The Messages And Power Of L’Dovid Hashem Ori (Part II)
Many of us, after making an honest and blunt cheshbon hanefesh, a personal reevaluation of our behavior during the past year, might be filled with despair and despondency at our chances for a good judgment.
Why
What is the reason for a mitzvah and which G-dly trait does it sharpen and enhance within me?
Redeeming Relevance: Vayikra
Though God can’t benefit from gifts to him the best way to create a relationship is by giving to Him
Sheep, Bread, Fire And Wine: Persistence Is The Key – Parshat Pinchas
The korban hatamid was one of many – what makes it so special?
Toldot: a Conversation for the Ages
What does the parsha teach us about the nature of heritage?
The Three Haftarot Of Rebuke (I)
For Everything There Is A Time And A Moment
DOES YOUR SCHEDULE REFLECT YOUR PRIORITIES?
Work your schedule; don't let your schedule work you.
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Vayigash: Too Much for Me, Too Much for You
Yakov realized there was a Divine plan all along; God did not inflict suffering on him for no reason
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Bhaalotekha
Constitutional democracy is a better form of spiritual government than either anarchy or totalitarianism. G-d wanted intellectual diversity and as close to universal accountability as possible.
This World And The Next One Too
The Ishbitzer teaches that everyone comes into this world with Torah in his heart, cloaked in a disguise. We all have some special lesson to impart, some perspective that is uniquely our own, but is the opposite of what is readily apparent in our nature.
Bo: Did God Really Need Ten Plagues?
In this week's video, Rabbi Fohrman explores the 7th, the transitional, plague and argues that God played off of Pharaoh's ego to show Pharaoh, Egypt and the people of Israel only God is all-powerful
Torah Shorts: Cruel Cynics: Parshat Toldot
The cynic is one who never sees a good quality in a man, and never fails to see a bad one. He is the human owl, vigilant in darkness and blind to light, mousing for vermin, and never seeing noble game. -Henry Ward Beecher
Parshas Ha’azinu: Never Give Up!
Yom Kippur was but a few days ago and we were all feeling the closest to Hashem that we feel all year. And now it’s time to build the sukkah.
But before we move on with the holiday cycle we need to see what we can do to retain at least some of those special feelings of Yom Kippur.
This week’s haftorah guides us on just such a path.
Mishpatim: The Living Torah
How should we understand the difference between the Written Torah and the Oral Torah within the context of Israel's identity and development?
My Strength And The Weight Of My Accomplishments
Part of the process of pursuing our goals certainly requires that we work as hard as we can to achieve them, and it is perfectly appropriate for someone to be proud of their hard work. But they must never forget either the source of their power or the ultimate purpose of their efforts: to uphold the covenant with Hashem.
Hashem Fights Our Wars
Our right to exist and our form of self-government were decided by the ruling parties.
Yosef’s Proof
Some have pointed out that the Gemara says that priyah was not an obligation until Maamad Har Sinai.
Do Women Recite Birchas HaTorah?
Women are exempt only from the first general obligation to learn Torah, not the second, more specific one.
Rabbi Aharon Yaakov Schwei: A Chassidic Rav Exemplar
The family fled on the last train out, embarking on a long trip to Central Asia. German airplanes strafed the train, and they survived only by miracles, said Rabbi Schwei in recalling the fright all his life.
Redeeming Relevance: Vayikra Avoidance Syndrome and the Torah on One Foot
Because sefer Vayikra is more difficult, we tend to look at it less. But because we look at it less, we also understand it less, which – in turn – keeps it difficult and less appealing. In a nutshell, that is what I call Vayikra Avoidance Syndrome.
By Appointment of the King
When Yosef related his dreams to his brothers and to his father, his brothers became jealous of him. Not his father. His father shamar es ha’davar, kept it in mind and looked forward to the time when Yosef’s dreams would come true (Rashi to Bereishis 37:11).
Dancing In The Vineyard
The Sforno says that the essence of the sin of the golden calf was the dancing, without the dancing the sin would not have been so severe.
TORAH SHORTS: Parshat Miketz: Giving the Benefit of the Love
Love is the affinity that links and draws together the elements of the world... Love, in fact, is the agent of universal synthesis. -Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Calling The Name Of Hashem
Shmuel overcome his baser nature and his worldly urges in order to fully devote himself to leading Israel in purity and doing the will of Hashem.
No Jew Is Too Far Gone
No Jew need be intimidated by the imagined enormity of the leap from non-observance to observance. Moreover, every mitzvah a Jew performs creates a permanent bond with Hashem that can never be erased.
Honoring A Father
Shem realized that he owed his existence to his father who brought him into the world.
Learning To Enjoy This World
In the Aseres Ha’Dibros we are told Hashem pays back the wicked for four generations and the righteous for two thousand generations. Rashi explains the ratio of two thousand to four comes out to be five hundred to one. This teaches us the measure of good to bad in the world is five hundred to one.
True Leadership
Moshe was a stutterer and did not look for a leadership role, but he proved that one can lead even without charisma – through the power of faith, prayer, and a sense of mission.
Parshas Vayishlach
We’re the westernmost Jewish community on the planet (!) thus always “wrapping it up” for Klal Yisroel by making the last kiddush or havdalla, lighting the last Menorah, etc.
What’s Your Mission Statement?
R’ Nachman of Breslov states that a Jew must disregard two days – yesterday and tomorrow.
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