Parsha

When Mashiach comes we will have a nechama, not just a consolation, but a brand-new vision of history.

In reality, man’s purpose in this world is to do the will of Hashem by learning Torah and performing mitzvos, and the Talmud (Sanhedrin 90a) states that All of the Jewish people have a share in the world-to-come.

While they are definitely special occurrences, why are they cause for a new holiday?

This complementary nature and unified destiny is the basis of the Covenantal Community.

We often sit through the haftorah without understanding what it is all about. “Why do we read the haftorah anyway?” we sometimes think. Krias HaTorah of the parsha makes sense—we read a portion of the Chumash each week so that over the course of the year we have completed the entire Torah. But what is the goal of reading the haftorah? We know that it is not so we can finish Navi on some kind of schedule. What then is the purpose of the haftorah?

If we are expected to pray for someone and we neglect to do so, we are robbing them of something that is rightfully theirs.

In his book, Thirteen Days (1968), Robert Kennedy publicized the inner workings of the Kennedy White House during the terrible days of the Cuban Missile Crisis. He described how the President’s special advisory group, known as ExComm, debated the options available to defuse the crisis in light of the intelligence presented to them.

It would seem to me that the word slach points to the former opinion – that it is a total forgiveness, since it is the same letters as the word chasal, which means to ‘finish completely.’

Beautiful light is born of darkness, so the faith that springs from conflict is often the strongest and the best. -R. Turnbull

In the aftermath of the Union army’s terrible defeat at the battle of Fredericksburg, Virginia, in December 1862, Abraham Lincoln felt compelled to relieve General Ambrose Burnside of command of the Army of the Potomac.

The Torah is teaching us a very important lesson regarding how to criticize and rebuke people.

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If Moshe was the greatest man that ever lived, his silent partner Tzipporah deserves much of the credit for it.

Did Yosef use the famine to bring his family down to Egypt in hopes of implementing an alternative approach to the Hebrew mission in the Diaspora?

Different times of the year represent different actions. In order to succeed in life, one must learn the art of the times.

This is the true meaning of Pesach – to restore the unique relationship between ourselves and our Creator, as individuals and as a collective.

I can empathize with the Children of Israel wanting to send spies to see the land they were to conquer. Once they could see with x-ray vision, "The entire people saw the thunder...the sound of the shofar" but now, no longer

What right do I, sinner, have to approach Hashem and request forgiveness?

Welcome the book of Leviticus!

Moshe is about to pass away, Ari says, and leaves the nation one message: "Take responsibility!" Moshe focuses on the nation. This is the message Ari lived and left us with.

What growth can we achieve through the mitzvah of lighting special candles for Shabbos? What lesson does Hashem want us to learn from this mitzvah?

The answer to this question can best be understood with a perspective on capitalism.

On Shabbos, says Rav Cohen, we exist in a world of mei’ein Olam Habah, a microcosm of the next world, a taste of Gan Eden.

Tragedy could still have been avoided had Ismay stuck to his origincal vision and goal.

It is therefore always a good idea to put a time limit on our negative emotions. Instead of just saying, 'It's very hard for me,' say 'It's very hard for me right now.'

The mishkan represents the 'face' of God.

All things are equal, we should certainly pick for our children purely Jewish names. Even the surnames should be distinctly Jewish.

The word eichah is a word we heard from Moshe Rabbenu, calling us to realize we weren’t aiming as high as we could. We could have heeded it then, and put ourselves on a better path. We heard it centuries later, a call to see how we were setting ourselves up for destruction. Two calls we unfortunately ignored, leading to the third eichah, which continues to ring in our hardened ears.

Seven is possibly the most significant number in Jewish Thought.

This week’s parshah begins with Yaakov Avinu on his deathbed. He called for and requested of Yosef not to bury him in Mitzrayim, but rather in Eretz Yisrael. Although Yosef agreed to fulfill this request, Yaakov asked him to swear that he would keep his word, which he did.