This week, we will read the Haftorah from the holy prophet Isaiah, in which G-d consoles the broken, tempest-tossed Jerusalem and assures her that she will be rebuilt and restored to full glory. The verses speak of how G-d will rebuild her walls, and lay new foundations in vivid detail. Yet one verse in particular…
This blog post was written and should be read with the name Zecharya ben Devorah Leah in our prayers for a complete refuah sheleima. May his sweet melodies permeate the world and enter our hearts to heal us as he is healed. This week’s sedrah, Parshat Vayikra, opens with the holy words: And the Lord called…
In this week’s holy sedrah, Parshat Yitro, we zoom into a powerful scene. It has been seven weeks since the Children of Israel left Egypt, and Moshe has ascended the mountain. The Almighty speaks with Moshe, providing him a script, a monologue of sorts, to share with Bnei Yisroel: אַתֶּם רְאִיתֶם, אֲשֶׁר עָשִׂיתִי לְמִצְרָיִם;…
In this week’s holy sedrah, Parshat Vayechi, we find Yisroel living the last seventeen years of his life in Mitzrayim. Recognizing that the end of his life was drawing near, he calls Yosef and his two sons to bestow upon them blessings. “And Yisroel said unto Yosef: ‘Behold, I die; but G-d will be with…
Unlike the Yehuda presented in Parshat Vayeishev, Who is indifferent to both his father’s all-encompassing grief and his brother’s fate, Who concocts a plan to sell Yosef into slavery, In this week’s holy sedrah, Parshat Vayigash, We get acquainted with a Yehuda that we have not met before. We saw a glimpse of him last…
In the book of Bereishis we read of numerous births, yet only two sets of twins: Yitzchak and Rivkah’s twins, Yaakov and Esav and in this week’s holy sedrah, Parshat Vayeishev, we read of the birth of Perez and Zerach, the twins of Yehuda and Tamar. While there are some similarities about their births, there…
If I am being honest, I am afraid that I can already picture myself, In a few short days, Standing in the crowded synagogue. Counting how many pages are left in the machzor, Desperately wanting to feel something, To focus, To make this time matter, or perhaps just pass more quickly. I will glance from…
This week’s sedrah, Parshat Acharei, begins with the verse: “God spoke to Moshe after the death of Aharon’s two sons [Nadav and Avihu], who drew close to God and died.” A question stirs. Why does the verse conclude “and died” if it begins by mentioning that God spoke to Moshe “after the death”? Seems a…
The Alter Rebbe brought his grandson, the Tzemach Tzedek, to cheder and instructed the boy’s teacher to study the first passage of Parshat Vayikra with him. “And He called to Moshe, and the Lord spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting, saying”(Vayikra 1:1) וַיִּקְרָא אֶל מֹשֶׁה וַיְדַבֵּר ה‘ אֵלָיו מֵאֹהֶל מוֹעֵד לֵאמֹר After reading…
( In this week’s sedrah, Parshat Terumah, we begin the many parshiyot about the building of the Mishkan, the tabernacle. Our verses read: And they shall make Me a sanctuary (mikdash) and I will dwell in their midst according to all that I show you, the pattern of the tabernacle (mishkan) and the pattern of all…
In this week’s holy sedrah, Parshat Beshalach, the Almighty responds to the needs of the Israelites in the desert and begins providing them with “bread from the sky” (manna) in the morning and meat in the evening (Shemos 16:4,8). This manna becomes the sustenance of the people, but it arrives with its own share of…
In this week’s holy sedrah, Parshat Vaeira, we find ourselves before Pharaoh and seven of the ten plagues. Our verse reads: I will make Pharaoh obstinate and will thus have the opportunity to display many miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt. (Shemos 7:3) Rashi comments: Since he (Pharaoh) has wickedly resisted Me, and it is…
This week’s sedrah, Parshat Vayeishev begins : וַיֵּ֣שֶׁב יַֽעֲקֹ֔ב בְּאֶ֖רֶץ מְגוּרֵ֣י אָבִ֑יו בְּאֶ֖רֶץ כְּנָֽעַן Yaakov dwelt in the land of his father’s sojournings, in the land of Canaan. Yaakov had one simple desire, Rashi tells us, “bikeysh Yaakov ley’shev b’shaalva”, Yaakov wanted to dwell in peace and tranquility. And I mean, can you blame him?…
This week’s holy sedrah, Parshat Vayishlach, begins with the words: “Yaakov sent angels ahead of him to his brother Esav, to the land of Seir, the field of Edom. And he commanded them saying, ‘So shall you say to my master to Esav, Thus said your servant Yaakov, I have sojourned with Laban, and I…
This week’s sedrah, Parshat Vayeira opens with a curious scene: And the Lord appeared to him in Elonei Mamre, as he sat in the tent door in the heat of the day. And he raised his eyes and looked, and lo, three men stood by him; and when he saw them, he ran to meet…
Biladye 