Dov Linzer, at The Blogs

Apr 7, 2024, 11:46 AM

This coming Monday, April 8, there will be a full solar eclipse visible to everyone in North America, not to occur again until 2044. For those of us in the New York area, it will appear as a partial...

Feb 7, 2024, 9:40 PM

If the medium is the message, what’s the message?

When the Children of Israel stood at the foot of Mt. Sinai, they famously declared “נַעֲשֶׂ֥ה וְנִשְׁמָֽע—na’aseh ve’nishma—We will do and we will listen.” (Exodus 24:7). This phrase appears at the end of parashat Mishpatim, after all the laws...

Jan 31, 2024, 3:03 PM

What does memory have to do with belief in God?

For some people, belief comes easily. From a young age they have believed in God, and that has remained a constant throughout their lives. For others, not so much. There are those who have always struggled with belief. There...

Jan 24, 2024, 9:39 PM

‘And They Believed in God and in Moshe, God’s Servant’

A dominant theme in Parashat Beshalach is that of emunah, belief—having it and losing it. That the Children of Israel should believe in God after witnessing the miracles and plagues in Egypt is to be expected. What is more...

Jan 17, 2024, 9:17 PM

Speaking is believing

The first mitzvah that the Children of Israel are given is that of sanctifying the new moon. "HaChodesh hazeh lachem rosh chadashim," "this month, the month of Nissan, shall be for you the first of the months." Why of all mitzvot...

Jan 4, 2024, 11:31 PM

Antisemitism and Othering

The book of Shemot opens with the first phenomenon of antisemitism that we find in the Torah. It is not hatred directed at an individual, but to an entire people. It begins with Pharaoh. He says to his fellow Egyptians...

Dec 27, 2023, 10:12 AM

Preparing for our final moments

How can we leave behind a blessing once we are gone? “Va’yechi” – and he lived. Yaakov has come to the fullness of his life and knows that he will soon die. He calls Yosef to his bedside and broaches...

Apr 4, 2023, 1:48 AM

How to Cope? Be an Active Part in Your Own Redemption

“I need help to know how to cope with all that is happening now in the world.” That is what a close friend said to me when I asked her what type of religious guidance she most needed now...

Mar 2, 2023, 10:05 PM

Purim and power

A lot of people love Purim, but there also a lot of people who have a hard time with it. For some, they struggle to find meaning in a chag that is all about chaos. Others struggle because the...

Oct 20, 2022, 6:53 AM

Can I Compost My Etrog After Sukkot?

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Etrog_at_the_Market_of_the_4_Species_at_Bnei_Brak.jpg

Recently, I received a question from an observant Jew. This person, like many people, had purchased an etrog that was grown in Israel. Friends of hers had told her that since the year that just ended was a Shemitah...

About Me

Rabbi Dov Linzer is the President and Rosh HaYeshiva of Yeshivat Chovevei Torah. He serves as a religious guide to the yeshiva’s current rabbinical students and over 150 rabbis serving in the field. For more than 25 years, has been a leading rabbinic voice in the Modern Orthodox community. Answers to many of the halachic questions he has received can be found at psak.yctorah.org.