Parshat Vayakhel – Real Hebrew Leadership
The melekh does not actually rule over Israel but rather embodies the mission and aspirations of his nation to the extent that he becomes a microcosm of the entire Jewish people and his personal identity is absorbed into Israel’s collective national identity.
Revitalizing Our Prayers (Part IV)
The Gemara teaches us in Masechtas Taanis that the day of rain is great like the day of the creation of Heaven and Earth.
TORAH SHORTS: Parshat Vayakel-Pekudei: Found in Translation
God employs several translators; some pieces are translated by age, some by sickness, some by war, some by justice. -John Donne
Evicted
At the time when a person opens his bundle to others, and shares his good fortune with others, he will merit blessing and his heart will be filled with joy.
Raising The Mishkan Before The Wooden Frame
There is a widespread custom to begin reading Shir HaShirim on the first of Nissan, in part because “the first shoots are seen in the land, the time of pruning has arrived, and the voice of the turtle dove can be heard in our land” (Shir HaShirim 2:12).
Unity vs. Disunity In The Mishkan
Hashem resorted to Plan B, which began by restoring unity within Am Yisrael, and only when that was in place directing the focus to where it was originally intended.
Natural Miracles
The Jews were doing well in Persia. Achashverosh afforded them equal rights and even invited them to his banquet. They did not need the Torah any longer to survive, and were doing just fine without it.
Count Me In- Parshat Ki Tisa
Why does Judaism consider counting people dangerous?
To Look Beneath The Surface
It would appear that we are hopelessly divided, especially at this time. But things are not always as they seem.
Purifying The Body So The Soul Can Serve Hashem
Following the victory over our physical enemies and the threat to our bodies, we must still overcome the spiritual obstacles placed in the physical world to dissuade us from achieving our destiny.
Revitalizing Our Prayers (Part III)
I believe the explanation for the front-seat positioning of Techias HaMeisim, the resurrection, is that it is the single greatest asset that a person has. Everything else is only temporal-for 120 years.
Parshat Ki Tisa – Israel’s Underlying Unity
Through a heightened awareness of Israel's true inner essence, we can see past the sharp ideological divisions and appreciate the intrinsic unity beneath and beyond our surface disputes.
Who Is Worthy To Build The Mishkan?
It is possible to teach a child a Divine crash course in metalwork or stone masonry overnight, but you cannot give a crash course in childlike innocence.
Are You Sure You Wouldn’t Have Worshiped the Golden Calf?
The Torah is based on the spot-on premise that basic features of the human condition remain constant throughout history
Complete Faith
Before I left, my father – who saw in which direction I was heading – told me: Yossel, you’re going to Eretz Yisrael, and we will be separated. It is possible that this will be the last time we will see each other. Please, I beg you, come with me to the Rebbe of Slonim to get his bracha.
Five Aspects Of The 7th Of Adar
It’s enough to look at the picture of Hallel Menachem and Yagel Ya’akov Yaniv in order to appreciate the immensity of this loss. You see the sweetness and goodness that radiates from their faces.
Parshat Tetzave: The Value of Self-Sacrifice
Upon a surface reading of the text, Aharon appears to have lacked the readiness for ultimate sacrifice.
TORAH SHORTS: Parshat Tetzave: Jewish Fire, Water, Wind and Earth
Nature that framed us of four elements, warring within our breasts for regiment, doth teach us all to have aspiring minds. -Christopher Marlowe
Fallible
An individual may desire to do teshuva, but once he is in the “grip” of aveiros it’s more difficult; it’s as if he is handcuffed.
Revitalizing Our Prayers (Part II)
What’s a chesed tov, a good kindness? Is there such a thing as bad kindness?
Singled Out For Misfortune
What all of these expressions share in common is Hashem’s careful attention to the detail in every matter, concerning every individual and community of individuals.
Jewish Pride And Jewish Names
The consideration the needs of the people of Israel are to be a focal point when the kohen gadol approaches G-d.
Parshat Terumah – Giving Everything
The notion of giving everything to HaShem illustrates the difference between the mentality of redemption and that of the exile.
On Being There, And Nowhere Else
Where are you right now? And, wherever that is, are you truly present with all your being?
In the Torah portion we just read on...
Take Me With You
We cannot change our basic human nature, but we can refine it with gold, with the purity of the Torah.
Teshuva Through The Jewish Press
In some letters, the young man would want to discuss different points in the article; at other times he would ask me about Judaism in general. In each letter he would thank me and The Jewish Press for hooking him up with the outside world.
Revitalizing Our Prayer (Part I)
I’ve been asking myself how sophisticated is my prayer and, to be brutally honest, upon contemplation, I was very disappointed at my prayer accomplishments through the decades.
Stones For The House Of Hashem
It’s interesting that the language used to describe the smaller stones, hewn (gazit), is identical to the prohibition against using metal implements to carve the stones for the mizbe’ach.
Of Tables, Isaac Newton, And The Holy Temple
The Shulchan symbolizes material wealth, and everything connected with it relates to the morality of wealth and livelihood.
Just So No to Lashon Hara – Parshat Mishpatim
Whoever speaks Lashon Hara or accepts Lashon Hara, or bears false testimony is fit to be cast to the dogs...
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