Acharei Mot – Kedoshim תשפ This week (if shul were open!), we would read a double portion, Acharei Mot and Kedoshim. The third verse in Kedoshim (Leviticus 19:3) tells us: (ג) אִישׁ אִמּוֹ וְאָבִיו תִּירָאוּ וְאֶת שַׁבְּתֹתַי תִּשְׁמֹרוּ אֲנִי יְדֹוָד…
Tazriah – Metzorah תשפ This coming Shabbat, two portions will be read in Shul (that is, if there were services). The main topic of these two portions is the “metzorah,” one who was stricken with the malady -צרעת “tzaraat” (or…
Pesach II תשע"ט The Pesach holiday which commemorates the release of the Jewish nation from 210 years of slavery in Egypt is celebrated in the month of Nissan. Nevertheless, we are commanded to remember the Exodus from Egypt twice…
Pesach תשפ During the period of the Judges (the roughly 350 years from the death of Joshua until David became king), the Jewish people had sinned, and Hashem subjugated them to the Midianites for seven years. In desperation, the people…
Parshat Tzav תשפ This week’s portion, Tzav, details the different types of sacrifices that one may need to bring. A sacrifice is called a קרבן (korban), the root of which is קרב - which means close. A sacrifice’s purpose is…
Parshat Vayikra תשפ In Proverbs (3:15-18), King Solomon, the wisest of all men, extolls the virtues of the Torah: (טו) יְקָרָה הִיא מִפְּנִינִים וְכָל חֲפָצֶיךָ לֹא יִשְׁווּ בָה (טז) אֹרֶךְ יָמִים בִּימִינָהּ בִּשְׂמֹאולָהּ עֹשֶׁר וְכָבוֹד (יז) דְּרָכֶיהָ דַרְכֵי נֹעַם…
Parshat Vayakhel Pekudei תשפ Although we read about the sin of the Golden Calf in last week’s Torah portion, Ki Tisah, because it is the subject of so much misunderstanding, we should look at the events through the eyes of…
Purim תשפ Pesach is the holiday on which we celebrate the open miracles that HaShem did for the Jewish people in Egypt to take them from slavery to freedom. Purim, on the other hand, is when we celebrate HaShem’s hidden…
Terumah תש"פ Exodus 25:1-2 "וַיְדַבֵּר ה' אֶל משֶׁה לֵּאמֹר: דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִקְחוּ לִי תְּרוּמָה מֵאֵת כָּל אִישׁ אֲשֶׁר יִדְּבֶנּוּ לִבּוֹ תִּקְחוּ אֶת תְּרוּמָתִי:" “ HaShem spoke to Moshe to say. Speak to the children of Israel let…
Parshat Mishpatim תש"פ “And these are the laws [“Mishpatim”] that you should place before them”: “And”—Parshat Mishpatim starts off in a peculiar way. The Hebrew text begins with a “ו”, which translates as “And,” a word usually used to connect…