Parasha Insights - Chabad of Great Neck

You Cannot Appease Terror

Friday, July 25, 2025 - 6:00 AM

Once upon a time, a scorpion was standing at the Gaza port, yearning to get out of Gaza and cross the sea. But alas, scorpions don’t swim. Suddenly, the scorpion saw a swan. It asked the swan if it could ride on its back and cross the sea.

The swan refused. “That would be suicidal,” said the swan. “You will give me one bite and I will die,” cried the swan.

“You are dumb,” said the scorpion. “If I bite you, I will drown myself, because I do not swim. If you go down, I go down. So, for my own selfish sake, I will never bite you.”

That logic made sense to the swine. It agreed. The swan took the scorpion on its back, they left the Gaza port, and off they went on their voyage across the se… Read More »

WHO MADE IT KNOWN THAT HE WAS A HEBREW?

Friday, July 18, 2025 - 6:00 AM

Today’s sermon must begin with seven words: Thank you, G-d, for the awesome miracles! Thank you, soldiers, for your selfless sacrifice! Thank you, Israel, for your endless courage!

Israel’s war to end Hamas’s rule in Gaza such open miracles we have not seen in years. They are mind-staggering. During the first Gulf War in 1991, 39 Iraqi missiles fell – many in heavily populated areas – and yet nobody died from a missile. By contrast, one Scud missile fell on a U.S. Army barracks in Saudi Arabia, killing tens of U.S. soldiers.

This past month, many rockets fell on Tel Aviv, Bat Yam, Haifa, Rehovot, and Beer Sheva, with the aim of Iran to see, heaven forbid, rivers of blood flowing in Israel. Many of the rockets… Read More »

The Rising Lion

Friday, July 11, 2025 - 6:00 AM

This week, as we read the passage in the Torah from which 'rising lion,' the name for the recent operation against Iran, was called, it is time to thank G-d for the miracles He showed us during this time. As we survey the commentary on this passage, we will see it reads like a newsreel of this operation.

I grew up in the shadow of the Six-Day War. The impossible yardstick of this war measured every subsequent war in Israel. It redefined the term blitzkrieg as Israel rebuffed a three-nation attack and came away with land from each of them.

All this changed when we woke up on Friday, June 13, 2025, to the news that Israel landed a devastating blow against the Iranian Nuclear plants, missile silos, and military leadership. The campaign laste… Read More »

PAIN IS A SPRINGBOARD FOR A DEEPER LOVE

Friday, July 4, 2025 - 6:00 AM

After seventy years of communist oppression and seven hours of flying, Boris, a burly immigrant from Moscow, steps off the plane in a free land to begin his new life in his new home, Israel.
Standing at the Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv, a young and enthusiastic Israeli reporter plunges a microphone in front of him with a level of excitement that is only seen when an inside scoop is about to be caught.
The reporter asks with focus: "Tell me, what was life back in Russia like?" To which the Russian immigrant replies: "I couldn’t complain."
An unexpected answer, the young reporter continues to probe: "Well, how were your living quarters there?" To which the Russian responds, "I couldn&r… Read More »