Its Very Good
(Torah Portion Beraishis) It’s Very Good! As we are set to begin the new yearly cycle of the weekly Torah reading, one may wonder what is the purpose of reviewing the Torah again and again? Is there more to Torah then the average book that is read once, maybe twice and then put away with …
A Bunch of Babble
(Torah Portion Noach) A Bunch of Babble Although the Torah records the incident of the Tower of Bavel, it does not explicitly state what the people were trying to accomplish. Our Sages tell us that either they were setting out to build towers to support the heavens in order to prevent another flood from occurring, …
Super Stars
(Torah Portion Lech Lecha) Super Stars When our forefather Avraham was seventy-five years old, G-d promised him that he would have a child and eventually his descendants would be numerous like the stars in heaven. The Talmud makes a calculation that in all the galaxies in heaven there are literally quadrillions of stars. This is …
Prayers Revolutionized
(Torah Portion Vayairah) Prayers Revolutionized When G-d informed Avraham about His plan to destroy the Cities of Sedom and Amorah – Avraham immediately engaged himself in prayer, hoping that G-d would cancel His plan. Avraham begged, “Perhaps there are 50 righteous people living in the cities and through their merits it will help avert Your …
Hot or Cold
(Torah Portion Chayai Sarah) Hot or Cold This week’s Haftorah relates that King David was old and his body could not get warm no matter how many layers of clothing he covered himself with. Why was King David subject to such an ailment? King David had many challenges in his lifetime. One of them was …
Let It Go
(Torah Portion Toldos) Let it Go The Torah relates that our matriarch Rivka was pregnant with twin boys, Yaacov and Aisav. She was informed through prophecy that Yaacov would be devout and pious, while Aisav would be wicked. Until the boys were fifteen years old their dissimilar personalities were not apparent. However, on the day …
It Happened Right Here
(Torah Portion Vayaitzai) It Happened Right Here! Greetings from the holy City of Jerusalem! Malki and I are in Israel for a short but uplifting and electrifying visit. As of now, the war is going on in Southern Israel and Gaza, and here in Jerusalem for the first time in many years, siren warnings of …
Switched
(Torah Portion Vayishlach) Switched Reuven was the first-born son of Yaacov and Leah, and the first of the twelve tribes. Along with this first-born right came many prestigious positions: the priesthood, the monarchy and the right to a double portion of inheritance. However, because of a questionable incident that Reuven was involved in, he forfeited …
Judaica
(Torah Portion Vayaishev) Judaica If one takes a look around an ordinary Jewish home, he is sure to notice some type of Judaica or memorabilia displayed. Some of the more obvious ones are: the Mezzuza affixed to the doorpost, Shabbat candlesticks, a Kiddush Cup, a Chanukah Menorah, a Shofar, Yarmulkas, Prayer books, Books on Torah …
Internal Beauty
(Torah Portion Miketz) Internal Beauty The centerpiece of the City of Jerusalem was G-d’s magnificent and breathtaking Holy Temple on Mount Moriah. The story of Chanukah occurred while Israel was ruled by the Greeks. Unlike their predecessor, the Babylonians, who had captured the first Temple and then destroyed it, the Greeks plundered the Temple’s contents …
Our Heroes
(Torah Portion Vayigash) Our Heroes Yosef, who had become the Viceroy of Egypt, came face to face with his brothers, who twenty-two years earlier, had sold him as a slave. Yosef recognized his brothers; however they did not recognize him. Yosef saw this event as an actualization of his prophetic dreams which had predicted that …
Staying Alive
(Torah Portion Vayechi) Staying Alive! This week’s portion tells us that our forefather Yaakov lived the last years of his life in Egypt. The title of this week’s Portion is Vayechi – and he lived. The Torah draws our attention to the word “and he lived” to indicate that during the final seventeen years of …
