“Good fences make good neighbors,” goes the saying.[*] Visible and clearly defined boundaries and limitations make it easy to respect the property of others. People run into trouble only when it is unclear to them where their domain ends…
A student recently asked me, “There are two major types of social systems, democracy andsocialism. What social system does the Torah recommend?”I answered him that the Torah’s social system is neither, as it operates on a different principlealtogether.A democracy is…
Ekev is the third portion in the fifth and last book of the Torah,דברים Devarim(Deuteronomy), which Moshe related in its entirety to the Jewish people in the last 36days of his life, the last three portions (וילך, האזינו, וזאת הברכה…
The Talmud (Makot 23b) teaches us that Hashem gave the Jewish people 613 מצות -Mitzvot (commandments).דרש רבי שמלאי: שש מאות ושלש עשרה מצות נאמרו לו למשה …אמר רב המנונא מאי קרא תורה צוה לנו משהמורשה תורה בגימטריא שית מאה וחד…
Napoleon was once passing a shul in Paris on Tisha B’Av when he heard the sounds of crying and wailing coming from within. Thinking that something terrible was going on, he stepped inside to see what he could do to…
It is difficult for us to appreciate the power of our speech since we live in a materialistic world, where actions, which we can see and evaluate, take on greater importance than speech, which seems to be just a string…
This past Sunday, July 13th, was the fast of the 17th of Tammuz, and on Sunday, August 3rd )three weeks from then,( we will observe “Tisha b’Av” the fast of the 9th day of Av. These two fasts are associated…
It is customary, when travelling by plane, to acknowledge your seatmate when takingyour seat, and maybe even to say a word or two as you deplane. Conversation betweenseatmates during flight is uncommon, perhaps, because people have come to enjoy a…
In this week’s portion’s final two chapters, the Jewish nation is attacked by theworld’s two most powerful leaders, Sichon, King of the Emori, and Og, king of Bashan,whom the Jews handily defeated. When the Jewish people merely asked Sichonpermission to…
In this week’s portion we learn about Moshe’s cousin, Korach, who challengedMoshe’s authority claiming that, out of nepotism, Moshe chose his brother Aharon to bethe high priest. Korach alleged that Aharon’s position should have gone to him.Korach was a 130-year-old…