Rabbi’s Musings & Amusings

I always think it’s ironic when a security guard in the airport asks me the purpose of my visit to Israel. It would be a valid question if I was visiting London or Paris. But does a Jew need a reason to visit Eretz Yisrael?

One of the many virtues of being a rebbe in Heichal HaTorah is the yeshivah’s Rebbe’s Room. I pick up many great Torah thoughts, perspectives, and stories from my far more esteemed colleagues.

In a commencement address to the Eagle Hill School Class of 2013, noted educator Rick Lavoie spoke about the importance of education.

Towards the end of his lecture, he related the following:

I have a nose, but I’d like to think I’m not too nosey. I have ears, but I don’t think I’m eerie. One thing is for certain: Although I have hands, I am definitely not handy.

So, when I went to retrieve our mail one afternoon, and the entire mailbox came off its stand, it was stressful. The mailbox was old and rickety for a long time. That day, it completely came off its rotted screws and was clearly beyond repair.

On the morning of the fast of Asarah B’Teves a few weeks ago, I wanted to speak to my ninth-grade class about the reason and significance of the fast. I began by asking them, “So, what sad event happened today?” One of my students explained that the previous night during an NFL game between the Buffalo Bills and the Cincinnati Bengals, Damar Hamlin of the Bills went into cardiac arrest and had to be resuscitated on the field before being rushed off to the hospital.

Rabbi Shlomo Carlebach z”l related that when he was still living in his parents’ home, he had a nephew who stayed there for Chanukah. The night after Chanukah ended, they told his nephew that Chanukah was over, and they wouldn’t be lighting the menorah again. His nephew asked him to dial his mother’s number so he could speak to her. When his mother got on the phone, his nephew began crying, “Please come bring me home! Bubby and Zeidy don’t want to have Chanukah anymore. But I want to have it again!”