Rabbi Avraham Edelstein describes the Jewish nation’s extraordinary connection to the Land of Israel in his commentary on Parshas Masay: “After man lost the Garden of Eden, the Land of Israel became the greatest spiritual place on earth, the link between Heaven and Earth and hence the epicenter of the world. This intrinsic holiness of... Read more »
My wife and I sent our oldest child off yesterday to study for a year abroad. The day was filled with many of the emotions that filled our parents when we too went off to study abroad twenty-plus years ago. We spent time at the airport reviewing protocol, getting everything
It was Friday, early afternoon. I was returning from the Kosel after Mincha. I was very tired as I looked for a cab to drive me back to “town.” I approached a taxi and sat down in the back seat of the cab, glad to rest. I quickly allowed my mind to roam
A week before my trip to Israel one winter break, I got an email from a friend, Rafael Sait, asking me if I had any space in my suitcase to bring over some Romanian meat for him. A little background is required here: The Romanian butchery in Chicago on the corner of Clark and Touhy is probably the most
Once upon a time there was a prince who was living with his family in a beautiful palace. Unfortunately, after a while, the prince and his extended family began to fight amongst themselves. They called each other names and attempted to discredit each other and eventually there was baseless hatred between them. The
One night towards the middle of zman, our shiur had a little get-together with our rebbe. We had only recently begun to be bound by the glue commonly found in tight-knit groups, shiurim especially. Consequently, we were anxious to fortify this bond as a shiur and with our rebbe in a serious but less
Yom Haatzmaut is the day that the State of Israel in particular and the Jewish people as a whole celebrate the creation of the State in 1948. On this day you will find a greater diversity of observance and non-observance in the Orthodox Jewish world than on any other day of the Jewish calendar. There are
Dear Ezra, Firstly, I really must say how impressive it is to see a high school senior who feels so passionately about an idea that he goes ahead and writes about it in a public forum, regardless of the fact that many may come to balk at it for its raw points, or criticize it- because it brings up
