“'Love your neighbour as yourself’: Rabbi Akiva said this is the fundamental principle of the Torah” (Rashi Vayikra 19:18). Yet as fundamental…
Kedoshim: Meet Rabbi Akiva
Moshe Rabbeinu and Rabbi Akiva first met – as our Sages anachronistically describe – when the Torah was about to be given. Moshe was atop Mount Sinai…
Metzora: Time for a New House
Four walls, tasteful furniture, great appliances, a great family room, lots of storage space and beautiful landscaping do not a home make. It may…
Shemini: Pork Tastes Great
Despite the fact – or perhaps precisely because – the reasons for the laws of kashrut are unclear, kashrut has long been considered one of the most…
Emor: Law and Justice
Sefer Vayikra has but two stories, that of the tragic deaths of Nadav and Avihu and the tragic death of the blasphemer, which we read this week.…
Kedoshim: A Healthy Heart
Judaism is a religion of action. There is so much to do to improve oneself, one’s community and the world around us. Each of us is tasked with…
Shemini: Counting to Eight
"And it was on the eighth day" (Vayikra 9:1). While this verse is the beginning of a new parsha, the Torah clearly links it to the previous…
Vayikra: A Book of Love
“And He called to Moshe and G-d spoke to Moshe”. Noting the redundancy of this opening verse of the central book of the Torah, Rashi explains that…
Vayikra: Come on In
Jewish etiquette – and law – teach that one should not enter one’s own home, how much more so the home of someone else, without knocking first (…