Parshat Noach 5779

Parshat Noach תשע"ט When introducing us to Noach, Hashem is careful to tell us that Noach is a צדיק  - a completely righteous person. This portion begins (Genesis 6:9) ספר בראשית פרק ו ט) אֵלֶּה תּוֹלְדֹת נֹחַ נֹחַ אִישׁ צַדִּיק…

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Sukkot 5779

Sukkot The Tur (written by R. Jacob ben Asher 1269-1343) notes in the name of his brother that the three festivals, Pesach, Shavuot, and Sukkot, correspond to our three forefathers, Avraham, Yitzchak, and Yaakov: Passover corresponds to Avraham because the…

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Yom Kippur 5779

Yom Kippur During the course of the year when we twice daily say the Shema, the second verse, ברוך שם כבוד מלכותו לעולם ועד  (Baruch shem ..) Blessed forever is Hashem’s Honorable Name, is said silently. On Yom Kippur, however,…

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Rosh Hashanah Part II

Rosh Hashanah Part II The Men of the Great Assembly, אנשי כנסת הגדולה , composed the prayers in the סדור, Siddur, the Jewish prayer book . This esteemed assemblage comprised 120 holy rabbis, many of whom were also prophets. As…

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Elul 5578

The Month of Elul Rosh Hashanah, which falls on the 1st day of the month of Tishrei (this year, Sunday night, September 9th), marks the beginning of the new year 5779. This counts the years since the world’s creation, which…

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Parshat Shoftim 5778

Parshat Shoftim תשע"ח If statistics are correct, Jews comprise .02% of the world’s population. There are over 2.5 billion Christians, almost 2 billion Muslims, billions more people in many other religions, including non-believers. The Torah instructs us to follow the…

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Parshat Reeh 5778

Parshat Reeh  This week’s portion discloses the secret to becoming wealthy. (This is the oldest get rich scheme in the book!) The verse says: ספר דברים פרק יד כב) עַשֵּׂר תְּעַשֵּׂר אֵת כָּל תְּבוּאַת זַרְעֶךָ הַיֹּצֵא הַשָּׂדֶה שָׁנָה שָׁנָה 22)…

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Parshat Eikev 5778

Parshat Eikev                 In this week’s portion we come to the only ברכה  - blessing mandated by the Torah according to all opinions. This blessing is the ברכת המזון - Birkat Hamazon, the Grace after meals. It is derived from…

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