Parsha

Rabbi Shimon Bar Yochai told his students that everything depends on the affability between us. Love and unity and affability are the foundation of everything.

Israel's deep spiritual connection to our homeland – like the connection of the soul to the body – transcends all rational human understandings.

Israel must organize its society in such a way that reflects Hebrew values while transcending the friction between conflicting economic models.

First, gird yourself with the middah of bitachon; then you can do good. Fidelity and devotion to Hashem are foundations upon which a person can build his life.

The meaning of a kingdom of priests is that each community has a leader which is most honored in it, and serves as its exemplar that people in that community follow, and they find the straight path through him.

It would seem to me that the word slach points to the former opinion – that it is a total forgiveness, since it is the same letters as the word chasal, which means to ‘finish completely.’

Originally, before its modern association with Sefirat HaOmer, Pirkei Avot consisted of only five chapters. This is why, for example, the Rambam’s commentary only addresses the first five. In this spirit there are also, of course, five books of the Torah.

Being different from others not for the sake of Hashem is simply supercilious haughtiness.

Pesach Sheni constitutes the first Hebrew festival established 'from below' & sets the precedent for all the holidays that would later fill the month of Iyar.

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Other things may change us, but we start and end with family. -Anthony Brandt

The awareness that Israel is the national expression of HaShem in this world and that our conduct is a direct reflection of His Divine Ideal should fill us with a deep sense of tremendous responsibility.

Sometimes, it is not we who grasp a concept or experience; rather, some concept or experience grasps us.

One doesn’t die from a question

A person's self-perception is a strong factor in his ability to succeed in Torah study and the performance of mitzvos.

We need specially to ask Hashem to assist us in our Torah efforts for there is nothing that the yeitzer hara, the evil inclination, tries to stop us from accomplishing more than the study of Torah.

The origin of the bagel is older than you think...

I once went on a group tour of Mount Herzl and happened to meet Miriam Peretz there. She lost two sons to war and, turning to our group, spoke as follows: Stones and living water are not just meant as customs. They incorporate a perspective that we must take with us as we venture forth from this holy day.

What the Torah is telling us is that there are two roads that lead to sin and one can never be sure which path one took.

Such a filtering process is necessary but, as you may have noted, it is purely negative. It filters out but it does not tell us what to bring in. What should we, in fact, hold dear? How shall we make use of our time? Who will we choose to be with?

In reality, man’s purpose in this world is to do the will of Hashem by learning Torah and performing mitzvos, and the Talmud (Sanhedrin 90a) states that All of the Jewish people have a share in the world-to-come.

Yaras Daas writes that one should also have in mind for the Torah success of their children, their descendants and their disciples.

The Segula is Israel's inner Divine light planted within the collective Hebrew soul and revealed in human history through the Jewish people.

Every mitzvah is like a faucet that, when opened, releases Divine blessing into our world and elevates it to a level beyond where it previously existed.

Because when you reduce humanity to its essence, there is only the naked will and the Torah which complements it, so that man becomes a spiritual being, an enlightened consciousness.

We face Holocaust denial, ignorance, and forgetfulness, as well as claims that the Holocaust was not a unique or particularly anti-Jewish event. It is therefore more important than ever not only to remember what happened, but to make a commitment never to forget.

While it is unfortunate that even observant Diaspora Jews can be corrupted by the moral values of their host countries, the greater tragedy is that they are not living up to their full potential in life.

Teaching a bigger Torah would not only succeed in bringing back more disconnected Jews but also in advancing the Hebrew mission of illuminating the world with the light of HaShem’s Truth.

If you want to understand the origin of something, search for the first time it is mentioned in the Torah.

Hashem’s manifestations of holiness serve as a model for how we can be holy.