Thesis: We all need to take the risk and stand up for those around us that need it. Question: Why do Chazal find an obscure word by the generation of Noach as the place to hint to Moshe Rabeinu? Answer: Moshe and Noach had the same dilemma, except that Moshe stood up for those around …
Let’s be frank. We’ve been here many, many times – myself included. The Rabbi gets up right before ne’ila and talks about how the gates are about to close. Well, there’s good news. This year they aren’t closing – they are about to open. The classic paradigm for ne’ila is that the gates of heaven …
Yom Kippur Pre-Ne’ilah: Hashem Knocking on the Door (Rav Amital) Read More »
Thesis: Yom Kippur is for us to reconnect with our inner soul and see the bigger picture of what we need to do. Question: It seems much more of a sad day than a happy day. How can Yom Kippur be described as a Yom Tov when we are forced to have “inuyim”? Answer: Yom …
It was the coldest winter ever and many animals died because of the cold. The porcupines, realizing the situation, decided to group together to keep warm. They huddled up close together and shared their body heat. This way they covered and protected themselves. The problem was that every now and then one of the porcupines …
Thesis: We have the ability to coronate Hashem in both our state of completeness as well as when we are broken. Question: Why only use the Shofar and not the trumpets? Answer: the shofar symbolizes our natural cycle through life and demonstrates that we can coronate Hashem in whatever state we are in. …
Rosh Hashana – Shofar as the Cycle of Religiosity Read More »
Good Shabbos everyone! This is what they call being tossed into the deep end. So thank you all for having bared with me. In Parshas Chukas the Jews are finally travelling to the land of Israel and again, as we’ve seen many times, they start complaining. וַיְדַבֵּ֣ר הָעָ֗ם בֵּֽאלֹהִים֮ וּבְמֹשֶׁה֒ לָמָ֤ה הֶֽעֱלִיתֻ֙נוּ֙ מִמִּצְרַ֔יִם לָמ֖וּת בַּמִּדְבָּ֑ר …
Good Shabbos! Thank you to Rabbi Weissman for inviting me, to the board and to the entire community. Both Sarah and I have felt the extremely warm welcome that the Plainview community is known for. I’ve already met a number of you, but we – speaking for both Sarah and myself – would love to …
This paper was written as my honors thesis at Yeshiva University. You can view it on Yeshiva University Library’s website using this link: Yeshiva Academic Institutional Repository Powered By EmbedPress
Thesis: We have an obligation to sympathize with all suffering – even deserved punishment. Question: Why would the Torah want us to daven for the metzorah when they deserved their punishment? Answer: Our view of punishment should be that it is needed, but we also need to feel bad for the suffering the perpetrator is …
Tazriaya-Metzorah: Sympathize With All Suffering Read More »
Thesis: We ignore important details that are in front of us all too often. Question: How could the Egyptians keep hitting the frog? How could the Jews ignore Moshe? Answer: They were intentionally blind to the obvious facts in front of them. In 1979, Johann Wolfgang wrote a famous ballad called The Sorcerer’s …
Va’era: Hitting the Frog – Intentional Blindness Read More »
The headlines in January 2021 were flooded with stories of GameStop (GME) stock soaring from $20 to $350, and then back down to below $50. Many in different fields seemed involved one way or another: Wall Street was being “” from their position, Robinhood stopped the ability to buy, and a man going by the name of …
What makes the great investors stand out is their ability to move their money into growing markets before everyone else realizes the potential. Over the past year the political and economic relationships between the U.S. and China started changing tones. For some this is signaling the transition of international power from the U.S. to China, …
The cost of living has been increasing over the past year and most people have started to notice. Just in June, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) jumped to an annual rate of 5.4%, the highest rate since August 2008. Jerome Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve (FED), claims that the inflation is transitory and …
Risk carries many definitions. Sometimes it is referred to as the chance of losing money while other times it is seen as the chance that the actual outcome will be different from the expected outcome. This summer, the reality was very different from the expected and required many banks’ and financial institutions’ risk departments to …
The weeks between the end of February to the end of June the market sent many mixed signals. The longest bull market in history, with a full 12 year stock market rally, was seemingly followed by the shortest bear market in history, only one month of declining stock prices. Now there remains a debate amongst …
Vzot HaBracha is a very peculiar parsha in that it isn’t read on a shabbat. Simchat Torah was instituted on Shemini Atzeret since Chazal said the day is for “Venismecha Bach – Bach u’Vetoratcha”, rejoicing with Hashem and the Torah. However, there may be another idea that can be taken from finishing the Torah now. …
Vzos Habracha: Cycle of Humanity from Birth to Perfection Read More »
