Insanely Sweet
The Torah portion this week opens with the Mitzvah (Commandment) of Bikurim. Farmers would bring the first fruits of their field to the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, and present them as a gift to the Kohain (priest) serving in the Temple. It was a much anticipated and...
A Measured Approach to Change
Moshe (Moses) continues to enumerate in Ki Seitzei, this week's Torah portion, the many Mitzvos (commandments) G-d gave to the Jewish people. This portion actually has the largest listing of Mitzvos of any weekly Torah reading -- 74 in total. Among these is the...
Personal Police
All societies require some means of government to maintain law and order. So the Torah's directive, in the opening of this week's Torah portion, to establish judges and police to enforce the law is not surprising. As the Mishna writes (Pirkei Avos 3:2), "Pray for the...
Moving Mountains
When the Jewish people were on the verge of entering the Land of Israel, Moshe (Moses) reminded them of the abundant blessings promised to those who follow G-d's commandments, and the curses to those who turn away from the Torah and follow other gods. Upon entering...
He’s Got the Goods
The Sages of the Talmud (Brachos 33b) say "Everything is in the hands of Heaven, except fear of Heaven." That is to say, that although it may appear we have control over our activities, the results and our success are actually beyond our control. However, G-d did...
It’s a Pleasure to Serve You
The verses of the Shema begin with a commandment to "Serve G-d with all your heart. (Deut. 6:5)" The word for heart in the Hebrew text is written in a double manner—ordinarily, "with your whole heart" would be written as "Bchol Libecha," but instead the word is...
