Points to Ponder On I hereby take upon myself to fulfill the mitzvah, "Love your fellowman as yourself".

Torah study Say a prayer for the soldiers of the IDF, and for all residents of the Holy Land (suggestion: Psalm 20 is traditionally said in times of distress). Charity and acts of kindness: Put a coin in a charity box, give a gift of money to a fellow in need or to a charitable cause, or extend a helping hand to someone who needs it. Tefillin: If you already put on tefillin every day, encourage a friend to do so. If you don't yet, now is a good time to start!. Mezuzah: If you don't yet have a mezuzah get one now! If you already do have one, it may be time to have it checked to ensure that the words on the parchment have not faded. Tzitzit: start wearing tzitzit even during the night, and even while sleeping.

“Rabbi Tanchum ben Hamilai said, No rain falls unless the sins of Israel have been forgiven” (Taanit 7B). The Talmud goes on to list many transgressions that cause the withholding of rain, but to understand the secret of the matter, we will turn to the holy Zohar.

“Take heed to yourselves, that your heart not be deceived, and you turn aside and worship other gods and bow down to them; and then the anger of the L-rd will be inflamed against you, and He will shut up the heaven that there be no rain, and that the Land yield not its fruit; and you perish quickly from the good Land which the L-rd gives you” (Devarim, 11:17).

For the past fifteen years, Middle East peace-making has been dominated by two consecutive, illusory, political paradigms. The first paradigm, encapsulated by the Oslo Accords of 1993, belonged to a vision in which it is believed that a solution exists to every problem.

The second paradigm – unilateral withdrawal – proposed that reality could be changed by withdrawing from it, by unilaterally disengaging from it. There was a hope that a fence would define a border and Israel would be left alone. But after the fact, the public no longer sees the Gaza disengagement as having brought Israel greater security.

The head of the yeshiva, Rabbi Yaakov Shapira was the first to speak:

"We are all in need of mercy, the entire country," Shapira cried.

"Pray for all of us and give good counsel to the families, to the anguished friends."

Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar was weeping as well. "We have paid with our best boys, who were sitting by their talmuds … torah was their entire world, they are the roses that have been picked … and God will have mercy on us for their merit.

Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski also addressed the crowd:

"Lord, nations have invaded your land, desecrated your holy hall, eight of our sweet loved ones, may God avenge their blood, who only yesterday were living amongst us, are no longer with us. Their lives were severed by lowly murderers … but the murderer did not wish to target them alone, but rather each and every one of us, each and every resident of the holy city of Jerusalem.

For many years our enemies have been trying to ruin our lives, to harm us as much as they can. Jerusalem has paid heavily in blood, and the long long list was joined last night by our eight sons."

• Yohai Livshitz, 18, and Neria Cohen, 15 from Jerusalem
• Yonatan Yitzhak Eldar, 16, from Shilo
• Yonadav Haim Hirschfeld, 19, from Kohav Hashahar
• Segev Peniel Avihail, 15, from Neve Daniel
• Avraham David Moses, 16, from Efrat
• Ro’i Roth, 18, from Elkana
• Maharta Taruno, 26, from Ashdod

Michael Rothschild

Chofetz Chaim Heritage Foundation

Onaas devorim, Hebrew for verbal abuse, is a severe transgression. Rabbi Yisroel Meir Kahan, the famed Chofetz Chaim, says that a person is better off losing every material possession in the world, rather than committing one transgression. No parent has the right to verbally abuse a child.