Parshas Shelach The last paragraph of this week’s Torah portion, contains the commandment to put tzizit on any four-cornered garment that we wear. We fulfill this mitzvah by wearing a Talit when we pray shacharit the morning prayer, and by…
Parshat BeHaalotcha This week’s Torah reading begins by instructing Aharon the High Priest on how to light the Menorah as part of the daily Tabernacle service: When lighting the wicks of the menorah, the three on the right and the…
Parshat Naso תשע"ט Maimonides writes (Ishus 1:1): א) קודם מתן תורה היה אדם פוגע אשה בשוק אם רצה הוא והיא לישא אותה מכניסה לביתו ובועלה בינו לבין עצמו ותהיה לו לאשה כיון שנתנה תורה נצטוו ישראל שאם ירצה האיש לישא…
Shavuot Upset because the JCC was closed on all Jewish holidays, including Shavuot, an angry board member once confronted the local JCC’s president at a meeting, asserting, “I understand the JCC being closed on the High Holidays and Passover,” he…
Mesorah Partners On the 4th of Sivan in the year 2448 (3,331 years ago), two days before Moshe ascended Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments, he wrote a Torah scroll containing the information from Genesis up to that point…
Sefirat Ha'Omer ll Tomorrow night, we will count the 33rd day of the omer, the day that ends the 33-day ban (starting from Pesach) on getting married. This custom is mentioned in the שולחן ערוך - Code of Jewish Law,…
Emor תשע"ט The Counting of the Omer and the Authority of the Sages Around the year 235 BCE, Tzadok and Baytus, students of Antignos Ish Socho, misunderstood their teacher to say that there is no reward in the world to…
Kedoshim תשע"ט The famous, oft-quoted, verse from the Torah, “Love thy neighbor as thyself,” is found in this week’s portion. Yet, a brief internet search for the words, “love thy neighbor as thyself,” repeatedly yields the following result: [37]…
Acharei Mot תשע"ט A curious verse in this week’s portion (Leviticus 18:5) informs us: ה) וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם אֶת חֻקֹּתַי וְאֶת מִשְׁפָּטַי אֲשֶׁר יַעֲשֶׂה אֹתָם הָאָדָם וָחַי בָּהֶם אֲנִי יְדֹוָד: 5) You shall observe My decrees and My laws, which people shall…
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 each…