Aleph Beta: Va’Etchanan: Building an Intimate Relationship with God
In Parshat Va'Etchanan, Moses speaks, a lot - but it all seems so boring, and disconnected. What is he REALLY talking about?
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 Vaetchanan: Choice Exile
The real community of man, in the midst of all the self-contradictory simulacra of community, is the community of those who seek the truth, of potential knowers... of all men to the extent that they know. -Allan Bloom, The Closing of the American Mind
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Ve’etchanan :Why You Don’t Need to Worship Idols
...And Why You Might Have Thought Otherwise
The Good Land
Our being a persecuted minority among the gentile nations was to teach us to appreciate the importance of our own holy, Jewish Land.
What’s The Big Comfort Of Shabbos Nachamu?
I believe the nechama, the comfort, is that we have changed as a result of our efforts during the Three Weeks and the Nine Days, learning how to be more careful with sinas chinam, baseless hatred, and lashon hara, evil slander.
Half A Mitzvah
One should not become discouraged thinking that he will not be able to master the depth and breadth of the Torah, and therefore he might as well not learn at all. Our sages teach us (Avos 2:16), You are not required to complete the task.
The Torah’s Insists Uganda is for the Ugandans
The Land of Israel being the ideal homeland of the Jews is that it is the only one. It is ideal, and nowhere else
Tzion Redeemed In Justice
Because Avraham is no longer physically with us in our world, this personal role is fulfilled through the exercise of the divine attribute that Avraham exemplified – that of chesed (kindness). When the power of the kindness of Avraham is made to resonate in the world, then we will know that the redemption is at hand.
Torah Shorts: Parshat Devarim: Hypocritical Humility
And the Devil did grin, for his darling sin is pride that apes humility. -Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Expectation Of Redemption
Many of us have lost it because we don’t see the true value of it. What would having the Beit HaMikdash add to my life that I don’t have already?
Atonement
Even though the realm of evil may at times become stronger, one need not fear as he has hope and faith that Hashem is with us.
A Mission For The Nine Days
The Chovos HaLevovos gives us a chilling deterrent from speaking lashon hara. He warns us that if we speak lashon hara about someone, Hashem will take away some of our merits and give them to the person we spoke badly about.
TORAH SHORTS: Pillars of the Universe: Parshat Matot-Masai
Duct tape is like the force. It has a light side, a dark side, and it holds the universe together. -Carl Zwanzig
Reading Between the Lines
once Aharon dies and they confront the king of Arad, they decide upon a different journey in which they will enter Israel through the “side door.”
The Power Of Prayer
It was necessary to have an equal number of people going to war, as were assigned to pray. This was to highlight the awareness that it was not the strength of those fighting that determined their victory over the Midyanim, but the prayers of the other 12,000 soldiers.
The Secret To A Happy Home (Part II)
I realized that although he was in his late 80s, he wanted to walk from the bungalow all the way to the parking lot – a great distance – in order to personally greet her upon her arrival. That left an indelible impression upon me, of how a husband is supposed to show a wife that she is wanted.
Pursuing Peace
The last time the Torah mentions Aharon actually saying anything of his own volition, is when Miriam speaks lashon hara against Moshe. Aharon’s words are a plea for Moshe to pray to G-d to heal their sister.
Differential Enemies
An Egyptian whose ancestors committed genocide against our people may be accepted as a convert after three generations, but a Moabite and Amonite – who never gave us bread and water, they may never be accepted?
What Does The Tzaddik Ask For Himself
Moshe knows he’s running out of time, he wants to make his final request of Hashem.
Am Echad
How could we err and think, like the Jews of Hungary did, that the nations of the world will protect us during times of tribulation? When the inhumane policies of the evil Hitler, yemach shemo, had already affected most of the countries in Europe after four years, people still paid no attention.
The Secret To A Happy Home (Part I)
The successful relationship between husband and wife makes the home into a sanctuary as it says, Ish v’isha shalom beineihem, Shechina shruyah beineihem – A husband and wife, if there is peace between them, then the divine Presence dwells between them.
Causing Pain – Parshat Balak
What is the biblical source for not causing pain to animals?
The Destination And The Journey
In the human experience, there’s no guarantee of a safe and successful landing and return. What is critical is not the ultimate destination, but the values we bring to the journey of life.
Muhammad Deif & Donald Trump – Making Sense Of What Happened
When you feel that the world is going mad, it is important to return to our sources. Our Torah portion this week reminds us that what we are experiencing today has occurred before.
Redeeming Relevance: Parshat Balak: What You Don’t Know Won’t Hurt You?
How important are failed plans and plots, such that the Torah needs to mention any of them at all?
Moshe’s Lost Book
Parashat Balak is a very interesting parasha in that it relates an incident that none of Am Yisrael observed directly.
The Sin Detector
Balak realized that the land of the Amorites, including the strip of land between the Arnon River and the Yabbok river which formerly belonged to Moav, was eventually destined to be taken over by the Jews in accordance with G-d’s promise to Avraham.
TORAH SHORTS: Parshat Balak: Evil-Eye Protection
Ignorance, the root and stem of all evil. -Plato
The Power Of Our Enemies To Harm Us
Bilaam’s hope is to reduce the power of Israel by carving away at our fighting men through spiritual means, so that they will be removed from the army as they are condemned to perdition for their transgressions.
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