Shoftim תשפ”ה

“Good fences make good neighbors,” goes the saying. Visible and clearly defined boundaries and limitations make it easy to respect the property of others. People run into trouble only when it is unclear to them where their domain ends and the other’s domain begins. Rabbeinu Bachya (1255-1340) begins his commentary on this week’s portion

Reeh תשפ”ה

A student recently asked me, “There are two major types of social systems, democracy andsocialism. What social system does the Torah recommend?”I answered him that the Torah’s social system is neither, as it operates on a different principlealtogether.A democracy is premised on each citizen having inalienable rights, which others must respect. Aperson whose rights have

Parshat Ekev תשפ”ה

Ekev is the third portion in the fifth and last book of the Torah,דברים Devarim(Deuteronomy), which Moshe related in its entirety to the Jewish people in the last 36days of his life, the last three portions (וילך, האזינו, וזאת הברכה ) being said on the 7 th ofAdar, the day Moshe died.Our sages tell us

Vaetchanan תשפ”ה

The Talmud (Makot 23b) teaches us that Hashem gave the Jewish people 613 מצות –Mitzvot (commandments).דרש רבי שמלאי: שש מאות ושלש עשרה מצות נאמרו לו למשה …אמר רב המנונא מאי קרא תורה צוה לנו משהמורשה תורה בגימטריא שית מאה וחד סרי הוי אנכי ולא יהיה לך מפי הגבורה שמענוםRabbi Simlai taught: 613 commandments were told

Me Time: Ushering the Joy

Me Time | Mrs. Dassie Bausk Print this article

Tisha B’Av תשפ”ה

Napoleon was once passing a shul in Paris on Tisha B’Av when he heard the sounds of crying and wailing coming from within. Thinking that something terrible was going on, he stepped inside to see what he could do to help. What he saw shocked him. People were sitting on the floor with candles lit