Wisdom in the Skies
In the Talmud, the Sages tell us to study the skies, or more specifically the calculations of the calendar: "says Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachmeini in the name of Rebbe Yochanon: from where do we know that it is a Mitzvah to calculate the seasons and the months? For it says,...
Coming off the Back Bench
The Torah portion of Dvarim, beginning the last of the 5 books of Moses, is universally read on the Sabbath proceeding the Ninth of Av, when we commemorate the destruction of both Temples and other tragedies throughout Jewish history. Each week's reading is divided...
Why Do We Need Window Shades?
What Do you Live For?
The Talmud, at the end of the first tractate, Brachos, learns a fascinating lesson from the verse: "This is the Torah [the law]: when a person dies in a tent...†[19:14] This verse speaks about impurity that attaches to everything in the same building as someone who...
Learning from the Spies
Our Torah reading relates the tragic story of the Spies, sent to travel through the Land of Canaan in advance of its conquest by the People of Israel. “Send men for yourself, and they will spy out the Land of Canaan, which I give to the Children of Israel, one man...
The Importance of Good Company
This week, we witness Moshe throwing up his hands in despair. Moshe, Moshe Rabbeinu, our master teacher, he who transmitted the entire Torah directly from G-d to the Jewish People, has had it with the Jews. He's done. "And Moshe said to Hashem, 'why have You done such...



