The truth is that message applies to Klal Yisrael at large. No question about it, we’re different than the rest of the world. It takes a lot of planning to make sure that we and our kids understand what makes us different and why...As NCSY alumni, we’ve all experienced the passion and excitement for Yiddeshkeit in NCSY that has helped make it easier for so many teens to dare to be different! And, as alumni, let’s all think of ways to stay involved and help the next generation of teens feel the excitement and passion too!
Ah, Spring! Everything just feels more open and inviting! ... As a result, the definition of freedom deserves a closer inspection on the holiday of Pesach. What does it mean to be free? Is it not having anything to hold you down? Is it not having anyone to tell you what to do? Is it being able to theoretically make any decision possible?
Words are very powerful! Words can hurt and words can heal. Words can create and destroy relationships. A word’s power is not based on its length, the makeup of its letters, or anything else but its meaning. While what the speaker or writer intends can be slightly altered by his tone, the way he writes
בס“ד Parshat Vayechi By: Ethan Katz In this week’s Torah portion, Parshas Vayechi, we find our forefather Yaakov sick on his deathbed as his family comes to say their final goodbyes and receive his saintly and powerful blessings for one last time. Yosef, Yaakov’s favorite son who had unfortunately been sold into slavery by his jealous
Chanukah and Purim are often talked about together. It is true that with both holidays the Jews were miraculously saved from their would-be destroyers, yet the two could not be more different.
This week, we will read about an interesting person named Noach. In fact, we don’t waste any time talking about him; he is described in the very first verse of the Torah portion as “Noah was a righteous man, perfect in his generations; Noah walked with God.” This passuk, verse seems simple enough, but upon further
As Chanukkah Ebbs Away By: Dr. David Luchins The Rav, Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik, once asked “what exactly was the miracle of the Macabbee’s victory?” After all, he noted, human history is replete with examples of the weak defeating the strong (see the American revolution or the Vienam War). And why is it a miracle
For those of us who play on sports teams, there is always that constant inner battle to play well for the team versus making yourself look good as an MVP. Surprisingly, we can apply lessons from the life of Avraham Avinu to the basketball court.
The creation account is an unusual piece of Torah. It’s something that we study as small children and we think we know it backwards and forwards. We joyfully sing off the days as it is read every Simchas Torah during Chosson Bereishis. And yet, simultaneously, it is one of the most mystical, esoteric passages in all of Tanach. The creation account is compared by the Talmud in Chagigah (13a) to the Maaseh Hamerkavah, the prophet Yechezkel’s vision of G-d’s Heavenly “chariot.” How odd it is that learned yeshiva students tremble to broach the mysteries of Sefer Yechezkel, yet we routinely discuss the equally-profound mysteries of creation with six-year-old children!
Have you ever shown up to a wedding in your suit straight from work thinking everything will be totally fine, only to realize that you stick out like a sore thumb because everyone else is wearing a tux and you are completely underdressed? Or how about a Purim party, where you assume everyone will be in wearing costumes, but you find that you are the only one who dresses up? You wish someone would have had the sensitivity to warn you about the dress code beforehand so you wouldn’t feel so out of place.