The Torah was given to us on at least two occasions. The first revelation, just weeks after the…
Bamidbar: Laying the Foundation
Sefer Bamidbar can be viewed as a book of missed opportunities. A small group of Jewish slaves…
Bechukotai: Toiling in Torah
“These are the things that one eats the fruit of in this world and the principal remains in the…
Behar: G-d and Man
We tend to categorize mitzvot as either mitzvot between man and G-d or mitzvot between man and man…
Emor: A Holiday Treat
“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your…
Kedoshim: Look at the Context
While facts do not lie, they often do not tell the whole truth. Facts are facts but facts still…
Acharei Mot: From Pesach to Yom Kippur
“And G-d spoke to Moshe after the death of the two children of Aharon when they came close before G…
Pesach: A Second Chance
Jewish life is all too often rather chaotic. Yet Pesach and Yom Kippur, the two central holidays of…
Pesach: What Should We Read
It is hard to argue that there is a more impactful and important rabbinic decree than that of …
Pesach: Why Eat Matza
“Rabban Gamliel would say: Anyone who does not say these three things on Pesaḥ has not fulfilled…
Metzora: Time for a Haircut
Judaism teaches that everything has the potential for holiness; after all everything in this world…
Tazria: A Sin Offering?
There is no greater joy than having a child. From a religious perspective, bringing new life into…
Shemini: Seeking the Middle
“Moshe then inquired, darosh darash, about the goat of the sin offering, and it had been…
Tzav: The Best Reason
One of the major debates in Jewish thought relates to the appropriateness of ascribing reasons for…
Purim Thoughts: Far, Far Away
The decree has been promulgated and publicized through the empire. 127 provinces have received “…
Vayikra: Come on In
Jewish etiquette – and law – teach that one should not enter one’s own home, how much more so the…
Pekudei: Remember the Count
"These are the accounts, pekudei, of the tabernacle, the tabernacle of testimony, as…
Vayakhel: Time to Meet
“Moshe gathered the entire congregation of Israel and said to them” (Shemot 35:1). It is extremely…