by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Aug 17, 2012 | Lifeline
This week’s reading begins with G-d’s promise to bless those who follow the Commandments, and a curse upon those who go away from them to follow false gods. It is obvious, then, that there’s a big gap between the two. One could hope not to stumble...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Aug 3, 2012 | Lifeline
This week’s reading contains “Shema Yisrael” — “Hear, oh Israel, the L-rd our G-d, the L-rd is One.” [Deut. 6:4] And what is the next verse? “And you will love HaShem your G-d with all your heart, with all your soul, and with...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Jul 13, 2012 | Lifeline
In this week’s reading, G-d explains to Moshe how his successors will be chosen. Hashem Himself will choose the leader, “who will go out in front of them, and who will come in before them, and they will go out and come in, and the congregation of G-d will...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Jun 29, 2012 | Lifeline
In the Torah portion this week, we read “This is the Torah: when a person dies in a tent…” [Numbers 19:14] The language is somewhat unusual, because although “Torah” simply means law or instruction, you would expect it to say “this...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Jun 15, 2012 | Lifeline
This week, we read about the spies sent to look at the Land of Cana’an, who came back with a bad report — the land is filled with giants, they said, and even if we were to somehow beat them, the land consumes its inhabitants! Only two of the spies came...
