In Parshat Re’eh, the Torah provides us with details of the eating of the sacrifices in Jerusalem: “וַאֲכַלְתֶּם שָׁם לִפְנֵי ה׳ אֱלֹקֵיכֶם” “And you shall eat of the sacrifices there in Jerusalem before the Lord your God.” And then the Torah continues: “וּשְׂמַחְתֶּם בְּכֹל מִשְׁלַח יֶדְכֶם” “And you shall […]
Parasha
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D’var Torah for Parshat Eikev Did you know that there is no mitzvah in the Torah for us to recite a blessing before we eat? In Parshat Eikev, we are given a mitzvah which we’re all familiar with: ְ ”וְאָכַלְתָּ֖ וְשָׂבָ֑עְתָּ וּבֵֽרַכְתָּ” “And you shall eat, and you shall be […]
In Jewish tradition, there is a halacha determined by the number of words we recite – the Shema, the first paragraph of which we read in Parshat Vaetchanan. If you count the words in all three paragraphs of the Shema, we reach the number 245. If you add three […]
Over the coming week, the whole Jewish world will be asking the same question again and again: “אֵיכָה?” “How?” How could we have reached this awful moment? Moshe asked this question in Parshat Devarim –how is it possible that the people could have rebelled against me in the awful way that […]
Semicha is the term we use for rabbinic ordination, but what does it actually mean? We learn the answer from the portion of Pinchas. Before Moshe died, he was adamant that his successor would be crowned in his lifetime. Therefore, Yehoshua became the leader while Moshe was still alive. And […]
Where in the Torah do we find an example of the worst possible argument? In Pirkei Avot, the Ethics of the Fathers, we’re given the example of an argument in which Korach contended with the leaders of our people, Moshe and Aharon. But instead of debating the issue at hand, […]
This is a lesson we have tragically learned throughout our long Jewish history, and it is reflected in the parsha of Beha’alotecha. The Torah tells us: “וְהָאסַפְסֻף אֲשֶׁר בְּקִרְבּוֹ” “The mixed multitude within them.” Whilst we were in the desert, the “mixed multitude” in our midst rebelled. They were […]
At the commencement of the parsha of Naso, we are given a commandment: “נָשֹׂא אֶת־רֹאשׁ בְּנֵי גֵרְשׁוֹן גַּם הֵם” “You must also count the heads.” Meaning, take a census figure of the children of Gershon. What is the context of “גַּם הֵם”? “Also”? At the end of last week’s parsha, […]
The Importance of the Journey We are all familiar with the concept of a countdown, but in Jewish tradition, we’ve got a count up. That’s exactly what we have been doing since Pesach, all the way until Shavuot. When it comes to a countdown, the journey doesn’t matter. When you […]
Why will this coming Shabbat be extra special? The previous Gerrer Rebbe was once asked: Is there a title for the Shabbat before Shavuot? After all, the Shabbat before Pesach is called Shabbat HaGadol, and the Shabbat before Yom Kippur is called Shabbat Shuva. He responded that it should be called “שַׁבָּת דֶּרֶךְ […]