The Library

At the end of his new book, Tribe of Mentors, Timothy Ferris cites the following poem by Portia Nelson. It’s called ‘Autobiography in Five Short Chapters’: Chapter 1: I walk down the street. There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. I fall in. I am lost… I am helpless. It isn...

The sforim tell us that rosh chodesh Shvat is very mesugal for his'chadshus - starting anew. It is the day Moshe Rabeinu began to explain the Torah. It is rosh hashana for trees according to Shammai - because the sap begins reviving the trees on that day. The Yidden were ...

The Holy Ruzhiner Rebbe zy”a interpreted the verse in Tehillim (37:10) “In a little while, the wicked is no more; reflect upon his place, and he is gone.” This means that “in a little while,” - shortly after sinning - “the wicked is no more” - the person no longer wants to be wicked for he regrets his sin. Therefore, it is better that he "reflect upon his place” - he should think before he commits the sin, at the place of the sin - and then “he is gone” - he will not commit the sin at all.

"When we became addicts, crushed by a Self-Imposed Crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that either G-d is everything or else He is nothing. G-d either is or He isn't. What was our choice to be?" (Big Book, Page 53) בא אל פרעה...

When we were approaching חודש שבט I heard from Reb Shlomo Meyer a vort that was tremendous chizuk for me all these years. שבט ר״ת שמרם ברכם טהרם. This month, which is entirely during the weeks of שובבים is here to remind us what our goal in life is. We ask Hashem, please...

Judaism views lust as follows: We acknowledge the fact that G‑d created us with such feelings, and it’s certainly not an aberration to feel lustful. However, outside of marriage, we are expected to be sufficiently aware of our higher calling, utilize our intellect, and mu...

Rav Dessler (Chelek 1, page 42)brings a Gemara which tells of a man hiding in the walls of the house of a woman with whom he was having an affair. The husband came home and was about to drink water that this man knew was poisoned. At the point, the man jumped out and resc...

"I Pharaoh, the Supreme King, Ruler, and g-d of Egypt admit that I am powerless over Plagues -- that my life has become unmanageable!" (Step One - Big Book, Egyptian Edition) Just search Wikipedia and you will learn that "Participation in a Passover seder is the most wid...

"We made a decision to turn our Will and our Lives over to the care of Pharaoh as we understood him." (Step Four - Big Book, Egyptian Edition) Having concluded the Book of Genesis, we embark on a new chapter in the lives of B'nai Yisroel. As we all know from Sefer Berei...

As we continue the story of Yakov and his sons, we not only see the conclusion of Sefer Bereishis (book of Genesis) but also the end of the lives of Yakov and Yosef. The story of these great and holy men seems to be full of so much pain and struggle. And yet, they not ...

Asoro b'Teves is the only fast that even if it happens to fall on Shabbos, we'd have to abstain from the beer and Cholent. That would be a crisis, which the Rabbis saw in their ruach hakodesh would be untenable, so they preset the calendar so that it never falls on a Shab...

“And Pharaoh said to Yosef, ‘after G-d let you know all of these things, there is none so understanding and wise as you’.” (Bereishis 41:39) Over the past few months people have witnessed how the high and mighty have been taken down to the lowest depths due to foolish...

"הנרות הללו קודש הם ואין לנו רשות להשתמש בהם" "Chanukah candles are holy and we have no permission to use them, rather only to see them." - And for how long? Half an hour from the start. After the half-hour, they are allowed to be used. In marriage, when a pers...

“His brothers saw that it was he whom their father loved most of all the brothers - so THEY HATED HIM...(37:4)" As we continue the Story of our Patriarchs and Matriarchs, we learn in this Parsha about one of the most unimaginable episodes of the entire Torah. How could t...

One of the greatest challenges in the life of a Jew, especially in the generation we live in, is the concept of hotza'as zera levatalah, emitting seed in vain. This is an extremely difficult prohibition that many, many struggle with, often unsuccessfully. Unfortunately, i...

"For tomorrow we will die!" (Isaiah 22:13) והנה אנכי הולך למות ולמה זה לי בכרה "And Esau said, Look I am going to die, so of what use to me is a birthright?" What was the mindset of Esau that he could have so easily sold his birthright for just a pot of lentils? After al...

Avraham Avinu is instructed by Hakadosh Baruch Hu to go up to the mountain and to bring Yitzchok as a Korban. R' Moishe Rosenstein gives a very beautiful and powerful insight as to why this was such a difficult test. He says, that when someone has a test and it's in fron...

The Gemara Sanhedrin (107a) says that Dovid Hamelech requested a Nisayon, and Hashem notified him that he would be tested in matters of immorality. The Gemara learns that David had relations with his wife at that point, as a way of ensuring that he could withstand the tem...