Make His Will, Your Will
“Please speak in the ears of the people, and let every man ask of his neighbor, and every woman of her neighbor, jewels of silver, and jewels of gold.” (Shemos 11:2) There is a joke told about a man who met Eliyahu Hanavi. Eliyahu asked him, “When should I bring [...]
Heeding the Call
“AND the Lord called to Moshe, and spoke to him out of the Tent of Meeting, saying…” (Vayikra 1:1) In the Tefila Uva Letzion we recite something called “kedusha desidra” – “kedusha” that is part of the order of davening. In that kedusha, we say the Aramaic translation of the [...]
Ultimate Execution
“Just as Hashem had commanded Moses, so the Israelites had done all the work. And when Moses saw that they had performed all the tasks—as Hashem had commanded, so they had done—Moses blessed them.” (Shemos 39:42-43) When we speak in Loshen Hakodesh about accomplishing things, there are two words which [...]
The Power of Giving
“And they said to Moshe as follows, ‘The people are bringing more than enough for the labor of the work that Hashem has commanded them to perform’” (Shemos 36:5) I am often asked if it is worthwhile to donate to a particular charity. To determine the right response, I have [...]
Passing it Forward
“The Children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout the ages as a covenant for all time.” (Shemos 31:16) The Jews who came to America before the Second World War firmly believed that they would continue to be religious Jews on this foreign soil. Many of them [...]
Using Your Brain
“Aharon carried the names of Bnei Yisrael on the breastplate on his heart, when he came into the Holy place, as a remembrance in front of Hashem forever.” (Shemos 28:29) The two pieces of the Kohein Gadol’s clothing that the Torah speaks the most about are the Choshen (breastplate) and [...]
On Fire
“You shall make a Menorah of pure gold…” (Shemos 25:31) Chazal tell us that Moshe Rabbeinu had difficulty understanding how to make the Menorah. Because of this, Hashem told Moshe to throw the gold into the fire and the Menorah came out ready-made (Rashi ibid). Chazal also tell us that [...]
The Right Approach
“These are the guidelines that you shall set before them” (Shemos 21:1) In Parshas Beshalach, there is a reference to the mitzvos which were given to bnei Yisrael in Mara. One of those mitzvos was the mitzvah of judging people’s monetary disputes in a court (dinim). Here, right after accepting [...]
Leveling Up
“Moshe went out to meet his father-in-law; he bowed and kissed him and he asked him how he was doing…” (Shemos 18:7) The above verse doesn’t specify whether it was Moshe who bowed to and kissed Yisro, or Yisro who bowed to and kissed Moshe. The midrash proves that Moshe [...]
One for All and All for One – Journal 2025
יד וְכָל-הָעָם רֹאִים אֶת-הַקּוֹלֹת וְאֶת-הַלַּפִּידִם, וְאֵת קוֹל הַשֹּׁפָר, וְאֶת-הָהָר, עָשֵׁן; וַיַּרְא הָעָם וַיָּנֻעוּ, וַיַּעַמְדוּ מֵרָחֹק. טו וַיֹּאמְרוּ, אֶל-מֹשֶׁה, דַּבֵּר-אַתָּה עִמָּנוּ, וְנִשְׁמָעָה; וְאַל-יְדַבֵּר עִמָּנוּ אֱלֹקִים, פֶּן-נָמוּת. טז וַיֹּאמֶר מֹשֶׁה אֶל-הָעָם, אַל-תִּירָאוּ, כִּי לְבַעֲבוּר נַסּוֹת אֶתְכֶם, בָּא הָאֱלֹקִים; וּבַעֲבוּר, תִּהְיֶה יִרְאָתוֹ עַל-פְּנֵיכֶם--לְבִלְתִּי תֶחֱטָאו (שמות כ:יד-טז) “All the people witnessed the thunder and [...]
An Acquired Taste
With regard to the Monn, it is written “bread” (Exodus 16:4), and it is written “oil” (Numbers 11:8), and it is written “honey” (Exodus 16:31). How can we reconcile these verses? Rabbi Yosi, son of Rabbi Chanina, said: For the youth it was like bread, for the elderly it was [...]
Staying True to the Path
“This month shall mark for you the beginning of the months; it shall be the first of the months of the year for you.” (Shemos 12:2) The first mitzvah in the Torah that is recorded as being given to Klal Yisrael is the mitzvah of “hachodesh hazeh lachem”. This mitzvah [...]
What Do I Really Want?
“I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, that I may multiply My signs and marvels in the land of Egypt.” (Shemos 7:3) When we are in situations in which we are forced to do something we don’t want to do, we sometimes mutter to ourselves, “If I had my choice about this, [...]
The Right Choice
“He [Moshe] was along the way, at the hotel, Hashem confronted him, and wanted to kill him.” (Bereishis 4:24) Moshe Rabbeinu accepts Hashem’s proposal that he should be the one to take Bnei Yisrael out of Egypt. On the way down to Egypt, he almost gets killed because he did [...]
Not “Under The Influence”
"Assemble and hearken, O sons of Jacob; Hearken to Israel your father." (Bereishis 49:2) I once heard an amazing explanation from a world-renowned speaker on why there are so many different strands of original Judaism? Litvaks. Chasidim. Sefardim. Teimanim. And more! If you take away the ‘spice’, they are all [...]
True Love
“…(Yosef) fell on his (Yaakov’s) neck, he wept on his neck a good while.” (Bereishis 46:29) RASHI: “Yaakcov, however, did not fall upon Joseph’s neck nor did he kiss him. Our Rabbis say: the reason was that he was reciting the Shema.” When a person is asked how much of [...]
Deal With It
And Joseph said to Pharaoh, “…Pharaoh has been told what God is about to do…Pharaoh has been shown what God is about to do.” (41:25 & 41:28) Rabbi Shlomo Kluger (1785–June 9, 1869) points out that it is human nature to always want to be the first to tell over [...]
What is a Friend?
“…Judah went up to Timnah to his sheepshearers, together with his friend Chirah the Adullamite.” (Bereishis 38:12) One of the most cherished possessions that a person could have is a good friend. It would be appropriate to mention here the saying, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” But [...]