LEKH LEKHA: Walk Before Me
התהלך לפני והיה תמים
"Walk before Me with integrity."
ABRAHAM AND NOAH
When the Torah describes the relationship between God and Noah the text says: "ET HAELOQIM...
LEKH LEKHA: Abraham Abinu’s greatest discovery
Abraham Abinu discovered monotheism. When all human civilization believed in many gods, Abraham understood that there is only one God. But this is just...
SUMMARY OF LEKH LEKHA
ABRAM ARRIVES IN CANAAN
God commands Abram to leave the land of his parents and move to the land that He will show him. God...
LEKH LEKHA: Negotiating Sara’s Dowry
PROBLEMS IN GOD'S LAND
This week's Parasha begins with the story of Abraham, our first patriarch. God blesses Abraham repeatedly, assuring him that numerous peoples...
Shemini Atseret, Simchat Tora and Alcohol Consumption
Nothing contradicts the idea of Simchat Torah more than drunkenness.
Maimonides writes:
"During Yom Tob , a person should not drink too much ... because drunkenness...
SEVEN MITSVOT OF BENE NOAH (#1): What constitutes idolatry?
According to Jewish tradition, God commanded Adam haRishon (the first human being) six laws. These laws consist of 5 prohibitions and 1 positive commandment:...
Noah and the First Biblical Law
THE GENERATION OF THE FLOOD
When God created man, He granted him a neshama, a soul: his intelligence. The ability to think, analyze and make...
GENESIS 1:1. Understanding the First Verse
IN THE BEGINNING, GOD CREATED
HEAVENS AND EARTH
DAY ZERO
One of the least observed details of the creation account is that the First Day of creation,...
BERESHIT: What Did God Create On The Fourth Day?
Tomorrow morning, God willing, we will start rereading the Tora from the beginning: BERESHIT. Genesis.
After writing my first book, "Awesome Creation", which deals with...
“The Chicken or the Egg” What does the Tora say?
Creation is completely different from "natural birth". At birth and through natural development, a person’s age, for example, begins from the moment one is...
GENESIS 1:2. Biblical Chaos
GENESIS 1:1 . The first verse of the Tora describes the creation of the universe from nothing previous. Creation is a Divine work, not a...
Definition of true Happiness
ושמחת בחגך אתה ובנך ובתך ועבדך ואמתך והגר והיתום והאלמנה אשר בשעריך
דב' 16:13-15
"Be joyful at your festival. You, your children, your servants, the Levites,...
Shemini Atseret & Simchat Tora
ושמחת בחגך אתה ובנך ובתך ועבדך ואמתך
והגר והיתום והאלמנה אשר בשעריך
דב’ 16:13-15
"And you shall rejoice in your celebration, you, and your sons, and your...
Thank You, HaShem, For The Rain!
The Mishna explains that in Rosh haShana God Almighty examines our deeds and determines, based on our merits, if we deserve another year of...
Where is the Etrog Originally From?
Although it is not mentioned in the Tora as one of the seven typical fruits of Israel (wheat, barley, grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, and...
What is the Secret of the Four Plants?
“And, you shall take on the first day a fruit of a citric tree (etrog), branches of palm-trees (lulab), a branch of myrtle...
Holding and Waving the Four Plants
This year, 2023/5784, the first time that we will fulfill the Mitsva of Lulab will be on the second day of Yom Tob: Sunday,...
The Fragility of the ‘araba
If you look at the four plants we take on Sukkot; you will see that one of the differences between them is the length...
Moving Into A Roofless Home
This coming Friday night, September 29th, 2023, we will begin the celebration of the holiday of Sukkot.
The Tora says:
‘In Sukkot you shall dwell for...
SUMMARY OF HAAZINU
The Tora portion we read this week, Ha-azinu, consists of a poem by Moshe. This poem is of a prophetic order since it anticipates...
