By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
Parshas Ki Savo opens with the mitzvah of bikkurim. Through this mitzvah and the rich symbolism of the mitzvos surrounding it, we are taught how to achieve happiness.
After months of working in his field and orchard, a farmer takes the first fruits of his harvest and sets out for Yerushalayim. When he arrives there, he meets up with a kohein, approaches the mizbei’ach in the Bais Hamikdosh and recites the pesukim that recall the trials that Yaakov Avinu endured, followed by our forefathers’ suffering in Mitzrayim.

By Rabbi Chaim Dovid Zwiebel
A number of people have called my attention to an anti-Agudath Israel screed that was recently published as an op-ed column in a Jewish periodical. The article defames Rabbi Moshe Sherer z’l, distorts the words of my colleague Rabbi Avi Shafran, and slanders the Agudah. I feel I must respond.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
A man by the name of Vagshal, who lived in Bnei Brak, had the idea of building a hotel with a wedding hall on its bottom floor. He approached the Chazon Ish in his humble apartment and asked for advice in advancing his project. The Chazon Ish told him to look at his home, an impoverished hovel in desperate need of repair and renovation with minimal furniture. He told the ambitious prospective hotel owner that he was not able to provide him with architectural advice.
Mr. Vagshal responded that he wanted to ensure that his building was properly constructed and needed the input of the Chazon Ish.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
The man I respected and loved for as long as I can remember was known to me as Uncle Chaim. He was niftar Monday morning after a lingering illness. His wife was my mother’s older sister. They were both niftar way too early.
When I was young, I knew him as a tall, impressive man who was always nice to us kids and always had something encouraging and witty to say to us. As I became older, I came to know him as a leading rosh yeshiva who dedicated his life to learning and teaching Torah, a prime champion of Torah hashkofah.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
Like many who had known the late Sadigura Rebbe, I was heartbroken last week when learning of his passing. He was a regal, worthy heir to the crown of Rizhiner chassidus. I came to know him through my involvement in the Rubashkin saga. Let me share with you, dear readers, a story that has not yet been told.

Reprinted from Yated Ne’eman
A Welcome Challenge
Hershy Shmedra – Romema, Yerushalayim
It was during Pesach, right in the middle of the coronavirus outbreak, that we finalized our plan to move from Brooklyn to Eretz Yisroel. I asked a shailah if we were allowed to pack up for moving to Eretz Yisroel during Chol HaMoed; yes! was the encouraging p’sak, so we packed and prepared. The very next week we landed in Eretz Yisroel, going right into the fourteen-day mandated quarantine.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
Everyone waits for summer and here it is, one of the happiest times of the year. During normal times, things slow down and life takes on a more casual tone, as people set out for new horizons to explore and places to enjoy. This year, under the cloud of corona, everything has become more difficult, including the escape from daily pressures and a change of scenery. We seek a reduction of stress levels and the constant reminders of an unseen enemy threatening us.
We may not be able to find consolation in the current conversations and events, but in the words of the Torah there are comfort and solace.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
We are living in strange times. Since the era of Covid began, the world has taken a bizarre turn. Until then, we could usually say, “Olam keminhago noheig,” world events follow a basically predictable, natural, course. However, ever since then, everything that has occurred has been bizarre, unpredictable and unexplainable.
First, masks were mocked. Now, every store and locality has rules mandating wearing them. Initially, we were told that upwards of two million people would die in the United States from the pandemic. Of course, every life is important, but now, four months in, the toll stands at 145,000.

By Zvi Gluck
As we prepare to mourn the destruction of the Bais Hamikdash and numerous other communal tragedies that have befallen us throughout the generations, our thoughts naturally turn to understand how these matters relate to us both individually and collectively.
Over the years, I have written many Tisha B’Av messages dedicated to getting people who have generally been spared hardship to appreciate the anguished existence of those who live in the shadow of trauma. But today, the concept of churban strikes closer to home than ever before, and I doubt that any of us could have imagined that we would be living in a time where uncertainty and hopelessness reign supreme, and pain and suffering are daily occurrences.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
This week’s parsha of Devorim opens with Moshe Rabbeinu admonishing the Jewish people for the various sins they committed during the forty years they spent together in the desert on their way to Eretz Yisroel. Rashi famously points out that he began his reprimand by enumerating the various places where they acted improperly. Moshe spoke this way to the Jewish people to show them respect and to not cause them embarrassment.