Are you old enough to remember vinyl records? Do you remember how a scratched record could skip backwards, repeating a section over and over? The casual listener to the reading of this week’s Torah portion might be reminded of that broken record. The Baal Korei (the...

This Shabbos we will read the first words of Bamidbar, the Book of Numbers. Then, on Sunday night, we will celebrate the holiday of Shavuos, the time of the giving of the Torah. The holiday is called Shavuos in the Torah, literally "weeks," as the Torah commands us to...

The second of our two readings this week is Bechukosai: "If you will go in my decrees, and guard my commandments, and do them" [Lev. 26:3]. A decree is something that government, or in this case HaShem [G-d] in the Torah, tells us to do, which we are unlikely to...

The current period on the Jewish calendar, the weeks between Passover and Shavuos, are called the “Y'mei Sefirah,” days of of counting. The Omer, the annual grain offering, was brought on the second day of Passover in the Holy Temple. Starting from that day, the Torah...

“Don’t take revenge, don’t bear a grudge, love your friend like yourself, I am G-d. (Lev. 19:18)” These words are among the most well known Commandments in the Torah. Their simplicity and truth have resonated with people for thousands of years. Yet these Mitzvos,...

This week's Torah portion describes a person infected with a Negah - a blemish, which might infect his skin, his clothing, or even the walls of his house. So it is immediately obvious that the "infection" the Torah is describing was a spiritual illness, not medical. A...