by Rabbi Altonaga | May 9, 2024 | Kedoshim, Lauren Shaps, Weekly Parsha
Passover is behind us, but this week’s parsha gives us the opportunity to reflect on a question that may have come up at our Seder. Why did the birth of our nation take place after being in Egypt for over 200 years? Rabbi Shalom Rosner, in his collection of...
by Rabbi Altonaga | May 3, 2024 | Acharei Mos, Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Weekly Parsha
There is an interesting TikTok phenomenon going on right now of people asking/answering the following question: If your daughter was alone in the wilderness, would you rather that she encounter a bear or an unknown man? It seems like a straightforward question, but...
by Rabbi Altonaga | Apr 4, 2024 | Kosher, Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Shemini, Weekly Parsha
There was this ring tone on phones when I was a kid called the “mosquito.” It was designed to be such a high pitch that adults couldn’t hear it, only kids could. It was a great way to send messages to other kids that you didn’t want adults in the room...
by Rabbi Altonaga | Mar 7, 2024 | Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Shabbos, Vayakel, Weekly Parsha
If you found out on Sunday that Monday was actually a stat holiday, would you be disappointed in the extra time off? If you were waiting in a long line to get into an amusement park, would you be sad if the manager came out and had you skip the line so you could get...
by Rabbi Altonaga | Feb 9, 2024 | Mishpatim, Rabbi Michael Altonaga, Weekly Parsha
It’s the year 1950. You board a train in the frigid Russian winter headed to an important meeting you have in Poland. One of your gloves falls off your hand to the tracks below. You could get off the train to get your glove, missing the meeting and...
