Jews

Why are Jews in America?

Over the last two weeks, and for another week or so, I am visiting the United States for a family Simcha. I have not really had much of a chance until now to write any serious posts, but my thoughts have been rolling as always with ideas that beg expression. So, here I begin. Before…

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Moshiach, now? part II

You know, I don’t think there is anyone who will say that we aren’t in a very significant moment in history. As I have said in the past, I do not like to make predictions, and the main reason is because predictions for the near future look rather silly when they do not come true.…

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Seeds of redemption

Before Purim, someone shared a beautiful pshat with me in the name of the Chasam Sofer (I believe). If one goes back to the root of the miracle of Purim, we can trace the beginning stage to the party of Achashverosh that is described at the beginning of the story. During that party, the king…

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Worth fighting for

My sister in New York shared the following about a Rav and his son who very recently spent time here in Israel. They came to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah, and as part of his trip here, they decided to deliver pizza to the troops fighting in Gaza. As the rabbi and his son were giving…

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Ramchal on Geulah – Part two

The Ramchal continues: Before the world can reach the state where the righteous receive their eternal reward, however, all life must cease and return to the dust, for at least a moment, before the revival of the dead. Then those that are fitting will rise. When the revival of the dead occurs, both the righteous…

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Help your brother

Guest post by Daniel A few nights ago I had the privilege to hear the following story from Rav Shemtov. Rav Shemtov is a paragon of Ahavas Yisrael. At our table sat a young man who is beginning to wrap tefillin. Rav Shemtov grasped the young baal teshuva’s hand, kissed it, and beamed at the…

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How Fortunate Are We

Guest post by Daniel How Fortunate Are We, How Wonderful is Our Portion, and How Beautiful is Our Heritage Today, the traffic-jammed street is fullOf people and not cars. The only wheels movingAre strollers pushed by young couplesAnd scooters chased by little brothers. The many passersby have made a coupAgainst traffic lightsThat signal no one.…

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The Generation of Moshiach

My wife recently bought me the second volume of the wonderful book Machat Shel Yad by my rebbe Rav Yitzchok Frankel. The first book came out about a year ago on Braishis, and even though I got it toward the end of the parshios in Braishis, I read the whole thing from cover to cover.…

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When he's finally here

Guest post by Daniel I was thinking about the kinds of kiddushei Hashem that will occur when Moshiach is revealed. The first thing I thought was that there will be a great kiddush Hashem in the eyes of the Jews. We will be astonished at the massive number of Jews that come to greet Moshiach.…

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5769 II

The passuk uses the words “והיה ביום ההוא” in numerous places to refer to the time of Moshiach. On the surface these words are quite innocuous. The gematria of these words is 101, which would seem to be insignificant. It gets interesting when you break down the letters as follows: וי”ו ה”י יו”ד ה”י (והיה)…

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