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Hachnassas Sefer Torah Inaugurates New Home for LINK Kollel Rabbi Eli Stern  The LINK Kollel in Los Angeles offered the public its first glimpse of its new building—still under construction—as it held a joyous hachnassas sefer Torah on the Sunday before Yom Kippur, September 16th.…

How Much for Your Integrity? Sarah Pachter Our family was walking through the Century City Mall one afternoon, when my son was drawn to the Microsoft Store. It was so crowded with people that we wondered, Is this some kind of a grand opening event?…

Self-Transcendence, Part 2 Rabbi Dov Heller, LMFT Are you a kind person? A kind person is someone who consciously chooses to give people pleasure and avoid causing them pain. Kind people are givers and live in a self-transcending way. People who are not kind are…

Dear Readers, If someone were to offer us a choice between 1) complete satisfaction and happiness with what we have and 2) as much money as we want, which would we take? As we re-enter our work lives, where we will exert ourselves till the…

Does “על” mean “on” or “next to”? Rabbi Shmuel Wise, Maggid Shiur at RealClearDaf.com Thursday’s daf (62a) discussed this question as it pertains to how the Shavuos lambs and loaves are waved. The gemara brings several tannaim who grapple with the contradictory implications in the…

In search of paper chains Rebecca Klempner Sukkos is coming, and I’m at a bit of a loss. Once upon a time, I had preschoolers. Preschoolers make actually sitting in the sukkah a bit sketchy, but they make sukkah decoration easy. Morah Rivki and Morah…

Dear readers, The loss of Ari Fuld is tremendous. Anyone who met him, even those in total disagreement with him politically, speaks of his larger than life presence and contagious positivity. A brief look at the statements made after his murder shows a deep respect…

Must tzitzis start out as valid? Rabbi Shmuel Wise, Maggid Shiur at RealClearDaf.com The daf that falls out on Yom Kippur discusses this issue. Rav Huna rules that if someone put tzitzis on a three-cornered garment (which has no tzitzis obligation) and then created a…

Elul in the War Years Brenda Goldstein On Friday, September 1, 1939—the 17th Elul, 5699—Germany invaded Poland, an act widely seen as the start of World War II. While Jews across Europe prepared for Shabbos and the upcoming High Holidays, their world turned into a…

Dear Readers, Each night, year-round, we lie down in bed expecting to wake up refreshed and revitalized from the fatigue of the previous day. The same is true each Elul/Tishrei season in a more general sense: all the previous months, with their specific yomim tovim…

Freedom to Forgive, Part II: The Gift of Forgiveness Sarah Pachter To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you. ‒Lewis B. Smedes I have a theory about the popularity of the song “Let it Go” from Frozen. Yes,…

Does nullification apply to a mixture of similar items? Rabbi Shmuel Wise The daf of last Shabbos gave us the opportunity to review the mishnah in Zevachim that discusses this question. The mishnah there discusses a case where some sacrificial blood got mixed in with…

Our Spiritual Journey Brenda Goldstein When this writer heard about L.A.-based artist and master calligrapher Rae Shagalov’s “Five-Day Creative Torah Journaling Challenge,” I signed up right away. Following publication of her book Create Your Joyfully Jewish Life: A 30 Day Step-By-Step Workshop and Creative Journal…

Is haktara (burning of the kemitza) effective if some of the flour went missing? Rabbi Shmuel Wise, Maggid Shiur at realcleardaf.com This issue came up on Wednesday’s daf (12a). Normally the burning of the kemitza portion serves to permit the remainder of the flour for…

Freedom to Forgive Sarah Pachter To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.—Lewis B. Smedes While researching forgiveness, I came across the following example.[1] Jennifer, 65, is very angry at her ex-boyfriend. It seems he asked her best…

Humor: Sibling Revelry Rebecca Klempner There are times when I struggle to find topics for my columns, and there are times when a topic lands in my lap in the middle of Shabbos lunch. This past Shabbos afternoon, I sat at our table, innocently arranging…