The unchanging Guard

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I am not a fan of Right Guard.  I wasn’t a fan of it when I was, like, 12 or 13 yrs old, and now that I’m 38 I am still not a fan.  I dread having to use it every Pesach.  It’s really as simple as that.  However, I also hope every year that when I buy my “Pesach can” of Right Guard, it will smell different.

The smell of the stuff hasn’t changed in years.  As newer advances in technology and medicine take place, as more and more people become “connected” in our global village, Right Guard stays the same.  Maybe that’s the point.  Once a year, we come to Pesach and each of us has that vort we love to say over at the Seder, that recipe that everyone loves, and those one or two items that the kids made in school that are always on the table. Sometimes, not changing things, is actually a nice change.

Birkas HaChama

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R Selig Starr zt”l often told his talmidim that “you should know what you know and know what you don’t know”.  I have heard this from several of his former talmidim from HTC and my son has heard it his current rebbe, who was one of R Starr’s students.



Until about 9 months ago, I had no clue what Bircas HaChama was.  I became Torah observant when I was 16, in 1987 and, of course, that last time we said this tefillah was in 1981.  I did get a copy of R Bleich’s original sefer on this event thanks to someone who was giving away their late father’s Judaica library, so I was able to read up and a fairly good understanding of the event.  This year I will, like my 9 yr old son, experience this for the first time.


All too often there are so many “routine” things in Torah observant life.  For me, it’s nice to learn about a not so common event and still feel that I’m part of a “global happening”.  

B’nai Machshava Tovah transalated online

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I had posted briefly before about this project by Yaacov Dovid Shulman.  Recently I’ve had an urge to reread his transation of B’nai Machshava Tovah by Rav Kalonymus Kalman Shapira z’tl.  Reb Yaacov Dovid’s translation, titled, “Experiencing the Divine: A Practical Jewish Guide” is a very welcome change from the original translation. 

What I am fascinated by is that the Guidance and Principles and the Rules of the Group are very similar to the concepts and goals of the ‘traditional’ mussar va’adim of the Mussar Movement.

The entire translation is available here.  Comments are welcome.

Sunday’s Salanter Selection

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 Rabbi Yisrael Salanter use to say:  When a child plays with a piece of wood in the bath, and he pretends that it is a ship, if we take the piece of wood away from him he has the same experience as an adult would have if a real ship of his sunk.  For the child, the piece of wood is like an adult’s ship.  When an adult interferes in a child’s play, he steals something from the child. (From Zeriah ubinyan bechinuch by R Shlomo Wolbe z”tl, translated as Planting and Building by R Leib Kelemen)
There are times when we ask our kids to stop playing a game or a Lego construction breaks and our children get upset.  Until I read this, my reaction usually was, “It’s only a game.” or “You can build it again”.  R Salanter shows great insight into the mind of a child, because what he is playing or pretending is his reality.  Hopefully, showing sensitivity to our children when they are young will help them grow to be sensitive to others.

Pesach Shopping

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I happen to love Pesach shopping. I know that in most stores it is a zoo, with people grabbing everything off the shelves, but you also get to see a lot of Jews who might not always buy Kosher items during the year. It’s a great opportunity to remember that being polite to other shoppers can be a really big Kiddush Hashem.

(Originally posted on the Facebook group Middos Tovos ) 



R Aryeh Levin article in Hamodia

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Hamodia has a great article about R Aryeh Levin zt’l that realy show you why he was a true Tzaddik.
This story was amazing:

I remember another time when Reb Aryeh asked a woman who had come to visit him to give him a brachah that he shouldn’t have to be helped by his children.

Copyright 2009 by Hamodia


I was surprised by him asking such a brachah – he had such chashuvah children, his sons Harav Rafael, Harav Yaakov and Harav Shlomo, and his sons-in-law, Harav Yudelevitz, Harav Yaakobovitz, Harav Elyashiv and Harav Palchinsky, all geonim and talmidei chachamim – so why did Reb Aryeh think it would be so bad if he was helped by them? And why should Reb Aryeh ask for a brachah from this unknown woman in the first place?

After the woman left the room, Reb Aryeh, who had noticed my surprise, explained.

“This woman is a widow who didn’t merit having any children. I was worried that when she saw my grandchildren and great-grandchildren it would make her own sorrow more intense. I therefore tried to ease her grief by showing her that despite my many descendants, a person prefers to care for himself.”

Indeed, after giving the brachah, the widow finally smiled.


Reb Aryeh Levin’s sensitivity is inspiring.  Read the article here .