Author's posts
May 18
Valued!
- By Dovid Saks in 5783, Bamidbar
In this week’s Parsha, G-d commands Moshe to take a census of the Jewish males ranging from 20-60 years of age. The total came to 603,550. Moshe was also instructed to take two additional censuses. One, of the tribe of Levi, and another of the first-born males. The total for the Levites came to …
May 11
Admiration!
- By Dovid Saks in 5783, Vayikra
This week, while studying Daf Yomi – a systematic worldwide daily page of Talmud study – I came across the following. The Gemorah/Talmud asks, what words do the congregation recite when the Chazon recites Modim/Thanks during his repetition of the Amidah. The Gemorah quotes the opinions of five Sages. Each one presented a particular expression …
May 04
Courtesy!
- By Dovid Saks in 5783, Vayikra
The Torah instructs us to count each day from the second day of Pesach for 49 days until the Holiday of Shavuos. Today is the 28th day of the Omer count, which means the holiday of Shavuos will be in three weeks. The Sefiras Ha’Omer counting period is observed as a semi-mourning period. There are …
Apr 27
Priorities!
- By Dovid Saks in 5783, Vayikra
Israeli journalist, Sivan Rahav-Meir recently wrote about a group of Israeli teenagers who were finalists in an international competition of robotics in Houston, Texas. Their team consisted of students from the Amit High School in Modi’in and had succeeded in reaching the final stage of the competition which was held on Shabbat. They wrote a …
Apr 20
Optimism!
- By Dovid Saks in 5783, Vayikra
The month of Nissan was chosen as the first month of the lunar calendar year because that is when G-d instructed Moshe in the laws determining that Rosh Chodesh is at the first appearance of the moon. Nissan holds a special place for G-d, since in this month He freed His nation from Egypt and …
Apr 10
Wealth!
The last days of Pesach are observed on Wednesday and Thursday. The Torah calls it a day of holy calling. Three days after the Jews were freed from Egypt, Pharoh and his army chased after the Jews. When they caught up with the Jews, G-d protected the Jews by placing His cloud of glory between …
Mar 30
Lift Up!
As the Jews were getting ready to enter the Land of Israel, they were met with resistance from a few nations that hated them. The Torah tells us that Balak, the King of Moav, feared that the Jews would attack his nation, and hired Billam, a non-Jewish prophet, to use his powers to curse the …
Mar 23
No Eggs!
- By Dovid Saks in 5783, Vayikra
This week’s entire Torah portion consists of the laws of the various sacrifices that were offered in the Temple. The first blood taken from an animal or a bird sacrifice was dashed in a certain way on the Altar and certain fats of the animal were offered on the Altar. The Torah forbids us to …
Mar 16
Unaccounted!
- By Dovid Saks in 5783, Shemos
Recently, while shopping, I used a self-checkout lane. As I approached the exit, an employee asked to see my receipt to verify that all items were accounted for. I began searching for the receipt, and everything came out except the receipt I was asked to produce. I told the person, I must have left the …
Mar 09
Influencers!
- By Dovid Saks in 5783, Shemos
Twenty-eight years ago, I embarked on a project, to send out a weekly D’var Torah. I called it the Shabbat Shalom Fax – since at that time, February 1995, faxes were the means of spreading information to the masses in a timely fashion. After some time, recipients began calling it the Saks Fax. As technology …
Jewish Heritage Connection
Rabbi Dovid Saks, Director
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