“And Pharaoh awoke, he and all his officials and all the rest of Egypt. There was a great cry, as there was no house where there was no death…
Vayigash: Below the Surface
“He kissed all his brothers and wept on their shoulders, and afterwards his brothers spoke with him” (45:14). What a change from twenty-two years…
Chanukah: Down Memory Lane
We tend to assume that, with the recital of the shir shel yom, the daily psalm—or Aleinu if you daven nusach sefarad, Shacharit is over.…
Vayishlach: Two is a Crowd
It is for good reason that co-wives are described as tzarot, literally, problems. Competing as they inevitably must for the same man, their…
VaYera: Late Arrival
Our Sages assert that the Torah pre-dates the creation of the world, in essence serving as the architectural blueprint of creation. This is a…
Sukkot: Seeing Double
This week’s d’var Torah is sponsored by Gershon and Leah Vandenbrink with best wishes for a joyous Sukkot. In rabbinic literature, Sukkot is known…
Yom Kippur: Just a Minute
The death of the righteous atones, our Sages teach, and it is for this reason that during Mussaf of Yom Kippur, just after recounting the special…
Rosh Hashanah: The Right Focus
“On Rosh Hashanah, it is written; and on Yom Kippur, it is sealed, who shall live and who shall die…” (Machzor). It is doubtful…
Vaera: The Right Reason
Sometimes the reason why one does something can be even more important than what was actually done. While our Sages note that one should strive to…
Lech Lecha: A Loving Son
“And Terach’s years were 205 years, and Terach died in Charan. G-d said to Abram, Go away from your land, your birthplace and from…
Noach: A Penny Saved
“Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generation” (6:9). It is hard to imagine a greater endorsement than that which the Torah gives to Noach.…
Parshat Bereshit - Science and Torah
"In the beginning G-d created the heaven and the earth" (1:1). Light, sky, land, vegetation, animals and humans. The Torah's description of creation…
Devarim: Developing Torah
After forty years of wandering in the desert, the Jewish people were finally ready to enter the land of Israel. Their experience in the desert and…
Devarim: Have No Fear
After 40 long and, with important exceptions, mostly uneventful years, the Jewish people stood poised to enter the Promised Land. Undoubtedly, they…
Behar: Speaking of Sinai
Our Sages equated farming with faith. Only a man of faith could put in months of backbreaking labour, knowing full well that all his efforts could go…
Kedoshim: Theory and Practice
One of the cardinal principles of Judaism is the belief in the Divine origin of our Bible. While Moshe Rabbeinu was the greatest of human beings, his…
Yitro: Nine Commandments
This week's d’var Torah is sponsored by Dr. Charles and Nathalie Piwko in observance of the yahrzeit of Charlie's mother, ob”m, and in celebration of…
Vaera: Status Quo
"And they did not listen to Moshe, from short spirit and hard work" (7:9). Moshe had a daunting dual task before him. Not only did he need to…