This week’s Torah portion of Ki Teitzei speaks about the laws of returning lost objects. The devastating flooding in Houston and eastern Texas due to the heavy rains of Hurricane Harvey made me think of the piece of Talmud that … Read the rest

“Are you going out tonight?”

This is no endorsement, and not all versions of this are created equal, and it’s not for everyone or all ages or temperaments – but most college students know what “going out” means, so there … Read the rest

Bassie’s Bas-Mitzvah Speech was an introduction to her “Book of Books” click for post and link of that booklet.

Thank you for coming to celebrate my Bas-Mitzvah.

We are a family of mostly girls and for our Bas-Mitzvah projects we … Read the rest

Bassie is an avid reader, our bookworm. In preparation for her Bas-Mitzvah, and as her Bas-Mitzvah learning project, we discussed and studied and then prepared with Bassie this “Book of Books” exploring some of the Jewish books of our home/Shabbos … Read the rest

by Rabbi Shlomo Galperin

In honor of my granddaughter Bassie’s Bas-Mitzvah theme focusing on books and her “Book of Books” project, I’d like to share two stories about Chassidim and books from the period after the Russian revolution, during that … Read the rest

First a little Talmud on the role of witnesses:

In a commentary on the Talmud, the Rebbe speaks of two types of witnesses: Adei Kiyum (establishment witnesses) and Adei Birur (verification witnesses). Basically, Halachic witnesses play two roles: (1) For … Read the rest

The start of the new year at college always falls around one of these Devarim (Deuteronomy) Torah portions, this year in Parshat Shoftim. We ought to always look to Torah for guidance in our daily lives, especially as the Alter … Read the rest

What does the biblical word “Heichaltzu” mean to you? Most people won’t be familiar with it, as it isn’t a common Hebrew word, but those who do will usually connect it with military preparedness, arming oneself for war, or perhaps general … Read the rest

THE MILK RESCUE OPERATION

One hot summer Friday we get a call that the refrigerator system broke down on a large tractor-trailer truck laden with Kosher Chalav-Yisrael (a super-Kosher dairy tradition that we observe) milk and they have to get rid of … Read the rest

Each summer, usually in July, there’s a period called “The Three Weeks” observed as a time of semi-mourning between the fast-days of the 17th of Tammuz and Tisha B’Av, which becomes a little more intense and focused in the “Nine … Read the rest