Introduction "וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל מָה ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ שֹׁאֵל מֵעִמָּךְ כִּי אִם לְיִרְאָה אֶת ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ... וּלְאַהֲבָה אֹתוֹ... וְלִשְׁמֹר אֶת מִצְוֹת ה'... לְטוֹב לָךְ" "And now, Israel, what does the L-rd your G-d ask of you but to fear the L-rd your…
Introduction "וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל מָה ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ שֹׁאֵל מֵעִמָּךְ כִּי אִם לְיִרְאָה אֶת ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ... וּלְאַהֲבָה אֹתוֹ... וְלִשְׁמֹר אֶת מִצְוֹת ה'... לְטוֹב לָךְ" "And now, Israel, what does the L-rd your G-d ask of you but to fear the L-rd your…
Introduction "וְעַתָּה יִשְׂרָאֵל מָה ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ שֹׁאֵל מֵעִמָּךְ כִּי אִם לְיִרְאָה אֶת ה' אֱלֹקֶיךָ... וּלְאַהֲבָה אֹתוֹ... וְלִשְׁמֹר אֶת מִצְוֹת ה'... לְטוֹב לָךְ" "And now, Israel, what does the L-rd your G-d ask of you but to fear the L-rd your…
This coming Wednesday night and Thursday, we observe the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, Tisha Ba’av, the 9th day of the month of Av. Let’s go back to the origin of this day marked for Jewish tragedy and suffering:…
Background We are in mourning. We are in the middle of the 3 weeks, a period of mourning that leads up to and includes the 9th of Av, the saddest day in the Jewish calendar, the day that both the…
Torah, Tefillah, and the Two Fronts of Jewish Survival There are few topics in the Jewish world today that create as much pain, tension, and misunderstanding as the question of army service and yeshiva learning in Eretz Yisrael, the Land…
What Is a Brit? A Precise Definition The word brit is usually translated “covenant” — but that English word is nearly as opaque as the Hebrew. To understand what a brit is, we first need to clear away three things…
Categorization of Mitzos In total, there are 613 mitzvot, or commandments, in the Torah. They encompass much of our daily living; from which animals can pull a plow together, to which foods we eat on varied days. We have different…
When a Mission Stops Being a Shlichus The primary narrative of our parsha is the story of the spies. Before we delve into it in depth, here is a quick synopsis of what transpired. Moshe sent twelve distinguished men, one…
Introduction We tend to think of emunah — faith, or more precisely, faithfulness: a deep, abiding trust and orientation toward G-d — as a light switch. Either it is on or it is off. Either you believe in G-d or…