By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
Golus. It is all we have ever known. We have been buffeted about, from country to country, sometimes treated better, sometimes treated worse. When things don’t go well, we pray for geulah, but when they do, we tend to forget that we are far from home. We settle in, acclimate, and adopt the mode of thinking, customs and culture of our hosts. We not only forget that we are in exile, we forget where we came from and what we are all about. When we try to remind people of that, we get blank stares, reflecting their concern that we are passé, outdated, outmoded, and so yesterday.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
We have experienced so many tragedies recently and they show no sign of letting up. Klal Yisroel was particularly affected by Covid, losing so many to the new disease that claimed millions of lives worldwide. Each death was a terrible tragedy, another stab in the community’s hearts.
Many who survived were left with lingering effects. People were left without jobs and businesses. Social mores were upended, and yeshivos and schools were forced to close, severely impacting many students. Many shuls that were closed for long periods have still not gotten back to normal. New opportunities were created, but many were lost.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
Balanced and clear vision is necessary to navigate life’s paths. We live in a world where things rarely are what they appear to be.

By Dr. Daniel Berman
Baruch Hashem, Covid 19 is almost completely gone from the frum communities for now. In the whole country, cases are plummeting. There still are sporadic cases, even in the frum communities, although they are rare.
The most common questions now being asked in our communities relate to the issue of

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
It was a year and a half since I had been on an airplane or gone on a trip. I didn’t miss it. I got used to staying home and enjoyed it. The last time I took a trip anywhere was to Eretz Yisroel, and that was during January of last year. Staying home was nice, but we all need a change of scenery once in a while.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
The Chovos Halevavos, in discussing the ongoing battle with the yeitzer hora, writes that his objective is “le’ameis hasheker,” to make what is false appear to be the truth. In pursuit of that goal, he uses everything we encounter to convince us that what is untrue is fact. Once we buy in to what is not real as reality, it is smooth sailing for him and he can easily convince us to sin and go down the wrong path.
The novi Yeshayahu (59:15) foretold that in the period leading up to the revelation of Moshiach, “vatehi ha’emes ne’ederes,” the truth will be missing.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
Jewish history is an ongoing cycle of high peaks and low valleys. We arrive in a new country, get acclimated until we feel we belong, and then the eternal hatred begins to manifest itself yet again. Just when we think that this destination is different than the previous places in which we lived, we are reminded that we are not yet home and are strangers in a foreign land. And there we are again.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
Everywhere in the Jewish world, people are shaken. With Covid fading, we had thought we could take a breath of relief. We suffered enough. We were shaken up and changed our outlook on life. We aren’t the same as we were a year ago. Arab terror dissipated over the past few years. Jews felt safer. The Har Nof massacre, the Bus 12 bombing, Sbarro, Bais Yisroel, Itamar, and other mass casualty incidents faded into a very distant memory.

Rabbi Dr. Dovid Fox, director of Project Chai, the crisis intervention, trauma, and bereavement department of Chai Lifeline, offers practical suggestions and guidelines following the horrific tragedy in Meron. If you have any questions or are in need of guidance, contact Project Chai’s 24-hour crisis hotline at 855-3-CRISIS or email crisis@chailifeline.org.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
Last week, someone wrote me an email asking how we can be happy in such unsettled times. How can we be expected to smile as we live in a country where the administration seems set on destroying the country? How can we be happy when Jews are getting beat up in Eretz Yisroel? How can we be happy when there are agunos and singles and so many tzaros? How can we be happy when there is acrimony and hatred? This is my answer. Sort of, anyway.
This week’s parsha introduces us to the mitzvah of counting 49 days from Pesach until Shavuos.