Weather You Like It Or Not
You shall dwell in a Sukkah for seven days; all that are part of the Jewish people shall dwell in Sukkahs (Leviticus 23:42) There is a fascinating halacha regarding the mitzvah of yeshivas sukkah which many people struggle to understand. The gemara derives from the above verse that one’s dwelling [...]
Take Two
And the Lord said, “I have pardoned according to thy word” (Bamidbar 14:20) After Bnei Yisrael sinned with the Golden Calf, Moshe ascended to Heaven a second time to beg forgiveness for Bnei Yisrael. On Yom Kippur, Hashem declared, “selachti kidvarecha” – I forgave you according to your word, and [...]
Truly Humbling
Rabbeinu Yona in Shaarei Teshuva (First Gate, paragraphs 24 and 25) discusses the essential components of teshuva (repentance): hachna’a (submissiveness), shiflus (humility) and serving Hashem “b’tznius” (modesty). He elaborates on these qualities, but the question arises: What does modesty have to do with repentance? The gemora in Sukkah (49b) explains [...]
Will and Testament
Then will I remember My covenant with Jacob, and also My covenant with Isaac, and also My covenant with Abraham will I remember; and I will remember the land. (Vayikra 26:42) Rashi asks on this verse, “Why does the Torah use the term “remember” for Avraham and Yacov but not [...]
Tailor-Made Teshuvah
The thing (teshuva) is very close to you, in your mouth and in your heart, for you to do it. (Devarim 30:14) In the Selichos, after shema koleinu and ashamnu, we have three paragraphs describing how the prophets Micah, Daniel, and Ezra each approached Hashem, beseeching mercy to accept Klal [...]
Essence-tial
“…and became there a nation, great, mighty, and populous.” (Devarim 26:5) I once heard the following from one of the mashgichim of Beis Medrash Gevoha of Lakewood: During Magid at the Seder we say gadol atzum – to teach us that the Jewish people were exceptionally strong, as highlighted in [...]
First Impressions
“…and you see among the captives a beautiful woman and you desire her and would like to take her as your wife…” (Devarim 21:11) I would like to share an incident from years ago involving one of my children. While walking in a forest, he found a stack of caps, [...]
Money Manners
“…for a bribe blinds the eyes of the wise, and perverts the words of the righteous (in judgement).” (Devarim 16:19) The following story, which I heard in my youth, illustrates the above Pasuk: The Shach (Shabbsai ben Meir HaKohen 1621–1662) was involved in a din Torah with another man. Though a great talmid [...]
This Land is Your Land, This Land is My Land
"and you shall dwell in their land": A story happened where Rebbe Elazar Ben Shamua and Rebbe Yochanan Hasandler were traveling abroad to learn Torah from Rebbe Yehuda Ben Biseira. They arrived at tzaydan, where they remembered Eretz Yisrael. Whereupon they raised their eyes and wept and rent their garments, [...]
A Nofesh For You Nefesh
Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: (Devarim 8:11) There is an English saying, “If you want to remember something, try to forget it; if you want to forget something, try [...]
The Power of Prayer
“And I besought Hashem at that time, saying…” (Devarim 3:23) Among the stories in the Torah, one of the most difficult to understand is that of Moshe hitting the rock. This infraction led to a severe consequence: Moshe was barred from entering Eretz Yisrael, a privilege he fervently sought in [...]
Every Generation’s Churban
“THESE are the words which Moshe spoke to all Yisrael…” (Devarim 1:1) RASHI: TO ALL ISRAEL — Had Moshe reproved only part of the nation, those who were then in the marketplace (absent) might have said, “You heard this from the son of Amram, and did not respond at all [...]
The War that Never Ends
“And Elazar the Kohein said to the soldiers who came, going to the war…” (Bamidbar 31:21) The Torah describes how the spoils of war were to be divided among the victors. The Satmar Rebbe (Rabbi Yoel Teitelbaum 1887–1979), questions the wording: why does it say “going to the war” rather [...]
Finishing Up The Job
“Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon the priest, has turned my wrath away from the children of Yisrael, in that he was zealous for my sake among them” (Bamidbar 25:11) The Gemara in Bava Basra (10a) poses a powerful question: Why does poverty exist? If Hashem cares [...]
All From The Boss
And when he came to him, behold, he stood by his burnt offering, and the princes of Mo᾽av with him. And Balaq said to him, What has the Lord spoken? (Bamidbar 23:17) RASHI: WHAT HAS THE LORD SPOKEN? — This was a language of mockery, as if to say, “You [...]
See Good, Feel Good
Wherefore they who speak in similes say, come to Cheshbon, let the city of Sichon be built and established. (Bamidbar 21:27) Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman says that Rabbi Yochanan says: What is the meaning of that which is written: “Therefore they that speak in parables [hamoshlim] say: Come to Heshbon! [...]
Stop and Think
Rav says: On, son of Peleth, did not repent on his own; rather, his wife saved him. She said to him: What is the difference to you? If this Master, Moses, is the great one, you are the student. And if this Master, Korach, is the great one, you are [...]
Fringe Benefits
“…and it shall be to you as a fringe, that you may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them…” (Bamidbar 15:39) At the end of the Parsha it discusses the mitzvah of tzitzis. It is clear from the Torah itself that tzitzis serve [...]