Ha'azinu: Jump at the Israel Opportunity

by Baruch Gordon

In this week's Torah reading Ha'azinu, Baruch Gordon answers the question, "If Moshe didn't merit to enter the Land of Israel, why should we?"

[3.5-minute video]

Yom Kippur: Finding Life's Purpose

by Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org

By plugging into the expanded consciousness of Yom Kippur through the proper thoughts, acts & tefillot prescribed for the day, we can receive & be transformed by the day’s all encompassing light.

Q&A: How Can I Improve My Spouse?

Q. My husband doesn't want to put on tefillin! We are traditional family, we observe kashrut, we make Kiddush and don't use electricity on Shabbat, and we try to keep what we can. My husband comes from an anti-religious family, and it took me a long time to help him overcome the obstacles and agree to build a traditional home. Unfortunately, I have still not been able to convince him to wear tefillin. Do you have an idea how I can help him to want to do so?

Ha'azinu: The Song of History

by Rav Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org

Human history – like any great piece of literature – presents a story that is not only inspiring and dramatic on the surface but also allegorically rich with hidden meaning and deep moral lessons.

Q&A: I Come From a Secular Home - How Do I Do Teshuva?

Q. I have been "getting stronger" in Judaism for awhile now, and I would like to become fully observant. But my problem is that I come from a secular home, in which the only commandments and traditions that are observed are Friday night Kiddush and candle lighting.

My main problem is on Shabbat. How am I supposed to keep Shabbat, when my whole family doesn't?

And another question: How do I do teshuva and become fully observant? Aside from observing Shabbat, wearing a kippa and tzitzit, and some other basic mitzvot, is there some kind of process that I must do? Perhaps there are other mitzvot that I must observe that I don't know about?

Rosh Hashana: The Reason For Symbolic Foods

by Rav Ezra Kohen, originally published on yeshiva.co, translated and edited by Hillel Fendel

Beyond their taste, eating symbolic foods such as apples, pomegranates, carrots, and beets on Rosh Hashana have a special meaning.

Rosh Hashana: The Deep Meanings of the Shofar

by Rav Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org

Man’s universal recognition of HaShem as the timeless ultimate Reality without end is achieved through the story of the Jewish people and the fulfillment of Israel’s historic mission. 

Personal Fulfillment Via Aliyah

 by Rabbi Berel Wein, bringthemhome.org.il

Rabbi Berel Wein discusses the personal sense of spiritual fulfillment one receives when making Aliyah.

[6m video]

Nitzavim: Playing an Active Role in History

by Baruch Gordon

Baruch Gordon looks into this week's Torah reading Nitzavim to understand the principle of mutual responsibility and what its laws say about the importance of the Land of Israel to the existence of the Jewish nation.

[2.5-minute video]

Vayeilekh: All Jews are *Only* Israeli

 by Rav Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org

Although he had been raised in Pharaoh’s palace and had never in his life actually seen Eretz Yisrael, Moshe was held accountable for allowing himself to be referred to by others as “an Egyptian man.”

Nitzavim: Jewish Nationalism *is* T'Shuva

 by Rav Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org

More than merely fostering personal piety among Jews, tshuva that begins with a reawakening of Hebrew identity will lead Israel to express kedusha in every sphere of national life.

Leaving the Land of Israel

 by Rav Tzvi Fishman, https://bringthemhome.org.il

One way of understanding the vital importance of Eretz Yisrael to Jewish life is through the prohibition to leave it. When a Jew leaves the Land of Israel, it is as if he or she is turning their backs on the Shechinah and the Holy One Himself, as our Sages have stated: “A person who lives in Eretz Yisrael is like someone who has a G-d, and a person who lives outside of the Land is like someone who has no G-d, and is considered like someone who worships idols,” (Ketubot 110B).

Ki Tavo: Don't Get Too Comfy in Diaspora

by Baruch Gordon

Baruch Gordon looks at a commentary on a very unique commandment found in this week's Torah reading Ki Tavo.

[3-minute video]

Ki Tavo: The Torah Is a National Precept

by Rav Yehuda HaKohen, visionmag.org

The performance of our Torah's ritual precepts must be contextualized & experienced within the larger meta-narrative of Israel's story & mission.

Q&A: How Can HaShem Judge Us for Sinning When He Created Us Imperfect?

Q. Every year on Yom Kippur we ask the Holy One Blessed be He for forgiveness for not walking on the straight path in the previous year and we thank Him for being merciful and gracious, and for forgiving us for no other reason because we actually don't deserve it.

My question is this - HaShem created us lacking, and moreover, we can never be perfect, we can only progress and be better human beings. So how can HaShem, so to say, be angry at us for sinning? And how could He not forgive us if He made us like that?

And if He really does need to forgive us, then why do we admire the fact that He forgives us, and praise Him and thank Him for the immense kindness He does for us year after year?

Q&A: How Can We Take Advantage of Elul?

Q. How can we take advantage of Elul and not "fall" into the High Holidays each year?