The Torah was "edited" with great precision. Narrative and law are often intertwined; one sheds light on the other. While our tradition…
Of the twelve men sent to bring back a report about the land of Israel, only one of them—Yehoshua—has previously been mentioned in the…
“And G-d spoke to Moshe in the Sinai desert in the second year of the Exodus from Egypt, in the first month” (Bamidbar 9:1). Pesach Sheni…
The Torah uses its words sparingly—and sometimes not at all. The Torah tells us very little about the laws of Shabbat[1]. They are, in the…
In his thematic enumeration of the 613 mitzvoth, the Rambam has as the very first mitzvah that of belief in G-d. It is, in the view of the …
“Do not desecrate My holy name. I must be sanctified among the Israelites" (Vayikra 22:31). The role of the Jew is to sanctify the name…
Why were we taken out of Egypt? Concepts such as freedom, justice, equality, and the recognition of Divine Providence are the themes of the exodus,…
The power of the spoken word is enormous. Even more powerful is the desire to gossip, a vice that has been perfected in our own times, when we…
Marketing can make or break a product. Get it right and you are on your way to becoming wealthy. Make a mistake and, irrespective of the actual…
Modern man finds the notion of sacrifices primitive, archaic and a form of Divine service that is no longer necessary. Yet to ancient man, nothing…
“When Aaron and all the Israelites saw that the skin of Moshe’s face was shining with a brilliant light they were afraid to come close to…
In his introduction to his Eiyn Yaakov, the classic commentary on the non-legal sections of the Talmud, Rav Yaakov Ibn Chaviv quotes a discussion…
The command to respect our parents, kibud av v'eim, is one that needs little explanation. It is the most rational and logical of mitzvoth, one…
Whether we are preparing for an exam, a simcha, a job interview, or retirement, our success is directly proportional to our preparatory efforts…
One of the central tenets of our faith is the eternal relevance and unchanging nature of our Torah. The Torah is not only Divinely authored, it is an…
What a difference 59 years can make. Despite Yaakov's insistence to be buried in Israel, "Yosef dwelt in Egypt, he and his father…
"And Jacob lived in the land of Egypt seventeen years, and the years of his life were one hundred and forty seven years" (Breisheet 47:28…
Etiquette and diplomatic niceties are the hallmarks of the world of politics. Political leaders are trained to speak ambiguously and in a way that…
How unfortunate when man must put his fate in the hands of other men. “And the warden had placed all the prisoners in the dungeon under Yosef…
The Talmud records that one who has no dreams for a period of seven days is called a wicked person (Brachot 55b). Dreams represent our innermost…
The experiences of history have made our people a nervous lot. Whatever nervousness is warranted as members of the human race is significantly…
It is hard to imagine a more disparate couple than Yitzchak and Rivka, the quiet contemplative husband who would "meditate in the fields" (…
"The discussions of the servants of our patriarchs are more beloved than the Torah of their children” (Rashi, Breisheet, 24:22). This…
"G-d said: I will obliterate humanity that I have created from the face of the earth; man, livestock, land animals and birds of the sky. I…