Parshat Vayikra תשפ"ג This week we begin the third book of the Torah, ויקרא (Leviticus). Another name for this book is תורת כהנים, (the Laws for the Kohanim), because most of it deals with the laws of the service in the Tabernacle, the domain…
שבת החודש - Shabbat HaChodesh On the last day of the month of Adar, 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 new…
Purim תשפ״ג Our Sages have revealed a deep and profound insight into human nature: אדם נפעל כפי פעולותיו “A person’s character is shaped by his actions.,” that is, person’s deeds will have a profound affect on his character. The 13th century Sefer Hachinuch,…
Teruma תשפג The following ideas were taken from The ,שפתי חיים Rabbi Chaim Friedlander זצ"ל. Before creating Adam, Hashem consulted with the angels. Since man is the purpose of creation, and the angels were created to serve him, Hashem included them in the decision. …
Parshat Mishpatim תשפג And, Parshat Mishpatim starts off in a peculiar way (Exodus 21:1). The Hebrew text begins with a “ו“, which translates as “And,” a word usually used to connect two ideas or concepts. But this is the beginning of a new…
Yitro תשפ"ג Hashem created this world and everything in it with a purpose, which Hashem revealed in the Torah’s very first word. As Rashi explains (Genesis 1:1): א) בְּרֵאשִׁית בָּרָא אֱלֹקים אֵת הַשָּׁמַיִם וְאֵת הָאָרֶץ: 1) In the beginning…
Beshalach תשפ"ג To Take or Not to Take; that is the Question! When our forefather Avraham Avivu was seventy years old, at the ברית בין הבתרים - the Covenant of the Pieces, Hashem told him (Genesis 15:13-14) that his grandchildren would be slaves…
Bo תשפג A Confirmation for the Oral Torah The commandment to wear tefillin is written four times in the Torah. Indeed, each paragraph of the Torah containing that command constitutes the “script” that a scribe writes on parchment, which he then…
Parshat Vaera תשפג When Hashem appeared to Moshe at the burning bush, and Moshe responded that the people would not believe that Hashem had really appeared to him, Hashem gave Moshe three miracles to perform to convince the people. The first…
Shemot תשפג This coming Shabbat we begin reading the second book of the Torah, Sefer Shemot, the book of Exodus. The רמב"ן (Ramban) Nachmanides, calls this second book ספר הגאולה - “The Book of Redemption.” Despite Moshe and Aharon receiving most of the attention (along with Hashem!) for freeing…