Today is the festive day of Lag B’Omer – the 33rd day of the Omer count. Lag B’Omer is a break in the reflective and more subdued time between the Holidays of Pesach and Shavuos. Our Sages teach us that during this period, 24,000 students of the famous Rebbe Akiva all passed away from the …
Tag: Behar
Sep 27
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 …
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 …
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 …
Sep 27
What Are We
(Torah Portion Behar) What Are We At the beginning of this week’s portion G-d spells out the laws of Shemitta – the seventh year which is the Sabbatical year. All fields in the Land of Israel must remain fallow, with all productive work in the fields and all commerce with the Sabbatical produce forbidden for …
Sep 27
Slight Change
(Torah Portion Behar/Bechukosai) Slight Change! King David was always on guard to preserve the integrity of the lineage of the Davidic dynasty. King David’s great grandmother was Ruth, a Moavite princess who converted. King David throughout his life was concerned because the Torah forbids a Moavite convert to marry a Jew. Before Ruth married Boaz, …
Sep 27
Rebbe Akiva!
(Torah Portion Behar) Rebbe Akiva! Our Sages tell us that 24,000 students of the famous Rabbi Akiva died in the days between the holidays of Pesach and Shavuos. The Talmud tells us that all of the students died from the same ailment and that they died because they did not give the proper respect to …