of the Mishkan . But before speaking about the Mishkan , Moshe first told the people that they must observe Shabbat each week. The Rabbis explained that the mitzvah of Shabbat is connected to the construction of the Mishkan because t…

The Gemara (Gittin 56b) tells a mysterious story about Titus, the Roman general who destroyed the Bet Ha’mikdash . Titus was exceptionally arrogant, and boasted that he was far more powerful than the G-d of Israel. Hashem punished Titus by having a tiny mosquito fly into his nostril and up into his head. There it continually pecked, causing Titus e…

In Parashat Tetzaveh, the Torah elaborates at great length on the topic of the bigdeh kehuna , the special garments worn by the kohanim . Every kohen was to wear four special garments, and the kohen gadol wore an additional four garments. The Torah takes these garments very, very seriously. If a kohen performs the service in the Bet Ha’mikdash and …

In this entertaining Inside ArtScroll Interview, Rabbi Joey Haber, rabbi of the Magen David shul in Flatbush and the Beit Yosef shul in Deal who has inspired tens of thousands of people worldwide with his talks, discusses the impact of the Vayimaen movement and the new book by Rabbi Yechiel Spero based on the inspiration of the renowned speakers of…

Parashat Teruma tells about the Mishkan , the portable sanctuary which Beneh Yisrael built at Mount Sinai, and which they took with them as they traveled through the wilderness and crossed into the Land of Israel. It was eventually replaced by the Bet Ha’mikdash in Jerusalem. The main area of the Mishkan featured three furnishings: 1) a menorah , w…