We first hear of Sedom as the Torah records the genealogies of the children of Noach. “And the border of the Canaanites was from Sidon as you come to…
Lech Lecha: Time to Sin
One of the beautiful aspects of the Torah is that it presents its “heroes” not only through their greatness but also through their faults. Moreover,…
Noach: Great Parenting
Noach was a righteous, pure person who found favour in the eyes of G-d and saved the world from destruction. While some like to downplay the…
Breisheet: Clothes Make the Woman (and Man)
“The two of them were arumim, naked, the man and his wife, yet they felt no shame (Breisheet 2:25)." In the Garden of Eden, in the world as it was…
Ki Tavo: Language Barriers
Those of us living in Canada are especially sensitive to the importance of language to the fabric of a country. The language that one speaks is, more…
Shoftim: Chopping Trees
War brings out the worst in people. Rape, unjustified killings, pillage, random acts of destruction are sadly, tragically and inevitably the natural…
Re'eh: G-d's Children
Parshat Re’eh contains a series of laws that on the surface have little to do with each other. As Moshe prepares the people for entry to the land, he…
Va'etchanan: For The People
Ask anyone with a rudimentary knowledge of the Bible why Moshe could not enter the Land of Israel and more likely than not they will tell you because…
Eikev: Loving G-d
Eight times – interestingly, all in sefer Devarim – the Torah tells us we are to love G-d, the first and most famous mention being in what is known…
Devarim: Just Courts
“"The signature of G-d is truth" (Shabbat 55a). Our Torah, which serves as a description of G-d, is the method for implementation of truth in a world…
Massei: The Details are for Later
“And the Egyptians were burying all their first born, who had been killed by G-d” (Bamidbar 33:4). Occupied with grief and despair, the…
Balak: Religious Wars
It is rare that people fear mere numbers of Jews. Instead, it is our ability to do so much with so little that makes many view us as Goliath, as…
Korach: Finding Holiness
The survival of the Jewish people in the desert was a direct result and only possible because of Divine intervention: the splitting of the sea; water…
Shelach Lecha: What is Your Name
Names play a crucial role in our tradition. We have names that describe our origins, Adam – "from the soil” (Breisheet 2:7); names that define one’s…
Beha'alotcha: Time to Complain
One of the causes for disappointment with the generation that left Egypt was their constant complaining. Each week, as we study sefer Bamidbar, we…
Naso: I Made a Mistake
Sefer Bamidbar is a book of missed opportunities. Mistake after mistake – by the people and the leaders – demonstrated that the generation that left…
Bamidbar: Between Yom Yerushalayim and Shavuot
We tend to associate the holiday of Shavuot with that of Pesach. One can cogently argue that Shavuot is the culmination and conclusion of Pesach. The…
Behar: Faith is Hard
It was not until the 8th century that the first list was compiled of the 613 mitzvot, opening up a fascinating genre of rabbinic literature that…