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High Holidays 5782

Days of Awe תשפ"ג We stand today at the beginning of the High Holiday season. (For scheduling purposes, next week at this time we will be in Shul reciting Rosh Hashanah prayers. The following week will be Yom Kippur eve, and…

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Rosh Hashanah 5782

Rosh Hashanah The Torah (Deuteronomy 29:1) calls Rosh Hashanah “יום תרועה” a day of “teruah.” The exact meaning of the word “teruah” is a mystery, and a bit of detective work was necessary to define it. The first step was…

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Ki Teitzei 5782

Ki Teitzei תשפ"ב             Moshe took a mere thirty-six days to teach the entire book of Deuteronomy to the Jewish people. As we near the book’s end, Moshe’s death and the transition to Yehoshua’s leadership is only days away. This means that…

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Parshat Shoftim 5782

Parashat Shoftim תשפ"ב The first verse in this week’s portion (Deuteronomy 16:18) instructs us:  (יח) שֹׁפְטִים וְשֹׁטְרִים תִּתֶּן לְךָ בְּכָל שְׁעָרֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר יְדֹוָד אֱלֹהֶיךָ נֹתֵן לְךָ לִשְׁבָטֶיךָ וְשָׁפְטוּ אֶת הָעָם מִשְׁפַּט צֶדֶק 18) Judges and policemen you shall appoint in all…

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Parshat Re’eh 5782

 Parshat Reeh תשפ"ב  This week’s portion discloses the secret to becoming wealthy. (It’s the oldest get rich scheme in the book!) The verse says (Deuteronomy 14:22):  כב) עַשֵּׂר תְּעַשֵּׂר אֵת כָּל תְּבוּאַת זַרְעֶךָ הַיֹּצֵא הַשָּׂדֶה שָׁנָה שָׁנָה             22) You shall surely tithe the…

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Parshat Ekev 5782

Parashat Ekev תשפ"ב In this week’s portion, Ekev (Deuteronomy 7:12-16), Hashem promises the Jewish people that if they keep the Torah, He will guarantee that all material matters will be perfect.  (יב) וְהָיָה עֵקֶב תִּשְׁמְעוּן אֵת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים הָאֵלֶּה וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם…

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Vaetchanan 5782

Vaetchanan תשפב             The Talmud (Makot 23b) teaches us that Hashem gave the Jewish people 613 מצות - commandments.  דרש רבי שמלאי שש מאות ושלש עשרה מצות נאמרו לו למשה ...אמר רב המנונא מאי קרא תורה צוה לנו משה מורשה תורה בגימטריא שית מאה…

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