The Midrash, commenting on the opening verse of Sefer Bamidbar, observes that the Torah has been compared to three natural phenomena: fire, water and a desert. Many Rabbis raised the question of what precisely the Midrash seeks to...
The Haftara read for Parashat Behukotai is a prophecy from Sefer Yirmiyahu, and contains the famous verse, “Baruch Ha’geber Asher Yibtah B’Hashem, Ve’haya Hashem Mibtaho” – “Blessed is the man who trusts in G-d, and G-d shall be...
The Torah in Parashat Behar (25:37) introduces the prohibition against lending on interest: “Et Kaspecha Lo Titen Lo Be’neshech.” The Or Ha’haim (Rav Haim Ben-Attar, 1696-1743) adds a deeper level of interpretation, explaining that the word “Kesef” (money) is...
Rabbi Shimon and the “Keter Shem Tob” Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai teaches us in Pirkeh Abot (4:13), “There are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of Kehuna, and the crown of kingship. But the...
The Torah in Parashat Kedoshim (Vayikra 19:23) commands that when Beneh Yisrael enter the land and plant trees, they must refrain from eating a tree’s fruits during the first three years after it is planted. During these three...
The first of the ten plagues which G-d brought upon the Egyptians was “Dam” – the plague of blood, when G-d transformed the water in the river to blood. The Torah (Shemot 7:21) tells that as a...
Parashat Tazria introduces the laws related to Sara’at – a skin infection, similar to leprosy, that would befall a person as a result of certain sins. The Torah says that when a person sees a...
The Haftara for Parashat Shemini, taken from the Book of Shemuel II (chapter 6), tells of the tragic events that took place during what was to have been the joyous occasion of the transportation of the Aron (ark)...
The prophecy read as the Haftara for Parashat Sav comes from Sefer Yirmiyahu (7), and in this prophecy, Yirmiyahu criticizes the people for offering sacrifices without undergoing a process of repentance and change. Parashat Sav speaks about the sacrifices,...
The Midrash (Ester Rabba 7:13) draws a connection between the Purim story and the story of Mechirat Yosef – the sale of Yosef as a slave by his brothers. After the brothers cast Yosef into a...