by Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
Why Only Half the Shabbat? Q: If the purpose of the holy days is to learn Torah, why are we required to learn only six hours on Shabbat and not the entire Shabbat, excluding times necessary for sleeping and eating? A: Before I answer, let me broaden the question. In his book “Ben Ish Chai”, … Read more
The Basis of Jewish Education – Torah Study on Shabbat Many people are concerned about the question of educating our youth: how to strengthen their connection to Torah? Quite a few understand that this issue depends on a more general question: How can the spiritual lives of adults be raised? For it is clear that … Read more
Obligation and Mitzvah Anything a person usually does specifically inside his house throughout the year, he is obligated to do in the sukkah during the holiday of Sukkot. Therefore, it is obligatory to have the ‘seudot keva’ (a meal containing more than one ‘kebeitza’ [57.6 cubic cm] of bread, cake, or pasta) and sleep in the sukkah, given that … Read more
Accepting God’s Kingdom through Settling the Land At the beginning of the year, we should return and connect to the most important and primary foundations in our lives – and paramount to all, is remembering who are we, and what our life is all about, where we came from, and where we are going, and … Read more
Rosh Hashanah: Accepting God’s Kingdom There are many worthy points to contemplate on Rosh Hashanah, in regards to the collective and the individual, however, the central axis is our acceptance of the kingdom of God. This is illustrated by the fact that in all of our prayers we say “Ha’Melech Ha’Kadosh” (the King, the Holy One) instead of “Ha’El … Read more
Where’s the Struggle? Last week I read in amazement an article in the “Basheva”newspaper by reporter Hagit Rosenbaum, entitled “Where’s the Struggle?” In the article, the writer complained that “the drawn-out battles in the corridors of the Knesset and the courtrooms, such as those of ‘Givat Ulpana’ and ‘Migron’, ended with a whimper, and a quiet … Read more
“Your Camp Must Therefore Be Holy” In this week’s Torah reading (Ki Thetze), we learn that we are especially commanded to guard the sanctity of the army camp, as it is written: “When you go out as a camp against your enemies, you must avoid everything evil…This is because God your Lord makes His presence … Read more
The essay “Ma’amar Ha’dor” (“The Generation”) in Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook’s book “Ikvei HaTzone” is undoubtedly one of his most essential and famous essays. In this essay, Rabbi Kook analyzes the special character of the generation, and outlines a path for its repentance and perfection. Rabbi Kook explains that Jews who abandoned the Torah in … Read more
The Greatness of Rabbi Kook
Q: You religious Zionists write all the time about the importance of ‘Eretz Yisrael’ as if the issue is in agreement and obvious, and you even challenge the Haredim who don’t engage in ‘yishuv ha’aretz’ (settling the Land). However, in reality, according to the opinion of most ‘gedolei ha’Torah’ (eminent Torah scholars), the Land of Israel is not important at … Read more