Tzav: How Can I Confront Sacrifices?
How can a modern day reader of Torah, understand and relate to the concept of animal sacrifices, Korbanot?
Speech And Action – Parshat Shemot
According to some opinions (Zohar, Va'eira 25b), Moshe was cured of his speech impediment, along with the rest of Am Yisrael who were cured of their ailments, before Matan Torah.
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Behar: The Plea of a Forsaken Mitzvah
Since the commandments are all meant to engender some positive effect; when a commandment is not practiced, that effect will not be attained either.
The Greatness Of Man
When a tzaddik uses a part of the world, he provides that portion with its purpose in existence.
Beha’alosecha: The Ultimate Defense Attorney
Do you say Shema before you go to sleep? I’m sure you do.
But perhaps you, like many, feel too tired at night to say the entire tefillah of Kri’as Shema as it appears in the siddur. If you do say the entire tefillah, you will recognize a pasuk in this week’s Haftorah. And if you don’t say the whole Kri’as Shema al Hamitah, perhaps after this column, you’ll re-consider and find yourself connecting with the following very comforting pasuk.
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Behar-Bechukotai: The Final Step to Holiness
Behar is primarily about ways to prevent Jews from descending into cycles of poverty; Bechukotai reinforces the laws of Vayikra by spelling out the consequences of following or not following the laws
Walls Came Tumbling Down
Each nation has a specific role to fill in Hashem’s plan and we pray that through these offerings Hashem will inspire them to true service.
Secret Soviet Interrogations (Part II)
‘Arouse the holiness of religion in the hearts of the young generation. Give the youth the idea not to forget religion, and that the persecution of religion is a temporary phenomenon, as is its [Soviet] persecutor, which is only temporary.’
How Much Marror Must One Eat?
In order to fulfill one’s obligation in the mitzvah of matzah, one must eat a k’zayis amount of matzah. This is because the Torah uses the wording of achilah (eating) when it commands the mitzvah of matzah.
TORAH SHORTS: Parshat Shelach: Choosing Yokes
The more you depend on forces outside yourself, the more you are dominated by them. -Harold Sherman
The Merit Of Trusting Hashem
After months of witnessing the hand of Hashem, the entire Jewish nation – three million strong – marched out from slavery to freedom with flourish and fanfare.
How Did Eisav Sell The Bechorah?
We learn in this week’s parshah of Eisav’s sale of his birthright to Yaakov Avinu. There are several questions surrounding the legitimacy of this sale. The Rivash (Teshuvos 328) questions why the sale was valid, since Eisav sold something that did not exist at that time. The halacha is that one may not sell anything that is not in the world at the time of the sale. Since the bechor did not yet exist or take effect at that time, how could the sale have been valid?
Do Women Recite Birchas HaTorah?
Women are exempt only from the first general obligation to learn Torah, not the second, more specific one.
Yom Kippur: Dress Rehearsal Of Sorts
The precision required and the time constraints imposed make the High Priest’s task almost humanly impossible.
Shelach: How Can I Trust God When I Don’t See Him?
How could the spies have doubted God? How could they have sinned so egregiously?
Turning Point
The Zera Shimshon asks: Why does the Torah need to state that the people will be judged. Who else is presenting before the judges?
It Took Seven Years…
A birthday marks the day one’s soul descended to earth to fulfill its unique Divine mission. It therefore is an opportunity to take stock of how well one is accomplishing one’s mission.
With An Eye Towards Heaven
R' Chanina was accustomed to experiencing miracles, and therefore he did not fear the bite of the snake.
Noach: Hashem Hates Thievery
In this pasuk, Hashem appears to Noach, telling him the world has turned to evil and He will now destroy all of life. Noach, his family, and the animals that remained pure will be the core of a new world. The reason for this destruction is stealing – “since the land is filled with robbery.”
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Mishpatim: The Torah’s Superior Strategy for Brotherly Love
But the Torah was given to real people, for whom love of the outsider would not always be so obvious.
Daf Yomi And Nine Lammeds In A Row
I would like to conjecture that in this fervent prayer where we beseech Hashem to listen and to understand, to learn and to teach His Torah, we remember the fact that each of us already learned the entire Torah from a malach during the nine months that we were in the womb.
A Sense of Place
This week's portion, Re'ei, speaks of our need for a sense of place, how difficult it often is to find, and how we must protect others' sense of place. It also addresses the sanctity of the Land of Israel
Sharing The Fruit
The visitor does not hand over his basket of First Fruits; he first shares it with the Temple representative. This is not a ceremony of give and take but of sharing.
Aleph Beta: Naso: Letting Our Children Go
This week's video discusses the important connection between the Priestly Blessing and parenting.
You Can Change Your Nature
The Rebbe refused to accept his mishloach manos until he promised to control his temper.
The Concept Of Arvus
In the beginning of this week’s parshah Yehudah tells Yosef that he must allow Binyamin to return to his father because Yehudah had guaranteed Binyamin’s return. As the pasuk says: “ki avdecha arav es hanar… – for your servant has guaranteed the boy…” (Bereishis 44:32; see also 43:9).
Ha’azinu: Giving Praise
“When I proclaim the name of Hashem, give greatness to our G-d (32:3). When we hear a berachah, it is proper to exclaim "Baruch Hu u’Baruch Shemo" (“He is blessed and His name is blessed”) when Hashem's name is pronounced. But much more is intended. The mention of that most important word (in any language) should evoke the greatest reverence and love and devotion. How much should we exert ourselves in this function?
The Role Of Darkness Amid The Light
This outcome is anticipated in the Torah, the blueprint of Creation, according to which the intent was always for kings to arise and, in time, to fall.
Amalekite Perfectionism
Haman has oceans of honor but he’s lacking one drop. Everyone bows down to him, but he needs Mordechai to bow down, too. If not, all the honor he has received means nothing.
A Collateral For Our Sins
Rebbi suffered terrible stomach pains for 13 years for his lack of pity on a calf.