What’s in a Name? by Rabbi Gad Krebs Rabbi Gad Krebs is an alumnus of Yeshivat Hamivtar having received his semicha from Rabbi Riskin and Rabbi Zalman Nehemiah Goldberg zt’’l. He has been the Rabbi of Kehillat Masada Synagogue in Sydney, Australia for 13 years. When it comes to naming children, the Jewish tradition has …
Shabbat Shalom: Vayetze (Genesis 28:10 – 32:3) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had placed under his head, and set it up as a monument, and poured oil on the top of it.” [Gen. 28:18] Our Biblical portion, Vayetze, tells …
Can One Commit Fraud for the Right Reasons? The Matriarchs’ Corruption Commitment by Margot Botwinick Margot (Reinstein) Botwinick, an alumna of Midreshet Lindenbaum (’09) and former madricha (’12), is the co-founder with her husband, Josh, of Mizrachi OU-JLIC IDC Herzliya. As I write this, the official election results in America have yet to be announced. This …
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Shabbat Shalom: Toldot (Genesis 25:19 – 28:9) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel — “Now Isaac loved Esau, because the hunt was in his mouth, while Rebecca loved Jacob” [Gen. 25:28]. The watershed moment in Jacob’s life—the repercussions of which surface in every subsequent generation of Jewish history—is the act deceiving his father, Isaac, in …
This week’s parsha commentary has been dedicated in honor of David Katz’s Birthday – ad me’ah v’esrim by the Charif Family of Sydney, Australia Shabbat Shalom: Chayei Sarah (Genesis 23:1 – 25:18) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “And Abraham was old, well-stricken in age…” (Gen. 24:1) In addition to their shared ideals, the …
Avraham & Yishmael: When Duty and Family Come into Conflict by Bracha Rutner Bracha Rutner learned in Midreshet Lindenbaum during the years 1994-95 and 1995-96. She was the first congregational Yoetzet in the United States and is the Head of School at Yeshiva University High School for Girls/Central. There is a dramatic pasuk, Breishit 25:9, …
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Vayera: Open Eyes, Heart, Mind and Hand by Rabbi David Kalb Rabbi David Kalb directs the Jewish Learning Center, a program of Ohr Torah Stone. He studied at Yeshivat Hamivtar and received semikha from Rabbi Shlomo Riskin. This week’s Parsha teaches the mitzvah of Hachnasat Orchim, the commandment of welcoming guests. At the beginning of …
Shabbat Shalom: Vayera (Genesis 18:1 – 22:24) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “For now I know that you are a God-fearing man, seeing that you have not withheld your only son from Me.” (Gen. 22:12) The akeda (“binding’ of Isaac) serves as a model for one of the most important questions in contemporary …
Lech Lecha: Brit Milah and Modern Antisemitism by Rabbi Avichai Apel Rabbi Avichai Apel is the Rabbi of Frankfurt, and Chairman of the Conference of Orthodox Rabbis in Germany. He received semikha from Ohr Torah Stone’s Joseph and Gwendolyn Straus Rabbinical Seminary. Concurrent with all the beauty and glory of European Jewry’s renaissance following the horrors …
Shabbat Shalom: Lech Lecha (Genesis 12:1 – 17:27) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel — “The Lord said to Abram: ‘Get out of your country, and from your homeland, and from your father’s home, to the land that I will show you.’” (Gen. 12:1) Abraham’s father, Terah, is often perceived as a primitive symbol of …
Echo Chambers of Babel by Jennifer Rubin Raskas Jennifer (Rubin) Raskas, an alumna of Midreshet Lindenbaum (’01), is the Washington DC Manager for the Shalom Hartman Institute. “And the whole earth was of one language and of common speech…and they said, ‘Come let us build us a city, and a tower, with its top in …
Shabbat Shalom: Noach (Genesis 6:9 – 11:32) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel — “And Haran died before his father, in the land of his birth, in Ur Kasdim.” (Gen. 11:28) When it comes to questions of belief, the agnostic is the loneliest of all. On one side of the fence stands the atheist, confident …
