Light Up Your Chanukah! While you’re enjoying the lights of your menorah and the delicious tastes of crispy hot latkes and jelly donuts, add something extra special to the Yom […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz Every year, as we light our menorah, my children express their disappointment that our little flames seem so insignificant next to all the […]
Chanukah is a joyful eight-day holiday celebrated in early winter, usually in December. It commemorates events that took place nearly 2,200 years ago! Back then, the Beit Hamikdash (Holy Temple) […]
Many Jewish parents have the custom of bringing their young “Upsherin boys” to a Rebbi (Jewish Teacher) to begin the study of Torah.1 The Rebbi introduces the young boy to […]
While parents prepare for their children’s Upsherin, they may find themselves somewhat confused. They may be wondering, “Yes, my child is of age to enjoy the excitement of a birthday […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz I am Sephardic, and in our home we light only one menorah for the whole family. But I send my son to an Ashkenazic school, […]
Knowing your weaknesses is your greatest strength. In this week’s Torah reading, Yosef was sold by his brothers and ended up in Egypt as a slave in the house of […]
In Mishlei, King Solomon tells us, “Daaga b’lev ish, yashchena;” If a person has worry in his heart, he should quash it. The Gemara1 teaches that R’ Ami and R’ […]
It’s one of the great mysteries of the Torah: why did Yosef’s own brothers plot to kill him? These Shevatim (tribes) weren’t ordinary people. They were the Shivtei Kah – […]
My friend took their three-year-old boy to their rabbi on the day of his Upsherin for a blessing. Should I do that too? This is a beautiful thing to do […]
These halachic guidelines are relevant for the Upsherin or any other haircut. (See illustrated guide here) One should not be ashamed of his pe’ot, rather he should carry them with […]
“וְיִשְׂרָאֵל אָהַב אֶת יוֹסֵף מִכׇּל בָּנָיו כִּי בֶן זְקֻנִים הוּא לוֹ וְעָשָׂה לוֹ כְּתֹנֶת פַּסִּים” And Yisrael (Yaakov) loved Yosef more than all his sons because he was a son […]
