"And Abraham said to his servant of the household. I bind you by an oath that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the…
Noach: The Greatness of Terach
“And Arpachshad lived five and thirty years, and begot Shelah. And Arpachshad lived after he begot Shelah four hundred and three years, and…
V'zot HaBracha: It Too is a Blessing
In one of the great mistakes in history, Alfred Nobel was lucky enough to read his own obituary—a result of an error of an editor who printed…
Ki Tavo: To Share or Not to Share
Parshat Ki Tavo opens with the mitzvot of bikkurim, the farmers’ bringing of his first fruits of the land to the Temple,…
Eikev: A Little Humility
Moshe Rabbeinu was a most humble person. We know this because the Torah tells us so, the only trait of Moshe that the Torah actually enumerates. But…
Mattot: Moshe and Midian
"G-d spoke to Moses, saying: Take revenge for the Israelites against the Midianites. Then you shall die and be gathered to your people…
Balak: The Lion King
It is for good reason that the lion is the king of the jungle. Powerful, courageous, fearless, and ferocious, lions sit at the top of the food…
Chukat: Dor Holech vDor Bah
It is in Parshat Chukat that we meet the second generation of the Jewish nation, the one that would conquer the land of Israel. Yet there is precious…
Korach: Choose Wisely
This week's d'var Torah is dedicated in honour of my father Rabbi Joseph Kelman z"l whose yahrzeit is this week. May his memory be…
Shelach Lecha: No Sin Here
Parshat Shelach Lecha is perhaps the most tragic parsha of the Chumash. The march of the Jewish people to the Land of Israel came to a…
Behar-Bechukotai: The End
"G-d spoke to Moshe at Mount Sinai saying: When you come the land that I am giving you the land shall rest a Shabbat to G-d" (Vayilkra 25:1-2). …
Tzav: Please Take Out the Garbage
One of the ideological revolutions of the Zionist movement was the notion of the inherent value of physical labour. Jews traditionally like to think…
Mishpatim: Say What You Mean
Modern man loves his freedom. No one is going to tell him how to act. This is why giving criticism, even when constructive, is so hard and usually…
Vaera: Searching for G-d?
"G-d spoke to Moshe, and said to him, 'I am the Lord. I revealed myself to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob as G-d Almighty, but My name YHVH…
Shemot: The Names Are the Same
"And these are the names of the sons of Israel who came to Egypt". The above verse serves as the opening to the second book of the Torah,…
Vayigash: Family Feud
"Your servant, our father, said to us: You know that my wife bore to me two sons" (44:27). It is assumed by many that Yehuda made…
VaYeshev: The Sounds of Silence
It takes much thought and hard work to learn when to speak up and when to remain silent. Often, we find ourselves in trouble because of a loose…
Toldot: Pray for Others
“Rabbi Yitzchak said: ‘Yitzchak our forefather was barren, as it is written ‘and Isaac entreated the Lord lenochach, alongside,…