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 A Diary of Life .: Viewed: 1923 times :.
“These are the journeys of the Children of Israel. Moshe wrote their goings forth according to their journeys at the command of Hashem, and these were their journeys according to their goings forth.” (Bamidbar 33:1-2)
Parshat Masai begins with a review of the 42 encampments that Israel made in their 40 year journey through the Wilderness. Rashi notes that this is an illustration...
Published: July 5, 2021 |
The Bnei Brak Seder - Where are the Ladies? .: Viewed: 1920 times :.
"It happened that Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Yehoshua, Rabbi Elazar Ben-Azarya, Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Tarphon were reclining in Bnei Brak. They were discussing the Exodus from Egypt all that night, until their students came and told them: 'Our Rabbis! The time has come for reciting the morning Shema!'"(Pesach Hagada). This story is read by all Jews on Pesach at the Seder. At first sight, it is a...
Published: March 20, 2018 |
TEAM ISRAEL vs. The Giants .: Viewed: 1917 times :.
Are we able to defeat the Giants? The Torah tells us that the inhabitants of Eretz Yisrael were y’lide ho’anaq, remnants of a race of Giants. When the Meraglim returned with their report, they announced: “The people that dwell in the land are fierce, and the cities are fortified and very great, moreover, we saw the children of Giants there.” (Bamidbar 13:28) And...
Published: May 30, 2018 |
To Know HIM is to Love HIM .: Viewed: 1917 times :.
There was a number one hit song in 1958 called “To know HIM is to love HIM, and I do!” Was this song about G-d? Because the Shema Yisrael, which we recite twice a day states “You shall love Hashem your G-d with all your heart and soul.” (Devarim 6:5)
This verse that commands us to love G-d raises a complicated question. Is it possible to command someone to love...
Published: August 7, 2018 |
Megilat Esther - Where Is G-D? .: Viewed: 1916 times :.
The Rambam states in Hilchos Megilah, Chapter 2, Halacha 18, that all books of the Prophets and all of the Holy Writings will be cancelled in the Messianic Era except for Megilat Esther, which will exist forever like the Torah and the Talmud. What’s even stranger is that Esther is the only book in TANACH without G-d’s name in it. Why is the only book in Holy Scripture (Ketuvim) so...
Published: February 10, 2018 |
The Exodus and Moshe’s Donkey .: Viewed: 1915 times :.
When G-d sent Moshe to Egypt to free Israel, the Torah states, “And Moshe took his wife and sons and mounted them on the donkey” (Shmot 4:20). Rashi makes a strange comment on this verse, “the Donkey that Moshiach will utilize to usher in the Final Redemption”. How do we understand this odd comment of Rashi’s? Can a donkey live for thousands of years? And why will...
Published: January 15, 2018 |
PURIM - Thanking G-d for Our Struggles .: Viewed: 1913 times :.
This week was Purim Katan, thus a Purim article is appropriate.
During the festival of Purim we recite the Al Hanisim prayer. The prayer reads, "and for the miracles and for the salvations and for the mighty deeds and for the victories and for the wonders and for the consolations and for the BATTLES which You performed for our ancestors in those days, at this time."
In this declaration...
Published: February 19, 2019 |
Para Aduma - A Little Dab Will Do Ya .: Viewed: 1913 times :.
“He (the defiled person) shall purify himself (with the Red Cow ashes) on the third and on the seventh day, then he will become pure.” ….(Bamidbar 19:12)
The classic example of a CHOK (a Mitzva beyond human understanding), is the Red Cow, whose ashes are used to purify a person from defilement by a dead body. As Rashi notes, immersion in a MIKVEH is insufficient to remove...
Published: June 28, 2019 |
Matan Torah - The Great Unifier .: Viewed: 1913 times :.
At the end of Parshat Mishpatim the Torah states, "The entire nation replied in one voice, we will do all the things that G‑d told us." In the very next verse, we find that Moshe built an ALTER and 12 PILLARS, as it says, "Then he built an ALTER next to the mountain and 12 PILLARS for the 12 Tribes of Israel" (Shemot 24:4).
Why did Moshe construct both an ALTER and also 12 PILLARS at Mount...
Published: May 12, 2020 |
The Goal of the Exodus - Don’t Slander! .: Viewed: 1911 times :.
"You shall not defile yourselves through any creeping thing that creeps on the earth. For I am G-d who elevates you from the Land of Egypt." (Vayikra 11:44,45)
What is the connection between the Exodus from Egypt and the prohibition of eating insects? Why does the Torah juxtapose these two subjects? HaRav Mordechai HaCohen in his sefer, Al HaTorah, gives a profound explanation. Certain...
Published: March 26, 2019 |
The Song of the Sea Turns Bitter .: Viewed: 1907 times :.
After the joyous Song of the Sea praising G-D has been sung, the Jewish Nation is in a state of euphoria. Thus, the Jewish People are not prepared for the failures and bitterness that we encounter in the second half of Parashat BeShalach. "Moshe led Israel from the Red Sea, and they went out into the desert of Shur, and they went 3 days in the desert, and found no water. And they came to Mara...
Published: January 22, 2018 |
Moshe’s Shiny Face .: Viewed: 1904 times :.
After his third forty day stay on Mount Sinai, Moshe descended on the 10th of Tishrei – Yom Kippur carrying the second set of the Holy Tablets. These replaced the First Tablets that Moshe broke when he saw the Jews worshipping the Golden Calf. Moshe’s extended stay on Mount Sinai in G‑d’s presence left a permanent impression on his body – his face radiated G‑d’s...
Published: February 25, 2020 |
SUKKOT - When the Sages Became Entertainers .: Viewed: 1903 times :.
All the festivals are times of rejoicing, but only Sukkot is called ZMAN SIMCHATEINU (season of our joy). While today we immediately think of Simchat Torah when it comes to joy, the Mishna (Sukkah 5:1) tells us about a ceremony held on Sukkot that “he who has not seen the rejoicing at the place of the water-drawing has never in his life seen true rejoicing.”
Something about this...
Published: September 5, 2018 |
Why Thank the Nile? .: Viewed: 1901 times :.
“and G-d said to Moshe, say to Aaron, take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt, and they will become blood….” (Shemot 7:19).
As G-d is about to bring the Ten Plagues on Egypt, the Torah relates that G-d tells Moshe to tell Aaron to stretch out his hand over the Nile River. Why does Moshe not strike the Nile River himself?
Rashi explains that...
Published: January 15, 2018 |
Pharaoh - The Classic Villain .: Viewed: 1901 times :.
Pharaoh seems to be one of the main characters in the Torah. There is a Pharaoh in Avraham’s time, then there’s the Pharaoh in Yosef’s time and of course, the Pharaoh in Moshe’s time. Why does the Torah give so much prominent attention to the ancient Pharaohs of Egypt? We know the Torah is G‑d’s GPS (G‑d’s Personal System) for the here and now.
Moshe says...
Published: January 21, 2020 |