Category: 5771

Lessons for the Week

(Torah Portion Metzora) Lessons for the Week The Parshas of this week and last, deal primarily with tzaraas – colored patches on one’s home, clothing or body – which were spiritual signs that the sin of Lashon Harah – speaking ill of others – was transgressed. The Medrash points out that when these laws are …

Continue reading

Fake ID

(Torah Portion Acharai Mos) Fake ID The City of Vilna was shocked! The husband of a young bride had vanished leaving no indication of his whereabouts. Thus, his wife became an Agunah, unable to remarry until credible information about his death was received, or until he appeared to give his wife a Get – Jewish …

Continue reading

A Bit too Early

(Pesach 5771) A Bit Too Early Thirty years before the Jews left Egypt, 200,000 members of the tribe of Efraim escaped making their way to the Promised Land of Canaan via the Land of the Philistines. When they reached the city of Gat, the Philistines waged battle against the escapees and wiped them out. What …

Continue reading

Love Should Conquer

(Torah Portion Kedoshim) Love Should Conquer We count a 49 day period leading us to the Holiday of Shavuos, starting from the second night of Pesach. Our Sages tell us that the Jews in Egypt had sunk to the 49th level of impurity. Had they sunk to the 50th level of impurity, the lowest level, …

Continue reading

A Glimpse of the Humble

(Torah Portion Emor) A Glimpse of the Humble According to our Kabalistic teachings, each Hebrew month of the year has a unique color/stone, a Hebrew letter, and is associated with a particular tribe. Iyar, the month we welcome today, is associated with the Hebrew letter Vuv. The letter Vuv means, “and” when it appears as …

Continue reading

Powerless to Potential

(Torah Portion Behar) Powerless to Potential One of the laws in this week’s Torah portion deals with one who became impoverished and had no resort other than to sell his ancestral allotted parcel of land in Israel. The law states that after two years following the sale, a relative of the seller may redeem the …

Continue reading

Most Wanted

(Torah Portion Bechukosai) Most Wanted I want to focus on a person who was pursued and hunted, and found refuge in a cave for 12 years. No, he was not a mass murderer, terrorist or one wanted for his evil behavior. On the contrary…. he was placed on the most wanted list by the Romans …

Continue reading

Names

Torah Portion Shemos) Names This week’s portion is called Shemos – names. In it many names of people are recorded, such as, Avraham, Yitzchok, Yaacov and his 12 sons – the tribes of Israel, Moshe, his wife Tzipora, Gershom one of their sons, Aaron, the special Jewish midwives Shifra and Puah, Moshe’s father-in-law Yisro and …

Continue reading

Answers to Some Whys

(Torah Portion Bo) Answers to Some Whys Has it ever bothered you, why the Jews deserved to suffer so many years of slavery in Egypt? The Torah relates that when G-d told our forefather Avraham that his children would inherit the Land of Israel, he asked G-d for a sign of confirmation. Immediately G-d informed …

Continue reading

Compensation for All the Hard Work

(Torah Portion Bo) Compensation for All the Hard Work There are two sections in this week’s parsha that contain the commandment to write and wear Tefilin – Phylacteries. These sections are two of the four sections that make up our Tefilin. I recall reading a story of a Jewish teenager living in Communist Russia who …

Continue reading