There are so many candidates to answer the question of what the most powerful image is in the Torah. My answer would be from Parshat Terumah: The כְּרֻבִים – the cherubs. Remarkably, Hashem commanded us to build a sanctuary, and right in the heart of it, the holiest place on […]
Parasha
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This Shabbat, in addition to reading the parsha of Mishpatim, we will read the haftarah for Shekalim. We will be remembering a time when, in temple days, the people were commanded to give a half shekel piece. Each coin represented a person, a soul. It went towards the upkeep of […]
Many parshiyot in the Torah commence with the word “וַיְדַבֵּר” – “and he spoke”. Or the word “וַיֹּאמֶר” – “and he said”. Yitro starts with the word “וַיִּשְׁמַע” “he listened”. “וַיִּשְׁמַע יִתְרוֹ” – Yitro was somebody who listened to everything and everyone around him. That’s the first reason why he […]
In Parshat Beshalach, there is an intriguing passage. After the אָז יָשִׁיר מֹשֶׁה, describing how Moshe led the nation in singing praises to Hashem after the miraculous parting of the waters of the Red Sea, we are told: וַתִּקַּח מִרְיָם הַנְּבִיאָה אֲחוֹת אַהֲרֹן אֶת־הַתֹּף בְּיָדָהּ Miriam, the prophetess, sister of Aharon, […]
Freedom From Slavery The great moment had come: After 210 years of cruel slavery, Hashem was just about to carry out the 10th of the ten plagues, the slaying of the firstborn, following which the Israelites would experience the exodus from Egypt – but how was this to be announced? […]
Your failure could be the very best thing that has ever happened to you. We learn this from Parshat Vayeishev. The Torah tells us, “vayehei Hashem et Yosef, vayehei ish matzliach”, Hashem was with Yosef and Yosef was a successful man. Why both statements? If Hashem was with Yosef, it […]
The essence of our Judaism is gratitude. Parshat Vayeitzei describes how after the births of her first three children Leah felt particularly despondent and this was reflected in the names she gave them. But, when she gave birth to her fourth child she declared, “ha’paam odeh et Hashem”, “this time […]
Why did Eisav not keep his favourite clothes in his own home? This fascinating detail emerges in Parshat Toldot, from the fact that when Rivka was preparing her son Yaakov to see Yitzchak his father, to deceive him, and to declare, “I am Eisav,” she needed to put Eisav’s clothes […]
What are the ingredients necessary for somebody to become an eternal role model? In Parshat Chayei Sarah, Eliezer travels to Mesopotamia in search of a wife for Yitzchak. He meets Rivka and she engages in such incredible altruism at the well side. He asks for water and she says, “I […]
In Jewish law, this appears to be the most irrelevant instruction. In the Shulchan Auruch, Orach Chaim, chapter 218, we are given details of blessings, and our sages tell us that when one is standing at a place where a terrible tragedy took place, we should recite the bracha of […]