3-D Display!
(Torah Portion Shemos) 3-D Display! When Moshe was born, the Torah uses the words, ‘Ki Tov – it was good’ to describe his appearance. The Torah used the same words, ‘Ki Tov’ when describing the creation of light. Our Sages explain that this is an allusion that when Moshe was born the entire house was …
Supernatural!
(Torah Portion Vaeirah) Supernatural! The Mishna in Ethics of our Fathers lists ten items that were created in the time between the end of the sixth day of creation and before the Holy day of Shabbos began. These ten items were not bound by the laws of nature because they were formed after the six …
Extra Benefits!
(Torah Portion Bo) Extra Benefits! In the late sixties and early seventies, New York police officers were under attack by a group named the Black Panthers. In fact, the Panthers were charged with killing two NYC police officers. Steve was a police officer, he was on his beat in the Bronx one Saturday and as …
Who Will Benefit!
(Torah Portion Beshalach) Who Will Benefit! Miriam, who was Aaron and Moshe’s older sister, was a remarkable person. She was a leader and one of the seven women prophetesses. Miriam and her mother Yocheved were the Jewish midwives who blatantly ignored Pharoh’s decree to abort the Jewish baby boys. Our Sages tell us that …
Inspired From Above!
(Torah Portion Yisro) Inspired From Above! In this week’s Parsha the Torah relates how Yisro, Moshe’s father in law, traveled from his homeland in Midyan to embrace the Torah mandate and join the Jewish people. Moshe’s wife Tzipora and their sons Gershom and Eliezer accompanied him and were rejoined with Moshe. Moshe began relating to …
Who Said That!
(Torah Portion Mishpatim) Who Said That! The Torah relates that when the Jewish nation was asked if they were interested in receiving the Torah, they responded resoundingly, “We will do and we will listen.” At that very moment, a Heavenly voice called out and proclaimed, “Who revealed this hidden secret to these people? They are …
Open Road!
(Torah Portion Terumah) Open Road! Ever since Governor Christie’s staffers ordered a four day partial closure of the eastbound George Washington Bridge as revenge against the Mayor of Fort Lee, NJ for not supporting Christie’s reelection bid, I was thinking of ways to apply a personal lesson from this. I recently came across a great …
Criminal Minds
(Torah Portion Tetzaveh) Criminal Minds! Early this week the Jerusalem Post reported that a car bomb exploded in a residential section of Petach Tikva, Israel. A woman awakened by the blast, ran to her sixth floor balcony and saw a car torn apart by the explosion and engulfed in flames. Stuck in the car was …
Boy Wonder!
(Torah Portion Ki Sisa) Boy Wonder! G-d chose Betzalel as the candidate for chief architect to construct and oversee the building of the Temple in the desert. G-d turned to Moshe and asked him if he thinks Betzalel was worthy for the job. Moshe said, “Of course, if he is good for You, he is …
One Thousand!
(Torah Portion Vayakail) One Thousand! Our leader Moshe gathered the entire nation and addressed them immediately after returning with the second set of the Ten Commandments. Moshe began by reiterating their responsibility to uphold and observe the laws of the Holy Shabbos and then launched a campaign for donations towards the construction of the Temple. …
Transparency!
(Torah Portion Pekudai) Transparency! The Torah lists the exact calculations where all the contributions to the Temple were appropriated in order to show that the gift of every person, given for sanctified purposes, is special and accounted for. Also, people want to know where their money is going and see that it is distributed in …
