Rabbi Guzik - A Bisl Torah

Rav Aryeh Levin told a story about Rav Kook, the first Chief Rabbi of Eretz Yisrael. Rav Kook wholeheartedly welcomed Rav Levin to Israel and was surprised during their meeting when Rav Levin bent down to pick a flower. Rav...

At the beach, we were surprised to find a man with a handheld metal detector. He was determined to find something of value. We watched; as he tossed a few coins into his pouch, a piece of foil was tucked...

There is a tradition to stay up late on Shavuot: studying and pouring over the texts of our tradition. The ritual is said to have come from the hevruta between Rabbi Yosef Caro and Rabbi Shlomo Alkabetz. They and a few other great...

I’ve noticed a few schools encouraging the graduating class to create a time capsule. A newspaper headlining a major moment of that year may be included. Perhaps a trendy piece of clothing or something representing an inside joke. But what...

In my work with couples, I find that often, the greatest gift given is carving out time to make space for each other. This doesn’t necessarily mean putting date night on the calendar, although that is also important. Carving out...

A friend’s child remarked that he would be saddened to see his mother cry at his Bar Mitzvah. When she cries, he feels her emotions. She and I both tried to explain that tears are good. Good tears. But we...

Lashon Haron, evil speech, is often compared to a traveling salesperson selling tales. While we may think about the internal ramifications of evil speech—how gossip damages the souls of the person speaking and the person listening, we may not think...

I have been both the recipient of and deliverer of the words, “But it’s true!” A phrase attached to a litany of gossip regarding another human being. Just because the information may be fact, not fallacy, we think we’re in...

As Passover winds down, we look back at the annual retelling of the story of our people. Mark Gerson in his “The Telling” explains why we use the framing of “retelling” and “reliving” when conveying the exodus from Egypt. He...

This week, you likely belted out the words Dayeinu. Some of you hit another with a green scallion. (Email me if you need an explanation!) Others politely sang each refrain, reminiscing about days of religious school past. Dayeinu does not mean “It’s...