Following Instructions – Parshat Pekudei
It's a critical point.
Have You Heard Of David Magerman?
The time has come for us to make aliyah. I’ve already purchased a home in Israel. I did not merit for my children to be born there, but I do hope that my grandchildren will.
Pekudei: Continuing The Work Moshe Began
It's important to recognize the internal development of the Hebrew tribes from the Exodus from Egypt to the Brit Sinai and consecration of the Mishkan.
Send In The Clowns
Who were these clowns of Israel? What was their reason to mock Moshe? What exactly is it about this mocking that makes it unacceptable?
Gan Eden, The Temple, and Shushan HaBirah
Dressing up
Counting Every One
The idea that counting might lead to misfortune – that measures must be taken to avoid a plague – is unique to the Jews.
Torah Shorts: Parshat Pekudai: Hazy Clarity
The man who insists on seeing with perfect clearness before he decides, never decides. -Henri-Frédéric Amiel
A Moment In Time
Just as the structure of the Mishkan was only finished when all three areas were intact, so too the perfection of man is only achieved when all three of his components are ready for the presence of the Shechina.
Revising Our Prayers – Part Twenty-Seven
The Zohar in Parshas Noach reveals that the word chein is the same letters as the word Noach. This is to teach us that the best way to find favor in the eyes of people is to be an easygoing (noach) person.
The Jangle Of The Kohen Gadol’s Bells
And what of ourselves? Have we remembered how rare and invaluable our own time on this earth is? Have we let ourselves forget the things that really matter? Have we slipped, become less, made our accomplishments less significant?
Preparing for the Jewish Fiscal Year – Parshat Vayakhel / Shekalim
The fiscal year in the Beit Hamikdash starts on Rosh Chodesh Nissan.
The Request Of A Soldier Who Lost A Leg
Let us hope that children from Be’eri, Sderot, and Kfar Aza can gain strength from his story. This is not only a personal story of Yisrael, the orphaned child. This is the story of the nation of Israel.
Stop The Clock
How, we are often asked, do we manage to sit idle for 24 hours on Shabbos without going stir crazy? Is it not human nature to be workaholics?
The Risks Of Replacement Culture
The classroom and home are not places from breaking down personalities only in order to build them up to specification. It is in these gentler spaces that seeds are planted, shoots watered, sunned, and sheltered in turn, where tall trees are eventually to be found and enjoyed.
Fiery Enthusiam
The question is why is it considered as if the Nesi’im were indifferent? After all, if the Jewish people would only have come forth with half the money or gold that was necessary, the Nesi’im were ready to generously contribute the other half.
The Impending Culmination Of The Work Of Creation
The Rebbe stresses that part of the nature of tzimtzum – the expression of Divine Will whereby Hashem makes it possible for some aspect of Himself to be present in every one of His creations – is that in recognizing and acknowledging the G-dliness in our material world, we give strength to these Divine aspects in the world as well as in ourselves.
Esther’s Story
We can be certain that it was not a quest for fame that motivated Esther HaMalka. One explanation of Esther’s desire for the accounts of Purim to be included in the Scriptures is that she recognized the timeless lessons of the story of Purim.
Vayaq’hel: Actualizing The Mishkan
If Dan is the extreme expression of Yosef in the same way that Shimon is of Yehuda, what was the importance of appointing tribesmen of Yehuda and Dan to lead the construction of the Mishkan?
Building The Mishkan: Plan A And Plan B – Parshat Vayakhel
The sefer Ohel Yehoshua explains that in fact Hashem had two distinct plans for building the Mishkan. The original plan preceded the sin of the Golden Calf, after which a Plan B went into effect as a result of the Am Yisrael’s sin.
Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh – Parshat Ki Tisa
So, obviously, Hashem does not have a face and all the above descriptions are simply metaphors to simplify concepts to enable our human intellect to understand, even though the true reality is beyond our comprehension.
Ki Tisa: Crisis Of The Golden Calf
A mistake that nearly had catastrophic results for the entire people of Israel ultimately revealed Moshe's true greatness as a national leader.
The Mishkan As A Microcosm Of The Universe
The material world is everything outside of the Mishkan, as the Mishkan is a means for us to pursue transcendence, and for those who have been properly designated to traverse all of these worlds.
The Benefits of the Evil Amongst Us
Exposure to evil prevents us from an illusion of pleasant stability--and stability is the very thing that prevents the good from getting better.
A Living Sefer Torah
The Talmud Yerushalmi (Taanis) speaks of respecting a physician before he is needed, so that when the person requires the services of a doctor, he will find one. It can be compared to honoring Hashem, the healer of all flesh, before one requires healing for his affliction.
Greatly Improving Our Lives Through Better Prayer
The saintly Shaloh HaKodesh, of blessed memory, writes that you could break people down into two distinct groups. There are those who when they pray, they pray to Hashem; and when they bless, they bless Hashem. Then there are those who pray but Hashem is nowhere in their thoughts, and when they bless they are not focusing on blessing anyone.
Clothes of Atonement – Parshat Tetzave
Eight very different types of sins are atoned for by the Kohen's vestments.
True Beauty
The Mishkan’s construction is described at length, down to the finest detail. What, in fact, is the importance of these small details?
The Torah’s Atomic Weapon
The incense that burned on this altar has always attracted special interest for its unusual life-giving properties
Parshas Tetzaveh: From Death to Life
Was it not enough for Aharon to have the Jewish people on his heart? Why the shoulders too?