Middos and Mussar
Manners, respect and saying thank you: from Yasher Koach to greeting others.
When someone does you a favor, a standard response is often, “Shkoyach.” “Can you please pass the gefilte fish?” “Sure.” “Shkoyach.” But what does shkoyach actually mean?
When someone does you a favor, a possible response is “Shkoyach.” “Can you please pass the gefilte fish?” “Sure.” “Shkoyach.” What does shkoyach mean?
What is the mysterious creature known as a Rechesh? At first glance, one might wonder how this relates to Bava Basra. However, Rav uses this enigmatic creature to clarify his position (152b).
Male pattern baldness is a common experience for many men. Some individuals embrace their baldness and even display signs in their office, like “G-d created a few perfect heads.
A stateside individual wanted to send clothing to her relative in Eretz Yisrael. She knew of someone going to Israel for an extended stay who had extra room in his luggage, so she asked the traveler if he could deliver…
There are many endearing names one can call his father: Dad, Daddy, Tatty, Ta, Pappa, Pop, Poppy, Abba. The question that many have pondered is: can someone call his father by the endearing name Abba, if his actual name…
The Gemara (Shevuos 31a) discusses a situation where two litigants appear before a judge. One is wearing expensive clothing valued at 100 maneh, and one is wearing something akin to rags.
I recall a conversation I once heard when I was a resident of a dormitory. One fellow tossed a wrapper onto the floor, whereupon his friend chastised him about the unsanitary conditions of his room.
Everyday conversation is replete with redundancy. Two of the most common offenses are the use of the phrases “ATM machine” and “PIN number.” When the acronyms are spelled out, the phrases become “automated teller…
During the Second Temple period, Eretz Yisrael suffered from a great famine. The great sage Rebbe Yochanan HaChorani survived by subsisting on dried bread and salt.
I am embarrassed to even attempt to write an article about my rebbi, HaRav Alter Henoch Leibowitz, zt’l, the longtime rosh yeshiva of Yeshivas Chofetz Chaim in Queens. Anything I write will be woefully insufficient.
Starving in a famine, Rabbi Yochanan HaChorani refuses Rabbi Tzadok's moist olives with 'I don't eat olives,' until assured they are tahor.
After posing with one of the author’s twin girls, Rav Henoch Leibowitz insists on a picture with her sister too, so she won’t feel left out.
After Adam HaRishon sins in Gan Eden, Hashem first asks "Where are you?" — teaching, says Rav Henoch Leibowitz, that even a sinner is owed basic courtesy.
When a bachur races to catch the man tapping the rosh yeshiva’s phone line, Rav Henoch Leibowitz and his rebbetzin stop him: approach him like a mentch.
