Chanoch’s Greatness “And Chanoch walked with Hashem, but he ceased to exist, because Hashem had taken him”. Bereishit 5:24 Yalkut Reuveni quotes a Midrash that Chanoch (Enoch) would stitch shoes, […]
Weekly Torah Portion
Insight and themes on the weekly Torah portion (parshah) read aloud in synagogue.
In The Beginning The Torah begins, “Bereishit barah elokim – in the beginning Hashem created” (Bereishit 1:1). Targum Yerushalmi renders, “with wisdom Hashem created”. Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch shlit”a explains that […]
Shabbat On The Seventh Day This week’s Torah reading details the creation of the universe. God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh. The conclusion of […]
Gathering The Nation In this week’s Torah reading is the Mitzvah (commandment) of “Hakhel“. Every seven years, during the Holy Temple era, the king would get up on a platform […]
Repentance Is Attainable! “For this commandment that I command you today, is not hidden from you and is notfar…it is very near to you…”. The Ramban teaches that “this commandment” […]
Farming, Effort, And God’s Blessing Growing crops is a long and challenging process. Farmers must wait patiently for the right conditions to plant their seeds. Once planted, the seeds need […]
You Can Choose To Be Blessed Or Cursed This week’s Torah reading describes at length the terrible suffering which will befall upon the Jewish nation should they not conduct themselves […]
Hachnasat Orchim The Right Way (Avot 1:5) “יוֹסֵי בֶּן יוֹחָנָן אִיש יְרּוׁשָלַיִם אוֹמֵר, יְהִי בֵיתך פָתּוח לִרְוָחָהֶָּך, וְיִהְיו עֲנִיִים בְנֵי בֵית” “Yose Ben Yochanan says: Your house should be open […]
Returning Lost Property In this week’s Torah reading (Devarim 22:1-3) we have the Mitzvah (commandment) of Hashavas Aveidah (returning a lost object). One who finds a lost object, must not […]
Amalek as an Ideology Our parshah ends with the mitzvah to erase the memory of Amalek. But today, we don’t know exactly who Amalek is. So how can we still […]
