I was alone in the Negev Desert, a prime place for personal prayer. I was facing a hill. Upon it was a majestic creature, an Israeli desert wolf (Canis Lupus Arabus). The didn't budge; it just gazed at me calmly. Suddenly, it gave a proud howl that echoed across the desert. It inspired this… [Read more...]

Wherever I go here in my cherished homeland, be it the desert, the seacoast or the field, I sense a different melody. Strangely, if I'm playing a beautifully crafted Native American flute, nothing happens. But if I take a simple Land-of-Israel reed flute, it plays by itself. Here's the melody that… [Read more...]

A wagon master had a faithful donkey who worked hard and never complained. He decided to take his donkey on vacation, so he took it to the luxurious Hilton Hotel by the beach... This is a parable about life in the Land of… [Read more...]

The best peaches in the USA come from Georgia; the best apples come from Washington State. Each type of fruit tree has a preferred climate where it thrives best. Great wines come from California and upstate New York, from Italy, Spain and France. Yet, there's one place on earth where the vines… [Read more...]

We’re still grieving the horrendous terrorist attack in the Neve Yaacov neighborhood of Jerusalem this past Shabbat. How should we react? An old but very true expression says that you can’t fight fire with fire. One doesn’t extinguish a fire by lighting more fires. So how do we… [Read more...]

I made a promise that if my prayers are answered, I will tell the whole world about Rebbe Oshiya Ish Tiria. Many see big miracles after coming to his holy gravesite. Rebbe Oshiya kept his part of the deal, and I am now happy to keep my part. I received the big salvation I asked… [Read more...]

Rabbi Lazer takes us to the holy city of Tzfat. Here, we visit the gravesite of the famed scholar, Kabbalist and poet Rabbi Elazar Azkari (1533-1600). He composed the beautiful melody Yedid Nefesh ("friend of the soul"), which we all sing on Shabbat. We include in this clip the original Hebrew… [Read more...]

The "Dark Side" does everything in its power to prevent the coming of Moshiach. The Book of Ruth shows the extent that Hashem outmaneuvers the forces of evil. Moshiach will come suddenly, in the most surprising of… [Read more...]

Israel's turbulent history transcends all logic, military and otherwise. It's beyond nature to the extent that experts in military history and strategy understand everything but Jewish history. That's exactly the subject of our lesson today. Hashem's personal Divine Direction is constantly defying… [Read more...]