Opinion

“The task of a rabbi is to provide perspective and vision, to be the great communicator, to take his congregants and connect them to Sinai and that they feel proud to be Jews.” – Rabbi Berel Wein

One of the modern wonders of Israel is its transportation system. Who would believe that in a Jewish state that has no shortage of bureaucracy, transportation would be on time, well-maintained, and dependable? With an app like Moovit, you can know when your bus or train will arrive down to the minute.

Like my children, all my nephews and nieces are rather precocious. It must be something in the genes.

As America celebrates its 250th birthday, it behooves us, the Torah faithful, to contemplate our standing in the country that has been a haven for our people and a place where we have enjoyed unprecedented freedom and religious growth.

Every wedding is a special and joyous occasion. In fact, Rabbi Yaakov Kamenetsky (Emes L’Yaakov) notes that every Jewish wedding is a national celebration. He proves it from the fact that if a mourner comes to shul, the mourner himself doesn’t recite Tachanun, but the rest of the congregation does. However, when a chasan davens in shul during the week after his wedding, the entire congregation omits Tachanun. Apparently, everyone in the shul has a share in the chasan’s celebration. The Jewish people thrive upon the building of Jewish homes.

I distinctly remember two of my high school rebbeim rattling off the starting five players of the championship-winning 1973 New York Knicks. It surprised me because neither of them seemed like the type to know much about sports. But I guess that two decades earlier, they had other interests. Of course, right after recounting the starting five, my rebbi quipped, “If only I remembered my Gemara as well as I remembered that nonsense.”