Parsha

I want to suggest that although ma’ariv is a voluntary tefillah in its essence, it differs from a nedavah.

There is a glaring difference between the Beis Yosef’s answers.

It occurred to me, as my brain rattled in my skull on a two-hundred mile ride through rural Virginia, that our souls work in much the same way.

At the beginning of this week’s parshah Yaakov sent a message to Eisav. In the message were the words, “im Lavan garti – I lived with Lavan.” Rashi explains that Yaakov was informing Eisav that he had kept the entire Torah, as the word “garti” is the same numerical value as the amount of mitzvos in the Torah: 613. The following strong question concerning this statement has been discussed by the Rishonim and Acharonim: How could Yaakov say that he kept the entire Torah when he married two sisters, Rachel and Leah, which is biblically prohibited? Additionally, the Gemara in Yuma 28 says that Avraham Avinu kept the Torah; presumably the other avos did as well. How then did Yaakov marry two sisters?

As urgent as this call was at the beginning of the 20th century, it is even more urgent in this era when Jewish communities are more exposed than ever to the influences of the secular world.

The rock doesn’t have needs, yet it listens to Hashem. How much more so should we, who have so many needs?

Many trees upstate were damaged by the hurricane that swept through the East Coast at the end of last summer, and I was involved in finding the safest equipment to clean up the mess. I love trees and found the chore of cutting them down very difficult, especially knowing that the stately 60 year old trees would be impossible to replace. Even though we planted new trees, I don't know whether I will be there to enjoy these new saplings when they are 60 years old.

The question is: What about pidyon haben? Can one give the five sela’im required for pidyon haben to a kohen’s daughter?

Avram’s father was not impressed with the cleverness of his son. In fact, he was so unimpressed that he took him to Nimrod the king, who pronounced him an enemy of the state and attempted to execute him.

If I appoint someone as Shatz, he is supposed to pray for me, as if I was praying.

One of the most extraordinary images in the Torah appears in this week's portion. Moshe requests of God: "Show me your glory." God responds that He cannot be seen by any human being. But, God tells Moshe, "Stand in the cleft of the rock” and "you will see My back, but My face must not be seen" (Exodus 33: 17-23). What does this mean?

If the malach wouldn’t have struck him, Nevuchadnezzar would have disgraced all of David HaMelech’s praises and songs in Sefer Tehillim.

The talmid is not allowed to speak up due to any fear. If he remains silent, he is in violation of this prohibition.

Abraham was shown that his test was not only about his own faith…. By this test, G-d created the means for Abraham’s descendants to survive all adversity.

Yosef is the perfect leader for a people entering exile because he understands their basic needs

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.

Hashem’s kindness is limitless, and even when He administers judgment, it is tempered with kindness.

The Torah presents us with a model of how to effect change in a sustainable way.

One who loves can buy a factory-made knick-knack for his partner, but a personal hand-made gift is infinitely more precious.

Yehoshua was one of Israel's greatest leaders because he represented the ideal expression of the Yosef force - one consciously rooted in, guided by and completely subordinate to the Hebrew mission.

The question still remains on how to reconcile all of the different drashos that are derived from this pasuk.

They bentched nonetheless, though, because they were given a specific mitzvah to thank Hashem for the mon.

It's about unity.

Truly knowing God isn't just a matter of national relationship, most importantly it's a personal one

We stand in the final moments of 5777, prepared to transition to 5778, perfect moments to offer our gift to God, honoring all we have gained over the past year, and how we intend to apply that growth in the future, using the coming year to grow in ways yet unimaginable to us.

It is the right amount of the right middah in the right time that is the key to perfection. Each middah has its place, time, and correct measure.

Moshiach, when he comes, will reveal the deeper reasons for every detail of Torah observance – why it is necessary to perform particular mitzvos in specific ways and what each detail accomplishes in the spiritual realm.

Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, the teacher of the Zohar who we honor on Lag B'Omer, plants seeds of infinite growth in our minds so each of us can begin our time travel with Torah with a taste of her eternally expanding wisdom embedded in our souls

One must act as if everything depends on us and pray as if everything depends on God.

What did Jacob mean when he realized the sanctity of the place he slept and declared it to be the House of G-d, Beit Elokim?