I try not to venture into the kitchen too often, in the spirit of “knowing my place.” Inevitably, however, I occasionally find myself drawn to the spice cabinet, opening it up and reaching for…that’s right, you guessed it – the salt. Have you ever stopped to consider why the salt container is usually significantly larger […]
Every once in a while, a student comments to me, “If G-d would only perform an open miracle for me, then I would believe…” There are several possible responses to this. I would like to share with you my favorite approach, which comes along with a story. By way of introduction, let us look at […]
July 20th marked the 43rd anniversary of man’s first step on the moon. Imagine if you had been part of Neil Armstrong’s crew heard him say the famous words, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” What if, when you stepped off Apollo 11, you beheld an unbelievable sight: There, sitting on […]
We’ve all seen, either first-hand or via the media, the terrible destruction that Hurricane Sandy wrought. Imagine an individual who decides to volunteer and help those whose homes experienced great damage. He visits one such homeowner who is assessing the damage to his home, standing in his basement and looking at his waterlogged foundation, which […]
Antonio and Sons came highly recommended as the contractor of choice to build the home of your dreams. After several meetings with architects and designers, a blueprint is drawn up and a date is chosen to begin construction. On the morning of the big day, your doorbell rings. Standing at your threshold is Antonio himself! […]
If you were to venture into the kitchen and start exploring the contents of each cabinet, you would most likely chance upon a cabinet whose contents contain numerous containers of spices. You may ask yourself, “What is the point of all this? Food can be cooked and served as is, why the need for spice? […]
In the summer of 2005 I had the privilege of serving as a Rabbi in a sleepaway camp in the Pocono Mountains. My job entailed giving classes to a group of young, energetic teenagers who worked as the camp’s waiters. One day, the head waiter approached me with a request. Being a Torah-observant camp, the […]
Over the past few years I’ve had the privilege to give bar mitzvah lessons to the boys in our Hebrew school. So as not to discourage the boys from wanting to read from the Torah, I usually don’t show them how the words are going to appear in the Torah scroll until after a few […]
Eggs, hammer, table, coat, picture frame, car, air conditioner, book, door, glass. After reading the words above, you are probably wondering what sort of list this is. Do these items have anything in common, or are they a haphazard assortment of items totally unrelated to each other? While perusing the many different Torah portions that […]