Parshas Shelah– This week’s portion relates the story of the 12 spieswho Moshe sent into Israel to see the Land and report to the Jewishpeople. Ten of them, unfortunately, misinterpreted every sign thatHashem had provided to show them that He…
The two-day (outside of Israel) Festival of Shavuot begins this Sunday night and concludes on Tuesday night. (Note: There will be no Partners next Tuesday.) Shavuot, the 6th of the Hebrew month of Sivan, is the day that the Jewish…
This week, we read Behar and Bechukotai, the last two portions in the book of Vayikra. The second portion Bechukotai rests its fame on the תוכחה - the Tochacha. (No English word adequately captures the meaning of Tochacha, but its…
This week’s portion contains the mitzvah “to count the omer,” one which, at this time of the year, we are in the midst of fulfilling. Starting from the second day of Passover, we make a blessing every night for seven…
This week, because of the way that the calendar works, we read a double portion, Acharei Mot and Kedoshim (last year, for example, they came out on separate weeks). The third verse in Kedoshim (Leviticus 19:3) tells us: (ג) אִישׁ…
This coming Shabbat, two portions – Tazriah and Metzorah - will be read in Shul. The main topic of these two portions is the מצורע - “metzorah,” one who is stricken with the malady -צרעת “tzaraat” (or tzaraas). The usual…
When the Holy Temple stood, a daily sacrifice was brought every morning and evening. The morning prayer שחרית - Shacharit corresponds to and substitutes for the morning sacrifice and מנחה - Mincha, the afternoon service, corresponds and substitutes for the…
This booklet may be used at your seder to help understand the Haggadah. This coming Saturday night, the 15th day of Nissan, we will all be sitting at the first Pesach seder celebrating the Passover holiday. Some of us will…
On the last day of the month of Adar some 3,500 years ago, as the first sliver of the new moon signaling the beginning of the new month Nissan appeared, Hashem taught Moshe and Aharon the mitzvah of sanctifying the…
This week’s portion Vayakhel follows on the heels of Parshat Ki Tisa, the portion that relates the story of the golden calf. A brief overview of the events leading up to where we are now will give us a greater…