Parshat Noach Rashi begins his Torah commentary with Rabbi Yitzchak’s famous question: Why did Hashem begin the Torah with a description of Creation? Isn’t the Torah’s purpose to convey to man his obligations in the form of the commandments that…
Parshat Mishpatim And, Parshat Mishpatim starts off in a peculiar way. 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…
Parshat Lech Lecha The book of Bereshit is the book of creation. It begins with the creation of the physical world and continues to detail the creation of the Jewish nation, the ultimate purpose for the world’s creation. The stories…
Parshat Emor This week’s portion contains the commandment to sanctify Hashem’s name. The verse states (Leviticus 22:32): ספר ויקרא פרק כב לב) וְלֹא תְחַלְּלוּ אֶת שֵׁם קָדְשִׁי וְנִקְדַּשְׁתִּי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל אֲנִי יְדֹוָד מְקַדִּשְׁכֶם You shall not desecrate My holy…
Parshat Korach The name of this week’s Torah portion is Korach. Korach is the name of the great and holy man who created a rebellion against Moshe. I am sure you are wondering about my choice of words in describing…
Parshat Ekev Ekev is the third portion in the book of Devarim (Deuteronomy), the fifth book of the Torah. This entire book was told to the Jewish people in the last thirty six days of Moshe’s life, with last three…
Parshat Chukat The name of this week’s Torah reading is Chukat. A חק is an edict, so the word חקת means “the edict of” and in context “This is the edict of the Torah.” The Torah continues to detail…
Chayei Sarah ספר בראשית פרק כג (א) וַיִּהְיוּ חַיֵּי שָׂרָה מֵאָה שָׁנָה וְעֶשְׂרִים שָׁנָה וְשֶׁבַע שָׁנִים שְׁנֵי חַיֵּי שָׂרָה: 1) Sarah lived one hundred years, twenty years, and seven years; the years of Sarah's life. Sarah died in Kiriath-arba,…