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My Experience with Special Needs Individuals
Men and women hold the value of life so dearly that they have children despite all odds…
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Illuminating the World: On Women Lighting Candles
The Shulchan Aruch notes that lighting Shabbat candles is an obligation on the Jewish people, not a minhag or a custom but a binding mitzvah guided by halachic rulings…
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The Spiritual Impact of Anger: Reflections from Orchot Tzadikim
In the vast majority of cases, anger is a negative trait…
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The Implications of the Mitzva of Kiddush Hashem
The concept of a kiddush Hashem is so inherent to Jewish life, yet so misunderstood. What is its essence? Is it a mitzvah? Let us unveil its implications. In Parashat Emor, the Torah commands us: “You shall observe My commandments and perform them: I am God. You shall not desecrate My holy Name, and I…
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What Is the Torah’s View on Birth Control?
The first mitzvah in the Torah is given to Adam: pru u’reveu u’maleh et ha’aretz. “Be fruitful and multiply and fill up the land”. From these words our sages derived that there is an obligation to have children, one that is so highly regarded it is called a ‘mitzva rabbah’. Indeed, family and the home…
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What Is Prophecy and Why Don’t We Have It Nowadays?
Prophecy, called nevuah in Hebrew, is found in numerous places in Tanach. It is considered a basic tenet of Judaism, but how exactly do we define prophecy and why is it not found in contemporary times? Rav Yaakov Weinberg zt”l defines prophecy as “the reality of man receiving a direct and clear message from God.…
