Parsha

‘God doing exactly as He planned’ does not mean that all occurred without any ambivalence & tension.

Tosafos quotes an explanation from R’ Meshulem that the halacha requires that the one who is called up to the Torah for those pesukim must read them himself and cannot have a baal korei read them for him.

‘You shall dwell in booths (sukkos) for seven days because I caused the Jewish People to dwell in booths when I took them from the land of Egypt.’

Judaism stipulates that not only does Hashem reveal Himself to the prophets, but to all creation.

If you were the most generous, loving person in the world, and you were completely devoted to help me, if my time on this planet is up there is nothing that you can do to change that; any human is powerless to change my destiny.

Are we, through our prayers, able to convince God to change the course of history?

Why is Sukkot deemed the ultimate holiday of happiness and joy?

The Sukkah is the place from which we venture into the world, applying Torah to all aspects of life.

For the most part, we don’t usually experience a great revelation from performing a mitzvah.

The common theme between these two situations is that they are defined as acts of Kabbalat Ol Malchut Shamayim, accepting the yoke of Heaven.

“More than what the rich man does for the poor man is what the poor man does for the rich man” (Midrash Rabbah, Rus 5:9).

Haazinu encourages Jews in times of national emergency & documents our eternal connection to God

Rabbi Fohrman delves into psalm 90 connecting it to stories from Torah & the building of the Mishkan

Said the Ba’al Shem Tov “God is also crying. For as much as He looks for us, we rarely look for Him”

Consider this: Why should Hashem accept our teshuva when we often repeat the same aveiros year after year?

Rambam says that when the sinner approaches Hashem he expresses Chatati Aviti Pashati; I think I am Mayzid but perhaps I acted B’Shogeg.

The answer to the question on Rashi seems to be that the namesakes of the shevatim were in fact men of unimaginable greatness,

The Minchas Chinuch writes that although it seems that gathering in the Beis Hamikdash is necessary, perhaps the mitzvah can be performed anywhere in Yerushalayim.

The precision required and the time constraints imposed make the High Priest’s task almost humanly impossible.

How did Moses feel approaching the land of Israel, knowing he wouldn’t enter Israel with his people?

Moshe's message lives on forever: Life's potential is a very lofty goal that we must strive to reach

You might argue that in truth it is not a prayer; rather, it is a statement, affirmation and declaration of fact that one day we will see the cities and streets of Yerushalayim full of ecstasy.

The story of Bilam, the gentile prophet, is most peculiar. It begins when Balak, the king of Moav, recognizes that he is in danger....

The second covenant between Abraham and Hashem included the obligation to observe the commandments.

The Rambam also says that one must verbalize his confessions in order for it to be valid (vidui b’peh).

The Netziv’s point: Self-assessment should be based on who we are, not based on who our neighbor is.

Good leaders understand the value of information.

Only in Israel do we have the sovereignty & independence to become a light to the nations.

Baruch means either blessed should be God, or praised should be God.

Why was the mitzvah of Hakhel reserved for this particular time?