By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
For many Israelis, the day began the same way. They were sitting at home, drinking their morning coffee, when the air raid siren sounded. At first, they thought it was a false alarm that was ruining the peaceful silence of their Shabbos morning, which also was Shemini Atzeres and Simchas Torah. There wasn’t anything that could ruin the festive day ahead of them.
But then the siren blared again and again. They knew it was serious. Then, depending on where they were, they heard the sound of the booms of rockets being blown up by the Iron Dome. They looked out of the window and saw empty, desolate streets, except for the occasional person scurrying to shul.

Hamas murders over 900 Israelis, assaulted women, kidnapped children, and mutilated bodies in the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust.
Ben Shapiro offers his commentary.
WATCH IT HERE.

By Rabbi Moshe Dov Heber
Simchas Torah in Waterbury is beautiful in multiple ways. So many of our homegrown bochurim are home sharing their Simchas Torah with their families and the children of the community. All our shuls are packed with guests who have come to join in the Simchas Torah of a young and vibrant community.
On the morning of Shemini Atezres we read in Koheles “There is a time for war and a time for peace.” We started hearing the reports of the terrible tragedies in Eretz Yisroel. Following davening, there was an announcement and Tehillim was said with fervor for our brothers and sisters in Eretz Yisroel. It meant something, but yet at the same time it felt so distant.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
A basic human desire is to be happy. There is no one in this world who doesn’t seek joy. The goal is the same, though different people have different ways of going about achieving that goal.
Though we seek to bring joy into each day and the Torah demands that we be joyous in our service of Hashem, Yomim Tovim are singled out as periods of joy, when one of the obligations of the day is “vesomachta bechagecha,” to be happy. While that is so for all Yomim Tovim, Sukkos has the distinction of being a particular time of happiness and Chazal define the chag as “Zeman Simchoseinu – Our Joyous Period.”

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By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
In Yeshivas Radin, there was a break before the blowing of the shofar on the morning of Rosh Hashanah to afford the mispallelim an opportunity to prepare themselves for the great mitzvah.
Unfortunately, several bochurim used the time to check out the goings on at the local shuls. They returned to yeshiva and were discussing their findings near the door to the bais medrash, when the Chofetz Chaim, wrapped in his tallis, entered to deliver his pre-shofar shmuess. He picked up pieces of their conversation and moved along without making any comment.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
As we near the end of Elul, we should be ramping up our efforts at doing teshuvah, rectifying our errors and setting ourselves on the proper path for the future. This week’s parsha of Nitzovim is enlightening and helpful in our quest.

Dear Editor @Matzav.com,
I write this letter with a sense of deep frustration, disappointment, and even anger over the recent school scheduling debacle that has plagued our mosdos. While I cannot speak to the situation in the NY school system, as I don’t live there, I can certainly attest to the absolute chaos that unfolded here in New Jersey due to a nearly four-week gap between the start dates of boys’ and girls’ schools, along with the inexplicable “soft openings” – another disgrace – for boys. Such a course of action is nothing short of abhorrent and utterly unacceptable.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
I never learned at Yeshivas Rabbeinu Chaim Berlin, but have a special place for it in my heart. My relationship began when, as a young teenager, a mispallel in my father’s shul told me that he was going to take me to hear a ma’amar from his rebbi, Rav Yitzchok Hutner, the rosh yeshiva of that yeshiva.
From outward appearances, Reb Matis Greenblatt was a simple baal habayis, but even at that young age, I had come to respect him as a talmid chochom with a wide-ranging knowledge and deep understanding of Torah. He had a special neshomah and always spoke of his rebbi, “the rosh yeshiva.”