Rav Avigdor Miller on Torah-Learning for Women Q: How can women sharpen their minds if they have no structured learning like men do, and they’re busy with little children, the immaturities of children? A: Now that's a very big misconception. Women have a tremendous amount of opportunities but they're looking for excuses not to do anything. Now I offer this humble expedient of listening to the tapes. Tapes aren't great but if you listen to the tapes while you're in the kitchen, it's going t

Rav Avigdor Miller on Staying Informed to Protect Our Community Q: If we would listen to you and not watch television and not read the New York Times then how could Orthodox Jews keep themselves informed of current events which might affect the Jewish community? A: The truth is that the vast majority of Orthodox Jews are not the ones who manage the affairs of the Orthodox community. So you can leave that for the big minds who are actually responsible for the Orthodox community. The fact th

Toras Avigdor Weekly Shabbos booklet 👇👇👇

Toras Avigdor Weekly Shabbos booklet - Junior Edition 👇👇👇

Rav Avigdor Miller on the Perspective of Adam and Chava Q: How could it be that in the beginning Adam and Chava were unclothed and they were still able to live normally? A: When Adam looked at Chava and Chava looked at Adam, they didn’t look downwards, they looked upwards. They looked in the faces. That’s all they looked at. Adam didn’t look at Chava’s toes and Chava didn’t look at Adam’s rectum. They looked at each other’s faces. That’s all that they looked at. The face is the most import

Why is the entire world colored with so many various colors, flowers, and fruits? And the answer is twofold. One reason is to cause us pleasure. If everything was colored green, apples were green and roses were green. Cherries were green and bananas were green. Tomatoes were green and strawberries were green. The watermelon inside would be green. A lot of the fun of life would be missing. Color is one of the happinesses of life. It's the pink cheeks of your kallah that makes you more intereste

Rav Avigdor Miller on Mothers-in-Law Q: What do you say about mothers-in-law who try to interfere in their children’s lives? A: It’s an age-old question. And it’s going to continue as long as there are mothers-in-law around. And when you become a mother-in-law, you’re going to look at the question from a different side. But it’s a good idea to practice up now. All that suffering that you have from your mother-in-law should be applied to experience. And when it comes your turn to persecute

Rav Avigdor Miller on Columbus and the Hand of Hashem Q: What demonstration do we have today that Hashem still loves us? A: First, I want to tell you a little anecdote. And it’ll explain a little bit of this subject, before we come to answer the question itself. Rav Yisroel Salanter once came into a home where the children were under German influence, and they didn’t have a firm emunah. And they asked him, “What proof do we have that Hashem gave the Torah from Sinai,” and so on. He looked

Rav Avigdor Miller on the Month of Cheshvan Q: Why is it that the month of Cheshvan doesn’t have any holidays in it or even any fast days? A: And the answer is that Cheshvan comes right after the month of Tishrei. And since we lost so much time on the holidays, so much time from learning, so we need time to make it up. You know, if you learn every day with groups of bochurim in the yeshiva, your heart hurts because of all the learning that goes lost. Now it’s Rosh Hashana, now it’s Yom Kip

Rav Avigdor Miller on the Test of Marriage Q: Why does a bas kol have to announce forty days before yetziras havalad who will marry whom? A: Forty days before the child is created is the time to make plans for the nature and the character of that child. Some people are hot tempered. Some are cool. Some are lively. Some are quiet. And so Hakadosh Baruch Hu is preparing a certain bride for a certain man. That’s what it means “forty days before.” Hakadosh Baruch Hu is preparing, because it's

Toras Avigdor Weekly Shabbos booklet 👇👇👇

Toras Avigdor Weekly Shabbos booklet - Junior Edition 👇👇👇

Rav Avigdor Miller on Appreciating Dry Land Q: Why was it necessary for the mabul to last almost a year? Why did Hashem make it so long for the waters to be over the face of the earth? A: Now I'm not able to tell all the things but I'll tell you one reason. One reason for the mabul was they should discover how good it is to get back to dry land. What a great thing it is, Roka ha'aretz al hamayim! We make a brachah every morning but we don't even know what we're saying. What a pleasure it i

Rav Avigdor Miller on the Mabul and the Mammoths Q: It says וימח את כל היקום – Hashem erased all of the living. So he asks a kasheh. It was mentioned here that they found frozen elephants in the permafrost in the North and it was explained that the mabul suddenly brought a change of weather in a minute because if they just died, they would have been destroyed by germs, by maggots. But they were found in the permafrost, entire elephants, and the flesh was just as fresh as the minute that they

Rav Avigdor Miller on the Diamond Ring Q: The minhag of giving a diamond ring by an engagement stems from what source? A: The minhag of a diamond ring stems from the jewelers. Now there is a minhag — and not only a minhag; it’s an instinct — when a chosson is proud and happy with his kallah, he tries to express it in some way. And usually, it’s in the form of a gift. But that there should be a stereotype that there must be a diamond ring — and unfortunately, an expensive diamond ring — thi

Rav Avigdor Miller on Growing from Another's Suffering Q: What is the purpose of a cancer cell that takes people in the prime of life, people who never smoked and never drank, and it takes them in the prime of life in such an undignified fashion — it breaks them down to maybe 100 pounds, painfully and shamefully, to whip them out of this world? A: What’s the purpose of cancer in this world? And the answer is that all the people who don’t have cancer should be happy, and should enjoy life.

Rav Avigdor Miller on Being Choosy in Shidduchim Q: A twenty-five-year-old man, a friend of mine, turned down a girl he was dating because she was too fat. What do you say? A: Now the question is: This man, how many other people did he turn down? It’s a tragedy, this business of being choosy. I’ll explain to you. There was a fine young man. I asked him, “What’s the matter? You’re getting older and older.” He said he couldn’t find the right one yet. “How many did you see?” “A hundred girls.

Rav Avigdor Miller on Putting Gedolim Before Radio Hosts Q: We are not against the gedolim but the gedolim, they are busy sitting and learning Torah. The political manhigim also know something that's going on in the world. We cannot just trust the gedolim, we listen to the gedolim all the time, but we have a little political leaders also, and we have to listen to them together. A: Well, to explain this to you I have to explain - Q: The goyim are not going according to the daas of the ged

Rav Avigdor Miller on Rochel Weeping for Her Children Q: The Navi says that רחל מבכה על בניה, that Rochel Imeinu cries for her children who go out into Golus (Yirmiyahu 31:15). Why of all the mothers is it Rochel who is weeping for her children? A: And the answer is that it’s a matter of geography. Because Rochel’s grave was situated outside of Yerushalayim near Beis Lechem and as the Bnei Yisroel were leaving the churvos Yerushalayim they passed by Rochel’s grave and so the Navi said ‘Roc

Toras Avigdor Weekly Shabbos booklet 👇👇👇

Toras Avigdor Weekly Shabbos booklet - Junior Edition 👇👇👇

What are the sources that tell us Avrohom Avinu spoke about nature? And the answer is, you heard today that Avrohom called out in the name of Hashem. So what do you think he did when he built the mizbei'ach? He stood there shouting, Hashem, Hashem, everybody come and serve Hashem! When you're talking to strangers and you give them a name, Hashem, it's like talking to the wall! It's common sense that Avrohom spoke to them about the most plausible observations that were available. And what's mos

Rav Avigdor Miller on Associating with Non-Frum Jews Q: How should we deal with people who are not frum? A: And the answer is, you must be friendly and polite to everybody, because if you are not polite to not-frum people, you are not going to be polite to frum people, you just can't departmentalize your character. Either you are a good person or not a good person. You have to be kindhearted and pleasant to everyone. Only you don’t associate, אשרי האיש אשר לא הלך - you don’t go together wi

Rav Avigdor Miller on Israeli Political Parties Q: What’s the Rav’s opinion of the Likud party versus the Labor party in Israel? A: I must tell you my sincere opinion – I’m not interested in either of them. There’s only one party for us and that’s the party of those that are sh’lomei emunei Yisroel. That’s our party. The frum Jews, that’s our party. The truth is that someday there will be a history written; there will be a Tanach written. The gemara says that: אליהו כותב והקב״ה חותם – Eliy

Rav Avigdor Miller on Brilliant Minds Q: Didn’t Avraham succeed because he was given the gift of a brilliant mind? A: There are a lot of brilliant minds on the Bowery. Did you ever sit in a park in the Bowery? There are two of them sitting there on a bench, two brilliant minds. They're sitting and doddering. They're soaked inside and outside. They're scratching themselves. And one gives the other one a push off the bench. He flies off. I watched it once. He pushed him off the bench and he

Rav Avigdor Miller on Praying for Sedom Q: Why did Avraham Avinu pray for the men of Sedom if they were so wicked? A: Now Avraham wanted Hakadosh Baruch Hu to spare Sedom chiefly because of Lot. Because we saw there was a peril to Lot when Sedom was overthrown. Actually his wife perished and his married daughters perished. And Lot was barely saved from Sedom. And therefore Avraham was actually praying for Lot. But he prayed for Sedom too, because despite the wrongdoers every community has

Toras Avigdor Weekly Shabbos booklet 👇👇👇

Toras Avigdor Weekly Shabbos booklet - Junior Edition 👇👇👇

Rav Avigdor Miller on Banning Smoking Q: Recently Chacham Ovadya said that it’s ossur to smoke. How could it be ossur if even big Gedolim from the last generation smoked? A: There’s a Chacham Sefardi Reb Ovadya Yosef who issued a ban on smoking. All of a sudden, he said you shouldn’t smoke. Now people say, “Where does it say smoking is ossur? In my yeshiva, didn’t my rebbe smoke? When there was a chosson, they handed out cigarettes to everybody.” The answer is, they didn’t see. They didn’t

Why Didn’t Yaakov Avinu Try to Make Lavan Frum? And the answer is, he certainly did. And the best way of doing it was by behaving to Lavan with kindliness, and that’s what he did. I am certain that Lavan gained a great deal from associating with Yaakov Avinu. No question in my mind. Only, he had much more to go. He didn’t learn enough from him, and he opposed him. And therefore, Lavan misused the opportunity, and he became worse and worse. But Yaakov, because he utilized Lavan to become better

Rav Avigdor Miller on the Imprisonment of Torah in Israel Q: What does the Rav say about the news that the State of Israel has sent Aryeh Deri to prison? A: I must say that the reshaim in Eretz Yisroel are trying to stamp out Torah, chas ve’shalom. People in America are asleep. They don’t have any idea what’s taking place. They think that these Orthodox Jews are too pious, too extreme, and the people in Israel, in the government, they don’t mean anything wrong. They want to build up the st

Rav Avigdor Miller on Voting Against Communism Q: Why is Communism becoming so widespread? A: And there are two reasons. One reason is Hashem so decreed it. And the second reason is because they mean business. They’re enthusiastic. Anything that’s done with enthusiasm is going to win out. People talk about democracy, they talk about freedom. They don’t mean it. If you meant freedom, if you really were business-like about preserving our freedom, you would make it your business to close down

Rav Avigdor Miller on Knowing How to Vote Q: Should a yeshiva bachur register to vote? A: Should a yeshiva man register to vote? It depends. If he knows how to vote, he should. If he doesn’t, he shouldn’t. Now sometimes it’s a question between this crook and that crook and so it’s a waste of time. But if you have a special intention of voting, by all means, because we should put our weight in the right direction. Today, it’s important, if possible, to throw our weight against the liberals.

Rav Avigdor Miller on Lighting a Yartzeit Candle Q: What’s the benefit of lighting a candle for a person’s yartzeit? A: When someone is nifter and candles are lit for that person, it is a kavod for the meis. And that’s because a candle is a beautiful symbol. A flame is a beautiful thing, and even today it’s hard to explain exactly how it works. The physical materials – the wick, the wax, the oil – turn into light. That symbolizes the neshama that was enclosed in a guf and is now only nesha

Toras Avigdor Weekly Shabbos booklet 👇👇👇

Toras Avigdor Weekly Shabbos booklet - Junior Edition 👇👇👇

Rav Avigdor Miller on Being Glad to Be Alive Q: Before I came into the world I was perfectly content and now I’m not content. I had no problems before I was born and now I have problems. So why is it good that I’m here? It’s better I wasn’t. A: This gentleman is dissatisfied that he was brought into the world. Now suppose somebody will do you a favor as you walk out of here on the dark side street; suppose a kind-hearted goy will say to you, “Your time is up.” Are you going to say, “Oh, I