Waiting for Rain
Rabbi Yaakov Galinsky zt"l adds explanatory notes to the verse: “No shrub of the field was yet on the earth, and no herb of the field had yet sprouted. [And why?] Because Hashem God had not caused it to rain upon the earth. [And why had He not caused it to rain?...
The Four Species and the Unity of Israel
The Medrash (Vayikra Rabbah 30:12) teaches that the four species we take on Sukkos represent four kinds of Jews: The esrog has both taste and fragrance, representing those who have both Torah learning and good deeds. The lulav, from the date palm, bears fruit with...
In Order that He be Revered
In Psalms 130:3-4 King David writes: "If iniquities were guarded by You, Hashem, my Master, who would stand? For forgiveness is with you, in order that you be feared." It is important to note that the word I translated here as “feared” could also be translated as...
An Impossible Promise, Fulfilled
In our reading we find the following passage: And it will be, when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you shall return them to your hearts among all the nations where Hashem your G-d has pushed you, and...
Our Exile, Hashem’s Pain
Last week, over 1000 guests gathered to celebrate the wedding of Eliya Cohen and Ziv Aboud. Former Chief Rabbi Rav David Lau officiated. What made the wedding so special was that Cohen had spent over 500 days in Hamas captivity, while Aboud survived the massacre at...
No One Left To Flounder
At the end of this week's reading, the Torah prescribes an unusual procedure if a dead person is found out of town. They measure to determine which neighboring city or town is the closest to the corpse. The elders of that town bring a heifer, a calf which has never...
A Lifetime of Choices
Our reading begins this week with a passage demanding explanation: See that I place before you this day [both] blessing and curse. The Blessing, if you will listen to the Commandments of Hashem your God which I command to you this day. And the Curse, if you do not...
Remembering our Forebears
In this week's reading, the first verse says that because we listen to the Torah and follow it, “Hashem your G-d will guard the Covenant and the kindness which He swore to your fathers" [7:12]. And in the next verse, it speaks of the blessings which Hashem will give...
Learning from Our Mistakes
The entirety of Sefer Devarim, the Book of Deuteronomy, was taught during the last weeks of Moshe’s life. This parsha, Devarim, is always read on the Shabbos prior to the 9th of Av. The 9th of Av is the day that both Holy Temples were destroyed. It is also the day...
Valuing the Land
In Parshas Mattos, read this week, the tribes of Reuven and Gad ask, due to their large flocks and the fertile ground east of the Jordan river, if they could settle there rather than within the Land of Israel itself. They said that they would build "enclosures for our...
The Holiness of Miriam
We learn this week that Miriam passes away after the Israelites come to Kadesh, and that they then have no water to drink [Num. 20:1-2]. Rashi explains that for the entire 40 years that they were in the desert, they had access to a well in the merit of Miriam. Once...
A Failed Analogy
Analogies are a frequently used educational tool, because they are easily understood and internalized. Just say "toe is to foot as finger is to hand," and a young child now knows that the appendages attached to the foot are called toes. Mathematically, the expression...
