Category: Mussar

Hopeless 3

Hopeless

(For an earlier post on depression and hopelessness, see “Raba Got Up and Slaughtered Rav Zeira” about a famous gemara about Purim. This thought comes mostly from R’ Menachem Zupnik, said a number of...

In one sentence, what Yeshiva chinuch is all about 0

In one sentence, what Yeshiva chinuch is all about

(Cut-n-paste from R’ Chaim Brown’s blog, Divrei Chaim.) Thursday, November 11, 2010 “In public school, they’ll ask you at the end, ‘Well, what have you learned?’ But here at Rice, the question is, ‘What...

Tefillah Behitpa’alut 9

Tefillah Behitpa’alut

These are notes from a talk I gave in Zion Il at the 8th Mussar Kallah. As a favor to those who asked me to publish notes, as the talk was given on Shabbos,...

Choosing Chumeros 0

Choosing Chumeros

As I write this, it’s a few hours before Rosh Chodesh Elul. For many people, a time for choosing chumeros, stringencies in those areas of our lives that could use that extra attention. The...

The Call of the Chatzotzros 8

The Call of the Chatzotzros

כל הכלים שעשה משה כשרים לו וכשרים לדורות, חצוצרות ־ כשרות לו ופסולות לדורות. All the vessels that Moshe made were valid for him and valid for future generations, [except for] the chatzotzros ([silver]...

Book Announcement: Every Day, Holy Day 6

Book Announcement: Every Day, Holy Day

Now available. Alan’s newest book! (assisted by Rabbi Micha Berger) “You shall be holy,” teaches the Torah, and the masters of Mussar have always taken that command very seriously. Mussar is a system of...

Qorach’s Heart 0

Qorach’s Heart

The title verse of this week’s parashah reads “ויקח קרח” (Bamidbar 16:39). The simple translation would be “And Qorach took”. However, the Midrash Rabbah takes it slightly differently, using an equally valid if less...

The Pashkevil To End All Pashkevilin 4

The Pashkevil To End All Pashkevilin

R’ Yaakov Haber put this up at his blog, and I think it SO warrants further distribution, I’m mentioning it here. To quote: … [E]veryday there were posters about how, in the opinion of...