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May 30

Action!

With this week’s reading of our Parsha, we complete Vayikra/Leviticus, the third book of the Torah. Our Parsha begins with an upbeat message that we will receive great rewards and benefits when we follow the dictates of the Torah. The Torah then warns us of calamities that we will endure if we are not faithful …

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May 11

Admiration!

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 …

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May 26

Ability!

If one consecrated leased or ancestral land by donating it to the Temple’s treasury and then wishes to redeem it, the Torah in this week’s parsha, sets the conditions of how the field is to be evaluated for redemption.  The Torah also requires him to add a fifth to the monetary evaluation. In the previous …

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May 06

Escalate!

Daf Yomi, is a page of Talmud that is studied daily by tens of thousands of people around the world. On the page studied this past Shabbos is a statement made by Elijah the Prophet. “On Yom Kippur, the Satan, who prosecutes on High, is silenced and has no power to indict the Jewish people.” …

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May 13

What Happened!

A few weeks ago I received a very disturbing call from Stephen, an old family friend. His voice was faint and he was breathing heavily. He told me he was at home dying from corona and he wanted to tell me how much I, my family and my extended family meant to him. He also …

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May 30

Cancel the Appointment!

Toward the end of the Parsha, the Torah tells us that if one wishes to donate the value of his ‘soul’ or the value of another person’s ‘soul’ to the Temple treasury he can take such a vow. The Torah sets a fixed Shekel amount that the one who made the vow must give towards …

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Sep 27

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 …

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Sep 27

In the Drivers Seat

(Torah Portion Behar/Bechukosai) In the Drivers Seat Google is in the midst of experimenting with a driverless car which is steered by computers, cameras, and sensors, using Google maps for its navigation. Amazingly, the State of Nevada recently issued a license for a driverless car. In the seventies, Rabbi Pinchos Jung wrote an essay about …

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Sep 27

Letter as a Guarantee

(Torah Portion Behar/Bechukosai) Letter as a Guarantee In the second Parsha we read this week, the Torah describes the wonderful blessings we will receive when we observe G-d’s Commandments. The Torah continues, telling us that if we ignore the commandments, we are warned of great suffering and insecurities that will plague the nation. During G-d’s …

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Sep 27

Terrific

(Torah Portion Bechukosai) Terrific! In this week’s Parsha, the Torah commands that one must tithe the kosher animals that were born during the year. The animals were gathered in a corral with a small doorway which allowed only one animal to go through at a time. As the animals made their way through the opening, …

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