Words From Rabbi White

This parasha includes the 10 commandments, one of which is honouring parents.  Since this Shabbat, 20 Shevat, is the yahrzeit of my mother a”h, Chana bat Tsvi Hirsch ve-Chaya, I dedicate these remarks to her memory. She would sign her name in English as Anne Shapiro White, Shapiro being her maiden name. The Shapiro side of the family had a tradition that we were descended from the Spanish exiles of...Read more...

Last week, we wrote about the propriety of wishing a “happy New Year.” Here is an elaboration:

There is a story that I saw about 20 years ago in the lovely Hebrew book by Simcha Raz, 70 faces of Torah, volume IV. He based his account on the story told by the late scholar Samuel Dresner.  Here is my abridgement and translation:

One late...Read more...

This past Sunday, there was a a program in the Spanish in memory of my dear colleague Rabbi Howard Joseph z”l. The Spanish Portuguese of Montreal, Shearith Israel, was indeed privileged to have had such a distinguished leader for so many years.

Meaningful speeches were delivered by our President and former President, by Dr. Norma Joseph, and by their children Ami and Rabbi Josh.The speakers discussed the Rabbi’s kindness,...Read more...

The Talmud in Tractate Shabbat asks: mai hanukkah, “what is Hanukkah?”

My daughter forwarded to me, from the internet, a picture which gives us a modern answer to that question:

The picture shows a pile of books:

On the bottom: “Ancient Egypt.” On top of that: “The Philistines.”

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There is an old story about the CIA agent who was sent on a spy mission to Saudi Arabia.  Before leaving for his new post, he spent a year in intensive training. He learned to speak Arabic with a Saudi accent, and to dress in a way that would fit in exactly with the locals. After arriving at his destination, for the first several weeks, he was doing a great job in uncovering secret information.

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The great medieval exegete Rashi, writing back in the 11th century, in his first comment at the beginning of Genesis, forecasts one of the major issues confronting us today.  For Rashi understood that the time will come when we shall be confronted by people who will tell us: “you Jews are robbers. You stole land that belongs to other people.” Rashi tells us that we can look in the Torah, and see that HaShem...Read more...

The Torah tells us that on "the first day" we must take the etrog and lulav. According to peshat, that means the first day of Sukkot. But the rabbis of the ancient midrash suggested it could also mean the first day of a new beginning after Yom Kippur. In that vein, the late Rav Kossowsky z"l suggested that the midrash could be expanded to refer to the Jewish people, able to start afresh in the...Read more...

Afghanistan.  None of the major powers had predicted such a rapid takeover by the Taliban.  Too bad they hadn’t studied the Bible.

You see after the destruction of the first Temple, the Babylonian king had allowed a small number of Jews to remain in Israel under the leadership of a man named Gedalia.  The Jews under Gedalia were granted a certain autonomy.

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Most of us by now are doubly vaccinated. Yet many of the doubly vaccinated still take wise precautions, for they know that it is still possible to be infected.

And that brings to mind the following: several years ago, when I was visiting my son and family, they gave me an interesting present, a sefer, by Rabbi Zilbershtein of Israel called ve-ha`arev na’. The author goes...Read more...

I've told this story before in Chevra Shaas. As it is a meaningful and memorable incident for me, I felt that I should use this opportunity to write it down. 

Many years ago, I had the privilege of spending a year sabbatical in Jerusalem, with my wife a"h and children. We departed from Mirabel [remember that airport?!], non-stop on El Al. In the airport, I met my friend, who...Read more...

Congratulazioni agli italiani per aver vinto la Coppa del Mondo.

​Well, I'm not really a soccer fan. But I was intrigued: how many of these players for Italy have Jewish blood?

You see, I was reminded that when I was in high school, I was given the book The Jews of Ancient Rome, by Prof. Harry Leon.   He described how there had been, since ancient times, a significant Jewish community in Rome, whose numbers were...Read more...

I have said over this personal story several times in Chevra Shaas, but to the best of my recollection, I have never written it down. And I do believe that it deserves to be printed.

You see, many years ago, Balaq was my Bar Mitsvah parasha. We belonged to a large synagogue in Boston. Bar mitsvah boys were not allowed to read the Torah, as that was the exclusive job of the...Read more...

This week’s parasha refers to the terrible argument and rebellion of Qorah.

I remember many years ago, in my last year as a student in the rabbinical program at YU, I had a part time job reading the Torah in a Long Island synagogue. They had a wonderful rabbi, and many very nice members, but some people found some things that they didn’t like about shul practices.

Before you knew it, they had broken off and formed another...Read more...

The title of this parasha refers to the lighting of the menorah.

I am fortunate to live in a very nice neighbourhood. There are many minyanim and Jewish schools within a 10-minute walk from my house.  Indeed, when a niece from Israel who was living then in New Hampshire came to visit several years ago, she commented correctly “Uncle Menachem, there are more synagogues in your neighborhood than in the entire State of New...Read more...

Last night, I filled out the census form for Canada. And this week, the Book of BaMidbar begins by telling us how Moses and Aaron and the leaders of the tribes took a count of males 20 years and up.

Actually, it seems that the original name of BaMidbar was humash ha-pequdim, the “Humash of the enumerated.” (See, for example, the first Mishna in chapter 7 of Tractate...Read more...