Rabbi Shaanan Gelman

It was the summer of 1998, Motzaei Shabbos Nachamu, when a handful of us working in Camp Morasha and Morasha Kollel decided to drive out to the Catskills to attend a concert.   That particular year there was not only one concert for Shabbos Nachamu, but two!   Avraham Fried was promoting his most recent album, “Chazak '' and it was sure to be a scene, while several miles away Dedi Graucher, another Jewish superstar was holding a concert of his own. Along the way, a fierce debate had developed among our chaveirim as to which concert we should attend. In the end, Avraham Fried won out in a 3-2 vote, because we heard that they were giving away free hats at his concert.   They were blue and the word “Chazak!” was embroidered in white thread along the front. Evidently the Dedi/Avraham Fried debate was not only taking place in our car, but many in the Catskills were similarly conflicted over their Motzaei Shabbos plans.    Cliques and even family members found themselves divided in

Do You Believe? Parshat Devarim - 5780   Does God still love us, or is COVID a sign of divine wrath?   Has God removed His providence from the world, or is this merely a difficult stage in the birth-pangs of the redemption- a disrupter intended to spur our repentance and return us to the Land of Israel?   Is it our job to fend for ourselves using any means available to us, or must we place our faith entirely in God and not in the dysfunctional and failed economic, political and medical constructs of our world?   Whenever the true intent of God is concealed it serves as a test of our Emunah.   In recounting the sin of the spies, Moshe levies a harsh accusation against the Jewish people. וּבַדָּבָר הַזֶּה אֵינְכֶם מַאֲמִינִם בַּה ' אֱלֹקיכֶם . In this matter, you do not believe in God.   How dare Moshe accuse them of lacking faith? To how many open miracles did they bear witness? Perhaps they were ungrateful at times, maybe they grumbled and kvetched , but t

Love Ya! Mattot/Masei 5780   Rabbi Shaanan Gelman and Rabbi Ariel Rackovsky Hershele Ostropoler was a real person. Renowned for his wit and cleverness, he was employed as something of a court jester in the court of Reb Boruch of Mezhibozh, one of the early chassidic masters. Reb Boruch was known for his tendency toward melancholy and his foul temper, which only Hershele was able to assuage. It is believed that Hershele died as the result of an accident brought on by Reb Boruch’s temper. Over the years, Hershele became a folk character, who scraped by in life by his ingenuity and wit alone, and a whole genre of Hershele stories developed around his legend. In one such tale [1] , Hershele was traveling along the road when he came to a small inn. He was starving, but as usual, had no money to pay for room and board. He went up to the door and politely asked if he could have a bite to eat and a pile of hay in the stables on which to rest for the night. The innkeeper and his wife refu