ברכת ברוך שפטרני – מקורו וטעמיו

A comprehensive examination of the ancient promise that those who attend a bris are forgiven of all their sins. Where did the legend start? To whom does it apply? And how seriously do we take it today?

A cornerstone of our belief is that a life of good deeds is rewarded with “a world that is truly good” in the Hereafter.
Is there another way? Can one “purchase” eternal reward on the open market? Can you get the “deal of a lifetime” (or the afterlife!) on ebay?
What are the Halachic principles of such a transaction? Can one buy or sell such ‘intangibles’? Would the transaction by valid, legal tender? Do “free market principles” and “art of the deal” apply? How does this compare to the historic partnership of Yissachar-Zevulun?
Includes a collection of stories about tzadikim who engaged in such “commerce” throughout the ages for the benefit of klal Yisroel.

Emulating G-d’s example, we are encouraged to visit and tend to the sick. Our presence is assured by the Talmud as having the power to heal a portion of the patient’s suffering. Does Halacha provide guidelines for the visitor in the performance of this mitzva?

Prayer, too, is an integral part of this mitzvah. What particular prayers should be said for their recovery? What about assisting the individual in the recitation of prayers during their final moments?

“Either way, they are My children” [Talmud].
Blood is thicker than water, they say. The bonds of family are the anchor of an emotionally and spiritually healthy life. But what happens to these relationships after one passes on? Do we “meet again on the other side”? Do families stick together in the hereafter? What about teachers and their pupils? Is this contingent on whether the two are buried in close proximity?
Do the souls of the departed maintain a relationship with those left behind? Do they relate to and empathize with the trivialities of our corporeal existence? Does prayer at their grave-site invoke merit on their behalf?

From the moment Avrohom circumcised himself at 99, the Jewish Bris has been the pivotal act of Jewish identity throughout history. It is at this moment that a Jewish boy is given his name. Yet when a bris must be delayed for medical reasons, can the parents give him his name anyhow, or must the boy remain nameless until the Bris takes place? 

מסתבר שכולנו בקיאים בתורה, או ליתר דיוק – היינו. אכן, במעי אמו, מלמדים להעובר כל התורה כולה. אלא כי רגע לפני צאתו לאויר העולם, בא המלאך ומשכחו. מהי אפוא מהותה ומטרתה של לימוד זו? ללמוד כדי לשכוח?