Rav Soloveitchik argued that there is no independent field of Jewish philosophy. Rather, this master of Jewish philosophy—with a Ph.D. in neo-Kantian…
Tu Bishvat: Winter Warmth
I write these words as I sit looking out the window at the absolutely beautiful snow that adorns our streets, homes, trees and all else outdoors. If…
Shemini Atzeret: Three is Not a Crowd
Unlike our other holidays, the holiday of Sukkot does not celebrate a particular historical event at a particular moment in time. Rather it…
Shabbat Chol HaMoed: A Long Journey
It is hard to imagine a more impactful ritual than that of our weekly Torah reading. While its origins date to Moshe Rabbeinu—acting in his capacity…
Sukkot: The Season of Joy
"On the first day, you must take for yourself a fruit of the citron tree, an opened palm frond, myrtle branches, and willows of the brook, and you…
Yom Kippur: Far and Near
“With the approval of Hamakom, the Omnipresent, and with the approval of the congregation, in the convocation of the court above, and in the…
Rosh Hashanah: Sounding the Shofar
The blowing of the shofar is a most enigmatic mitzvah. The reasons we eat matzah, sit in the Sukkah or take the lulav are readily…
Tu B'Av: The Happiest Day
“Rabban Shimon ben Gamliel said: There were no days more joyous than the 15th of Av (Tu B'Av) and Yom Kippur, for on those days the daughters of…
Tisha B'Av: Greetings and Salutations
Judaism places great emphasis on the proper greeting of people. The Talmudic term for a greeting, a sheilat shalom, invokes a reference to G-d,…
Yom Yerushalayim: Where is Jerusalem?
One could quite reasonably make the argument that the overarching goal of the Torah is the establishment of a Jewish state that will serve as a model…
Yom Haatzmaut: Stuck in Traffic
A few years ago while on a visit to Israel, my good friend Michael Levenstein z”l, in whose memory this devar Torah is dedicated, was giving my wife…
Pesach: Egyptian Economic Activity
Moshe Rabbeinu was our teacher par excellence. As a great pedagogue, he understood the importance of teaching subject material in a timely manner. “…
Pesach: Don't Forget Yosef
The eating of karpas has long baffled our commentators. Why exactly do we dip a vegetable in salt water just as we are ready to begin the…
Parshat Hachodesh: Timing is Everything
“In the first month of the second year on the first of the month, the Tabernacle was erected” (Shemot 40:2). Sefer Shemot concludes with…
Purim: Shaping Jewish History
Rare is the person who has the opportunity to knowingly shape the course of Jewish history. Most are happy to be relieved of that responsibility.…
Parshat Zachor: Defeating Evil
"He shall surely be put to death." "They shall be pelted with stones and thus stoned to death." "He shall be burned with fire." "…
Some Reflections on the year 2020
“Ezra enacted for the Jewish people that they should read the curses that are recorded in Vayikra before Shavuot and […
Asara b'Tevet and Christmas
For better or worse, in the minds of many—Jew and non-Jew alike—Chanukah and Christmas are two sides of a similar, if not the same, coin. Chanukah is…