By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
This week’s parsha introduces us to a new phenomenon: hypocritical tricksters and cynical jokers. The posuk (Toldos 25:19) tells us, “These are the children of Yitzchok, the son of Avrohom; Avrohom gave birth to Yitzchok.” Rashi (ibid.) points out the repetition, explaining that the leitzonim of the generation alleged that Yitzchok was the son of Avimelech and not Avrohom. Hashem thus made Yitzchok appear exactly like Avrohom, so that people could look at him and see that he was indeed the son of Avrohom.

By Rabbi Yehoishophot Oliver
rabbioliver@gmail.com
We are living through terrifying times, and I am not talking about Covid-19.
We are seeing draconian measures enforced in the western world that are harsher than any we’ve ever seen in our lifetimes. On the face of it, this should awaken alarm and skepticism of the explanations we’ve been given for this vast expansion of government power. Yet many people, including in the Jewish community and including in the Orthodox Jewish community, see no problem with these measures, and they willingly encourage and enforce them. Some even do so with zeal and fanaticism, to the point of informing—of reporting to the police anyone who dares disobey the government.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
Klal Yisroel has been buffeted about of late and is worried. We have lost a most amazing gadol baTorah, a man who learned through Shas and Shulchan Aruch hundreds of times and was familiar with kol haTorah kulah. Whenever there was a difficult question, we knew that there was a place on the Lower East Side of Manhattan where we could turn to and receive a definitive answer.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
When there is bad news in the world, when there is pestilence, terrorism or a war, people ponder why these things are befalling them. They look for others to blame. They blame the liberals, the leftists, the media, the Arabs, the internet, the iPhone, the freiyeh, and the Tziyonim. When all else fails, they chalk it up to chevlei Moshiach.
Whatever the problem is, they can generally point to one or more of the above culprits and that usually works for them. They are satisfied that they know why it happened and can move on without much introspection.

Opinion By Zerachya Licht 
The purpose of this essay isn’t to convince anyone to vote for Biden, nor is it to convince anyone not to vote for Trump – I consider both options legitimate. Its goal is to lay out the case that both options make sense for a Frum Jew, and to dispel the notion that, as a Frum Jew, one must vote for Trump (and that supporting Biden is nothing short of treason).

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
Parshas Lech Lecha opens with one of the ten nisyonos Avrohom Avinu confronted. Nisyonos are commonly translated as tests or challenges. Avrohom was confronted by ten of them and earned the title of Avinu by passing each test and overcoming the challenges.
A common misconception when studying these parshiyos is that Avrohom Avinu faced ten difficult situations, which he successfully endured. He was therefore blessed with better times.
Upon further scrutiny, however, one finds that this is not what a nisayon is about and it’s not what life is about.

By Yehudah Meth
I once criticized a Jewish friend of mine for verbally attacking other Jews with the offhand comment that he was an anti-Semite. “If so, I come by it honestly,” replied this educated, observant man. And his reply gave me pause—a pause I’ve returned to again and again. Honest anti-Semitism—what does that mean?

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
The national election is upon us and the future of this great republic will be decided next week. Ever since Barack Obama and Joe Biden won the White House almost twelve years ago, there has been a constant media drumbeat that has only become stronger since Donald Trump announced his candidacy.
It proclaims that Republicans and conservatives are narrow-minded, myopic, xenophobic, bigoted and racist. Obama presented a Democrat coalition that followers believed would endure for an entire generation. Even Republican voters, who rely on the mainstream media, believed the narrative and feared that their candidates would never win another election.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
We learn this week about the Mabul that destroyed the entire world, except for Noach, his family and representative animals, who were all saved in the teivah.
Rashi (Bereishis 6:13) enlightens us as to what caused the flood and the destruction. He cites the Medrash (Bereishis Rabbah 26:5), which states that wherever there is overwhelming immorality and avoda zorah, devastation comes to the world, killing the good along with the bad.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
A secular man walked into a small makolet grocery store somewhere in Israel and searched for the owner to help him fetch the bread, milk, tomatoes and leben he desired for breakfast. The owner was nowhere to be found. He asked a bearded religious man who was in the shop if he knew the whereabouts of the owner. The man responded that the store has no owner.
“How can that be?” the other man asked.
The religious man told him that a ship exploded off the coast of Chaifa and some of the pieces landed on this spot. They joined together and formed a store. That is how the store came to be and how everything got there.
The other fellow was incredulous.