Judaism

Because sefer Vayikra is more difficult, we tend to look at it less. But because we look at it less, we also understand it less, which – in turn – keeps it difficult and less appealing. In a nutshell, that is what I call Vayikra Avoidance Syndrome.

The following morning, after leining, the shul rabbi delivered an enthusiastic sermon, in which he praised the bar mitzvah boy based on insights from the parsha.

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When giving Moshe Rabbeinu the mitzvah of machzis hashekel, Hashem showed him a coin of fire. Was the Almighty possibly warning us to handle financial matters as cautiously as we would a burning flame?

“Also, you should know, that this rejection, as painful as it is for you today, upgrades you. It transforms you into people who know how to believe in themselves even when others don’t always believe in them." Encouragement to students applying to HS. Words of wisdom: Believe in Yourself!

Question: Is mishlo’ach manot a form of tzedakah like matanot la’evyonim? Moshe Jakobowitz Brooklyn, NY

As it turned out, the apartment had been a bit neglected and needed some work to clean it out and spruce it up. That had been the reason for its vacancy.

Caring For The Sick On Yom Kippur ‘His Gullet Has Derived Enjoyment…’ (Chullin 103b)

These stones are referred to in the Torah as avnei miluim – literally filler stones. This term used to identify these precious stones is extremely peculiar. If one had a D flawless stone set on an ornament, would it be referred to as the filler stone?

Often we look at a person or an event and we are convinced that this is the highest level of sainthood and godliness, not realizing that G-d seeks what is in the hearts and soul of humankind and not their outward appearance.

So what is melakhah, and how is it different than avodah? And why is that only Moshe sees it that way. Finally, why is blessing something that seems to flow directly out of it?

Moses was stuck outside the Tabernacle with the people who built it. He understood at that moment the message of the Half Shekel, or, my fifty cents. He was not standing as the great Moses or the awesome Moses who could meet with God in Heaven. He stood outside as one of the people who all contributed a Half Shekel, fifty cents. It was at that moment that Moses became the most humble of men. I can almost hear the coins jingling in his pocket.

There is a fascinating feature of the geography of the land of Israel. It contains two seas: the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. The Sea of Galilee is full of life. The Dead Sea, as its name implies, is not. Yet they are fed by the same river, the Jordan. The difference is that the Sea of Galilee receives water and gives water. The Dead Sea receives but does not give. To receive but not to give is, in Jewish geography as well as Jewish psychology, simply not life.

To build the Mishkan, one must have the ability to hear G-d every step of the way, so that it will come out exactly the way G-d wanted it.

When we learn and heed the commands of the Torah we connect to Hashem by working to understand what He has revealed to us in the Torah.

A bright idea...

That night a memorable prayer rose to Heaven and went straight to the Throne of Glory. It was offered by an unusual gathering, a minyan of Jews that one doesn't see every day.

“The boy from Russia who was not accepted to study physics because he was a Jew is now part of a team that is sending off a spacecraft containing a disk with the entire Hebrew Bible scanned onto it and an Israeli flag.”

The default assumption is that the other children allow this expense. However, they can protest, and are entitled to prohibit him from dressing henceforth at their expense.

It is not enough to assemble one's people in one place. There must be a unifying mission.

Stricter Than A Prohibition ‘We Rely on a Gentile…’ (Chullin 97a)

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If I had had the chutzpah which I now possess, I would have loudly protested and demanded equal rights. Since I was a 15-year-old, well behaved student I obeyed him.

Aren’t these basic common-sense laws that every civilization abides by? Why would anyone not accept the rule of law that banned such evil practices?

Is It Proper…? – Is There Anything Wrong With a Frum Jewish Man Looking Super Stylish?

There is another course of action to consider: not lighting Shabbat candles at all! Before you are scandalized by my suggestion, allow me to explain.

The idea that one might worship “the work of men’s hands” was anathema to biblical faith. More generally, Judaism is a culture of the ear, not the eye. As a religion of the invisible God, it attaches sanctity to words heard, rather than objects seen. Religious art is never “art for art’s sake.” Unlike secular art, it points to something beyond itself.

Real faith means taking God to work with us and feeling not only His presence everywhere we go, but His partnership and investment in us and in our success.

Worries have been around since the beginning of time. How we react is the only thing that really changes.

The Mishkan we eventually had could have become the place where the Jews connected with Hashem more fully or strongly even than at Sinai, perhaps. After the sin of the Golden Calf, it could never be the place of innocent joy it was meant to be.