Parsha

Yeshayahu is anticipating the future destruction and exile and is trying fruitlessly to inspire the people of his generation to return to Hashem before it’s too late.

If these past 18 months taught us anything it is that no one knows what the day holds. We are not in control.

It would seem that the crimes of idolatry and immorality are more heinous than theft, yet the generation would have escaped destruction if their sins had only been between man and G-d.

Lot recognized the dangers of Sodom, but he thought he had the inner strength and conviction to overcome all the sin and negativity that defined that place.

May we all be inspired to follow in the footsteps of Avraham, and have the courage to embark on our own Lech Lecha journey,

How the leader of a universal spiritual movement learned to reorient himself to the understanding that his goals for humanity could only be achieved through the vehicle of a nation in a specific land.

Noach needed to continue to adhere to the chesed he was carrying out for the animals, and not to let up for even a moment, in order that he merit to remain alive.

Moments like a worldwide outage can and should be opportunities to consider our own relationship with technology and time

The first thing to understand in encountering our haftara is that there is no belief in millennial destruction that is axiomatic to Judaism.

Rabbi Yishai Fleisher is joined by Rabbi Dr. Joshua Berman, author and professor of Tanakh at Bar-Ilan University, to talk about the secret structure in the story of Noah's Ark. 

Why does the Torah use the Name that connotes Divine mercy rather than Divine judgement when telling of the Creator's decision to destroy humankind? Could there be more to this story?

Let’s remember the litmus test for whether Hashem is happy with us is “If people are at ease with us, Hashem is at ease with us.” People are at ease with a gentle person!

A central question in the story of Noach is why Hashem specifically chose to destroy the world through a FLOOD. Hashem could have chosen any form of destruction, and yet, He chose water. Why? 

When we examine the lives of the fathers of our nation, we see that they had to continually confront challenges and crises.

There's a hidden understanding of our Torah that has yet to reach the English-speaking Jewish world.

The Evil Inclination only comes in when there is an inviting accessible point of entry.

The process of life: The ideal is revealed, taken away, and then remains as our goal as we journey through life, trying to recreate that ideal. The KEY is to be inspired by the goal, not discouraged by the struggle.

One of the highlights of a Jewish man’s day is the public sanctification of Hashem’s Name. He does this with the answering of, “Amein, yehei shemei rabbah…” And Bereishis stands for, “Ameim, yehei shemei rabbah b’kol tefillah.”

A Jew who recognizes that he may lack merits, like the aravah, yet prays to Hashem because he has the will and desire to cling to Hashem – his prayers will be answered.

Teshuvah mei’ahava is the pure teshuvah where one regrets the transgression itself. It is this type of teshuvah that amazingly can convert a sin into an actual mitzvah.

There are unfortunately many people of Jewish extraction who believe the election of the Jews, our “chosenness,” to be a birthright or a guarantee of a sort of superiority over other nations.

You must tell yourselves: I am not my pain. I feel pain, but it alone does not define who I am.

A handful of pine-seed will cover mountains with the green majesty of forests. I too will set my face to the wind and throw my handful of seed on high. -Fiona Macleod

We have nothing to fear from our enemies if we have faith in Hashem; it is specifically the shaky and unstable sukkah that actually symbolizes Hashem’s strength and might.

Perhaps we might suggest that since this mitzvah symbolizes the Clouds of Glory that came without complaining, Hashem made it a free mitzvah to ensure that no one should complain about a mitzvah that commemorates no complaining.

We're going to talk about something that is probably one of the most practical pieces of advice for today. We're talking about handing over leadership.

It's not about if you will do what your parents ask, but how you will do it. It's not about if you will pray and keep Shabbat, but how.

In addition to one’s efforts to repent, there is the ‘essence of the day’ that atones. We don’t exactly know what the ‘essence’ is, but we know that it embodies the power of atonement.

Many wealthy people comfort themselves with the fact that they give move charity than the average person.

The leader can never close the gap between himself and the group. If he does, he is no longer what he must be. He must walk a tightrope between the consent he must win and the control he must exert. -Vince Lombardi