International Medical Halachic Hotline: HRB

The Maggid of Mezritch: HaRav Hakodosh Reb Dov Ber, zt"l

In honor of his yahrtzeit 19th Kislev 5533/1773

Even before he forged a close connection with his Rebbe the Baal Shem Tov, the Maggid was already renowned for his greatness in Torah ve'avodoh.

From Our Archives

Opinion and Comment HaRav Shach: The Father of Yeshivos in Our Generation To Be Heedful of Yeshiva Money Rabbenu once said, in a talk, that anyone who takes food from the yeshiva without permission is considered to be stealing - to the degree that he is invalid for testimony! When he heard that some of the students refused to allow a newcomer to join their dormitory room, he also came down very harshly against them and said it was altogether forbidden. He further said that the donors who had given money for the yeshiva had likewise empowered the hanholoh to make decisions concerning the use of the facilities as they saw fit.

Opinion and Comment Vampire Spiders, Hashem's Chesed and Earning a Livelihood by Rabbi Nosson Grossman Modern scientific research continuously reveals marvels of Hashem's Creation. A new research study partly funded by the National Geographic Society, reviewed in the National Geographic Magazine of Oct. 11, 2005 and published in detail in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, presents us with an additional glimpse into the miraculous wisdom displayed in every detail of nature, and how HaKodosh Boruch Hu provides for every one of His creatures, "from the huge re'em to tiny lice" (Avodoh Zorah 3b).

Opinion and Comment The Final Days of the War in the Pacific and the Jews of Shanghai by A. Bernstein To this day, writers and scholars continue to dispute the necessity of dropping the atom bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to induce the Japanese government - determined to defend "the honor of the Japanese Empire" to the end - to surrender. The debate was renewed last summer, the sixtieth anniversary of the dropping of the bombs. "Victory or death," was the Japanese' motto, but did hundreds of thousands of Japanese citizens really have to die?