On Erev Tisha B’Av, Karen Hochhauser, a NJ NCSY Alumna who made Aliyah, is thinking about the miracle of life in Eretz Yisrael, but also its challenges. A pasuk from Parshat VaEtchanan reminds Moshe and Bnei Yisroel never to forget about doing chesed and good deeds, adding to an outpouring of love over several generations.
Rashi asks why Moshe Rabbeinu rebukes the entirety of Bnei Yisrael in Parshat Dvarim. Rabbi Tuvia Fried, Learning Director at NCSY Camp Sports, addresses Rashi and reminds us of the power of our words and deeds to carefully create and quickly destroy. Thanks to Shimmy Socol for producing the video.
This week’s parsha, Maasei, goes into such detail about the route that the journey and encampment of the Jewish people took them as they traveled from Egypt to the Land of Israel. Why the 42 specific stops? Rabbi Judah Hulkower, an alumnus of West Coast NCSY, tells us that each location speaks to a different
Rabbi Chaim Loike, Rabbinic Coordinator at OU Kashrut, discusses how the Jewish people were cursed in this week’s parsha, Matot, not directly, but through an indirect weakening of their connection with HaShem by causing them to sin.
Amanda Esraeilian, an advisor for Midwest NCSY and former International President, examines the census process of the Land of Israel described in Parshat Pinchas and is struck by how fairly the land is then divided between families. But life is rarely proceeds so justly. How can we rationalize living through those unjust experiences?
What can we learn from talking donkeys? Carol Rhine, COO of NY NCSY and Director of JUMP takes a look at a strange message sent to a king of Moab who tries to curse the Jewish people. What lessons can we take away from this and more recent events in Jewish history? Carol recorded this
What did Moshe Rabbeinu have to fear from an Amorite king, Og, in this week’s Torah portion? Avi Levy, an advisor for West Coast NCSY Alumni explains that Mitzvot generate zechus, merit, and Og had plenty of zechus building in reserve… Every good thing we do or prayer we say counts for the future!
As we plead to Hashem for the safe return of Gilad Shaar, Naftali Frenkel, and Eyal Yifrach, the three kidnapped Israeli yeshiva students, it is important to remember a very important lesson learned from the rebellion of Korach: everything is from Hashem! Josh Cohen is the Alumni Coordinator for West Coast NCSY as well as
How many of your decisions are based on your sense of self-worth? What about the actions of those around you? Rabbi Yaakov Frankiel, Director of Columbus NCSY, tells an Old Country parable of train travel that explains why the scouts returned from Canaan with such anguished news in this week’s parsha.
In Parshat Naso, why does the Torah identify the leader of each tribe and their relationship to the Mishkan in such repetitive detail? This week, an explanation from Rabbi Yaakov Glasser, the Emeritus International Director of Education for NCSY and now the Associate Dean of the Center for the Jewish Future at Yeshiva University. While