by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Sep 12, 2019 | Lifeline
In this week’s reading, Rashi, Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, tells us to what extent the Torah demands an elevated standard of conduct. He warns us that even if we follow the letter of the law, but try to push the envelope — doing what we can get away with rather...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Aug 1, 2019 | Lifeline
When Moshe doesn’t seem to be following G-d’s instructions, you know something is going on beneath the surface. We find such a case in this week’s reading, and a deeper look helps us understand the root cause of anti-Semitism itself. In Parshas...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Apr 18, 2019 | Lifeline
The Passover Seder is one of the most commonly-observed Jewish rituals today. People who neglect lighting candles in honor of Shabbos, or fasting for Yom Kippur, will gather around the table on Passover to retell the story of the Exodus. There is clearly something...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Feb 1, 2019 | Lifeline
Our reading begins, “And these are the judgments…” [Ex. 21:1] The laws in the Torah described as “judgments” are civil laws, which every society must have in order to avoid anarchy. Yet the Torah emphasizes that its civil laws are of...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Nov 8, 2018 | Lifeline
The Torah spends a great deal of time discussing the life of our forefather Avraham, and that of Yaakov. By comparison, Yitzchak receives relatively short shrift. The offering of Yitzchak as a Korban, a sacrifice, is primarily told as a test of his father. It is...
