By Rabbi Moshe Dov Heber
Yomim Noraim is from the most uplifting parts of the year. It is a time where we reflect on the past, connect through Tefillah and daven for our future. It’s also a time that children around Middle School age often find challenging. They are old enough that they understand there is a significance of these days but sometimes too young to give it the proper respect. They want it to be special days but they often come unprepared for the long davening and find themselves wandering the halls.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
Last week, the parsha we learned listed ninety-eight curses that Hashem foretold would befall the Bnei Yisroel if they would not follow in His way. This week’s parsha begins with the words, “Atem nitzovim – You are standing.”
Rashi explains that when the Jewish people heard the multitude of curses, they turned green from fear, certain that they would not be able to withstand them. When he saw their reaction, Moshe called everyone together and proclaimed to them that they need not be so overwhelmed. He reminded them that they had been together in the desert for forty years, experiencing many ups and downs. He consoled them and said, “Despite it all, you are still here, standing upright.”

Dear Matzav Inbox,
As a recent retiree who has joined the masses and relocated to Lakewood, I have encountered many situations that amaze me. However, what I recently experienced, although not unique to this community, compels me to speak out. I am not one who usually raises issues in protest, nor do I desire to be a mekatreg before the Yomim Noraim—I have never written before. But please, help me understand!

Dear Matzav Inbox, 

By Rabbi Moshe Dov Heber
The following is a letter that I shared with my talmidim to help them have a proper perspective on the upcoming Yomim Noraim. My hope is that others could be inspired as well.
Dear Talmidim,
As we approach the Yomim Noraim, I want to share a thought with you to help with your Tefillah. We begin to daven more during these days as we approach the new year. Boys, your Tefillos actually matter and are so powerful. You have the ability to bring calmness to the turmoil all around us. Many of you hear the news from Eretz Yisroel and from around the world. You may be anxious as you hear so much devastation and sadness. But you also have the power to change that. Your Tefillos could actually bring the geula we are all waiting for.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
Though it may be cliché to say that we are living in troubling times, it is true. Over the past few years, we have lost many of our great men and leaders. If you think about it, the number of people we looked up to and turned to for guidance who are no longer with us is tragically overwhelming. We peer into the void and wonder if, and how, it can be filled. Just recently, we lost a leading, towering rosh yeshiva, who was a mentor and guide to thousands, and a rebbe who was respected as a talmid chochom and tzaddik.

Dear Matzav Inbox,
Thanks for this platform. The letters you share and the topics addressed here seem to be ones that are issues that really lie at the core of our frum community. Thank you.
It’s high time someone spoke up about something that’s been bothering me for a while. Just as we are super careful about what we eat, making sure it’s all under proper hashgacha, we’re sorely lacking when it comes to what’s coming into our minds and hearts through the screens in our homes and in our hands.

Dear Matzav Inbox,
As we make our way through the month of Elul and get ready for the Yomim Noraim, I have to ask, and forgive me please for doing so: Is it really the right way to spend our time during this holy season by going to a mixed seating concert in New York City? Is this what Elul is all about? Spending the night in MSG?
Elul is a time for serious introspection. It’s the time we should be focusing on our relationship with Hashem, reflecting on our deeds, and preparing ourselves for the yemei hakadosh. Instead, we see people choosing to spend their night at a mixed concert.

By Rabbi Pinchos Lipschutz
Elul, the month of introspection and preparation for the Days of Judgment—Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur—is always a serious period. As the Days of Judgment approach, people become increasingly fearful of what will transpire with them during the coming year. They seek to rectify their actions and draw closer to Hashem, His Torah, and mitzvos.

Dear Matzav Inbox,
I write today with an issue that weighs heavily on my heart—and should weigh on the heart of every parent in Klal Yisroel.
Last year, my daughter, a beloved teacher with a sterling reputation in the classroom, made the difficult decision to leave chinuch for an office job. Why? Because despite her passion, dedication, and the countless hours she invested in our children, she simply couldn’t pay her bills. She left, disillusioned and broken, not because she wanted to, but because the system left her no choice.
What is happening to us? What is happening to our chinuch system?