Sefer Vayikra serves as the “central” book of the Chumash; on one side flanked by Breisheet and Shemot, which detail the founding of the…
Legal loopholes are a mainstay of the legal profession. People are often frustrated when criminals are let off the hook on a technicality, perhaps…
"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). Mah…
A number of years ago we had the pleasure of being the Toronto coordinators of the Torah Ethics Project. Its slogan was “Some of the most obvious…
One of the ideological revolutions of the Zionist movement was the notion of the inherent value of physical labour. Jews traditionally like to think…
This week the focus of the Torah reading shifts from the construction of the Mishkan to the korbanot, one (but only one) of the purposes of building…
The Torah was edited with great precision. This is the idea behind the notion that "there is no chronological order to the Torah". Items…
Being a kohen today is not what it used to be. While one may receive more aliyot and lead birchat hamazon on a regular basis, a kohen is…
One of the features of the scientific world is classification of different species into their various groupings and subgroupings. The Torah itself…
It is quite rare to read parshat Acharei Mot on Shabbat Hagadol. In non-leap years, it is generally parshat Tzav that is read on Shabbat Hagadol. And…
In Jewish law, it is the middle that is most important. We surround the sefer Torah with gabbaim on either side, and ideally we place the…
“These are the commandments that G-d has commanded Moshe to the children of Israel on Mount Sinai (Vayikra 27:34).” Though it is the Book…
One of the most powerful ways to express hatred is to refuse to speak to someone, or to just plain ignore that person. We Jews are very good at…
"And it was on the eighth day" (Vayikra 9:1). While this verse is the beginning of a new parsha, the Torah clearly links it to the…
Of all possible wrongdoings, only one does not allow for the possibility of teshuva, repentance. Causing a chilul Hashem, a desecration of G-d's…
Our tradition asserts that there are 613 mitzvoth in the Torah. Among these 613 are such beautiful concepts as proper treatment of the stranger and…
The deaths of Nadav and Avihu have long troubled biblical commentaries. The multiple suggestions put forth demonstrate that—objectively…
The line between greatness and failure is so small as to be unrecognizable, often revealing itself only after many years. This is true in the world…
Our Rabbis saw a link between the spiritual sin of lashon hara, slander and gossip, and the physical disease of tzara'at. At the…
“And G-d spoke to Moshe after the death of the two children of Aharon when they came close before G-d and they died” (16:1). The Torah then…
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…
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…
Two of the most dangerous threats to society are religious fanaticism and rampant secularism. The dangers of the former have received more attention…
Modern psychological research has shown that infants begin processing information even before they are born, and impressions made on children have an…