Mordechai Soskil, at The Blogs

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Sep 12, 2024, 9:40 PM

An Open Letter to My Beloved

Dear Beloved, It is that time of year again when my heart calls to you Beloved. I hope You feel the same. I smile when I see the apples of autumn in the stores because it calls to me of our...

Aug 22, 2024, 11:09 PM

Goats milk and date honey? Is it worth it?

A white goat stands in the grass under a palm tree. (iStock)

There's something so special about Israel that Tristan de Cunha or Uganda or New Jersey couldn't possibly be a stand-in for it, but sometimes I wonder

Jul 30, 2024, 11:28 PM

Three Weeks; Three Rocks

This is the time of the year when the calendar and halacha draws our attention to the historic and theological reality that we are in exile. There were many years when it was work to try and feel that....

Apr 16, 2024, 6:01 PM

Speaking of Miracles

In many ways the main mitzvah of the Seder is to tell the story of the Exodus. Yes, we eat matzah, and yes, we drink wine, and yes to all the customs and rules and all of that. Yet,...

Jan 25, 2024, 5:21 PM

Alive and whatnot

One of the truths of parenting, even if it’s a hard truth, is that there are certain aspects of our children’s personalities that are immutable. They can sometimes be channeled but they cannot be changed. One of the many...

Dec 21, 2023, 9:22 PM

Discovering Yosef

The question I would like to put before you is perhaps the most obvious one on the whole Saga of Yosef. Why was he allowed to treat his brothers that way? You know, the false accusations and the jail...

Nov 30, 2023, 11:25 PM

Verschlimmbesserung – A Parshat Vayishlach Story

A few years ago, the ribbon attached to a helium balloon got wrapped around the ceiling fan in my kitchen. The fan stopped working, and because I have a son who is an electrician, I decided that through some...

Nov 3, 2023, 6:54 PM

How are you? I’ve noticed these last couple of weeks that people use the phrase, “How are you?” or “How you doin’?” or the maybe the worst, “How’s everything?” as a response to “Good morning!” I know that it’s a...

Oct 12, 2023, 4:46 PM

Celebratory Pastries

People turn to my Divrei Torah for hard insightful analysis of current events that isn’t afraid to speak truth to power and for intriguing and novel ideas on Jewish learning and practice, and so it should come as no...

Aug 24, 2023, 11:40 PM

Getting Ready for the First Day of School

Parshat Ki Teitzei is filled to the brim with a wide range of mitzvot. A few of these generate a lot of attention either because they are hard for the modern reader to understand or because they are incredible...

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About Me

Rabbi Mordechai Soskil has been teaching Torah for more than 25 years. Currently he is the Associate Principal of the High School at Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School. He is also the author of a highly regarded book on faith and hashkafa titled "Questions Obnoxious Jewish Teenagers Ask." He and his wife Allison have 6 children and a blessedly expanding herd of grandchildren.

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