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Eliezer Simcha Weiss

Sep 4, 2026, 6:10 PM

Bring them with you

Every seven years, the Torah commands the entire Jewish people to gather in Yerushalayim for Hakhel: “Gather the people—the men, the women and the small children.” הַקְהֵל אֶת הָעָם, הָאֲנָשִׁים וְהַנָּשִׁים וְהַטַּף (Devarim 31:12) The Gemara asks why everyone came. The men came...

Sep 4, 2026, 3:47 PM

It is a chilling prophecy. The brutality of its truth is written across the tear-stained pages of Jewish history. All nations will ask, “Why did God do this to this land? Why the (sheer) wrath of this great anger?” They...

Sep 4, 2026, 4:57 AM

To Renew Our Days (Nitzavim-Vayelech, Covenant & Conversation)

The moment had come. Moses was about to die. He had seen his sister Miriam and brother Aaron pre-decease him. He had prayed to God – not to live forever, not even to live longer, but simply, ‘Please let...

Joseph C. Kaplan

Sep 3, 2026, 11:40 PM

The More Things Change…

Doubling up was popular when I was a kid. We had, for example, Doublemint and Double Bubble gums, baseball doubleheaders, and movie double features. The latter two evoke fond memories of exciting days at the stadium and entertaining afternoons...

Sep 3, 2026, 6:26 PM

Rome, the Pantheon, and Why Jerusalem Needs a Bigdei Kehuna Shop

We just got back from Rome, and I have to say, the city gives one a little déjà vu when you live in Israel. Not in a bad way. In the way where you keep doing double-takes, looking at...

Ben-Tzion Spitz

Sep 3, 2026, 6:22 PM

‘That Could Never Happen to Me’ (Nitzavim-Vayelech)

"Accident" (AI image by author)

“A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true.” –Demosthenes There is a certain uneasy curiosity in the suffering of others. One of the most familiar examples is the...

Sep 3, 2026, 5:07 AM

Noach Haftarah: Jews Return to Yerushalyim / Israel

personal pix. Dr. Major (Rav Seren) Arie Pelta

Where did the dove יונה find the olive leaf when left Noah's Ark? He took it from a tree in Eretz Yisrael on the Mount of Olives; since the flood did not affect Eretz Yisrael (Midrash). However, there are...

Sep 2, 2026, 8:51 PM

Nitzavim–Vayelech: No Violence in the Name of Torah or the Land

Near the end of Parashat Nitzavim, Moses makes an enigmatic statement: “The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever, to fulfill all the words of this Torah”...

Sep 2, 2026, 4:54 AM

Can You Hear Me? A tribute to my study partner.

For 21 years, Sunday at 11:30 AM started with a robust "Goood Morning! What's happening in Queens?" I would respond, "What's happening in Lakewood?" Our weekly Torah study by phone was arranged by an organization called Partners in Torah....

Sep 1, 2026, 10:18 AM

The Lion: King of the Animal Kingdom, Symbol of Jerusalem and Moshiach’s Tribe

The lion is called the king of the animal kingdom. The Talmud does not dispute this ancient image: “The king of the beasts is the lion” (Chagigah 13b). But Jewish wisdom rarely leaves a royal title unquestioned. Why the lion? If kingship...

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