by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Feb 14, 2020 | Lifeline
In this week’s reading, Moshe and the Jewish nation gathered at the foot of Mount Sinai to receive the Torah. Judaism teaches us that along with the Written Torah printed in every Bible, God also taught Moshe the Oral Law, giving much more detail about the...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Dec 26, 2019 | Lifeline
When lighting the Menorah on Chanukah, we are instructed to light one light the first night, adding one light (to the left of the first) each night until lighting eight on the final night of the holiday. This is one of the famous arguments of the House of Hillel and...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Sep 26, 2019 | Lifeline
Our reading this week contains an extraordinary passage, one which is very relevant for the upcoming High Holy Days. Moshe gathers the Nation of Israel together, and describes to them a truly unforgivable sin. It is so terrible that “Hashem will not be willing...
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...
