What Was So Wrong With Lavan? It is written (Bereshit 3:1): וְהַנָּחָשׁ הָיָה עָרוּם מִכֹּל חַיַּת הַשָּׂדֶה אֲשֶׁר עָשָׂה יְיָ אֱלֹקִים (And the Nachash was more arum than all the animals of the field which Hashem G-d had made). What is the meaning of עָרוּם [arum]? The Bechor Shor says it means that he spoke…
Mashiach and the Mechanics of Rebuke A little over a year ago, we published a d’var Torah entitled To Rebuke or Not to Rebuke: That is the Question. In that article, we explained what happens to someone who receives rebuke from someone who is unfit to rebuke. In short, instead of arousing within the rebukee…
How Machloket Not for the Sake of Heaven Serves a Higher Purpose In last few articles from The Shoemaker Report we have taken the time to explain teachings from the Zohar ha-Kadosh and from the Vilna Gaon that state unequivocally that one of the worst sins we could become involved in, chas v’shalom, is the…
In last week’s article, The Danger of Breathing in Poisoned Air, we learned that the transgression that led to the Jewish men leaving their holy encampment and going to the Midianite market was because they were not breathing in the pure air that emanated from the mouth of Moshe Rabbeinu. In this week’s essay, we…
How does Mashiach fight his wars? And by extension, how should we fight our battles? It is taught (Likutei Moharan 2:1): אִיתָא בְּסִפְרָא דִּצְנִיעוּתָא מִנּוּקְבָא דְּפַרְדַּשְׂקָא מָשַׁךְ רוּחָא דְּחַיֵּי לִמְשִׁיחָא כִּי עִקַּר כְּלֵי זֵינוֹ שֶׁל מָשִׁיחַ הוּא הַתְּפִלָּה שֶׁהוּא בְּחִינַת חֹטֶם כְּמוֹ שֶׁכָּתוּב וּתְהִלָּתִי אֶחֱטָם לָךְ וּמִשָּׁם עִקַּר חִיּוּתוֹ וְכָל מִלְחַמְתּוֹ שֶׁיַּעֲשֶׂה וְכָל הַכְּבִישׁוֹת שֶׁיִּכְבֹּשׁ…
We are all well acquainted with Rambam’s 7th article of Jewish faith, poetically rendered in our siddurim as: אֲנִי מַאֲמִין בֶּאֱמוּנָה שְׁלֵמָה שֶׁנְּבוּאַת משֶׁה רַבֵּֽנוּ עָלָיו הַשָּׁלוֹם הָיְתָה אֲמִתִּית וְשֶׁהוּא הָיָה אָב לַנְּבִיאִים לַקּוֹדְמִים לְפָנָיו וְלַבָּאִים אַחֲרָיו (I believe with complete faith [emunah] that the prophecy of Moshe Rabbeinu [our Teacher], may peace be upon…
William Ernest Henley was an English poet, writer, critic and editor who lived from 1849-1903. At the age of 16, he had his left leg amputated due to complications arising from tuberculosis of the bone. When he was in his 20s, he developed major problems with his other leg and was told by the doctors…
Every study that we have seen shows that levels of depression, sadness, despondency, anxiety and many types of mental health disorders have skyrocketed since the outbreak of Covid, reaching record levels across practically all demographic groups including the very young. As the verse says in describing the conditions of our world just prior to the…