Appreciating Gift and Giver
Please learn & pray for the recovery of Menachem Mendel Chaim ben Mirel. Our reading begins with the offering of Bikkurim, the first fruits, in the Holy Temple. At the end of the process, the Torah says "And you shall be happy with all the goodness that Hashem...
Try, or Try Not. There is no Do.
One of the more famous lines of the Star Wars franchise comes at a point when the mentor and teacher, Yoda, cajoles the protagonist, Luke, into attempting a task that the latter has already claimed cannot be done. Cowed into submission, Luke says, "alright, I'll give...
To Heel the World
Our reading this week begins with an unusual word in its opening verse: "And it will be that as a consequence [Eikev] of listening to these judgments, guarding and doing them, that HaShem your G-d will guard for you the Covenant and the kindness which He swore to your...
Come Together… Under Me
When, thousands of years ago, our Sages instituted the annual cycle of Torah readings, they established the calendar such that this week's reading, Devarim, opening the Book of Deuteronomy, universally comes during the week of the Ninth of Av. 9 Av, of course, is the...
Finding Fault or Favor
The Torah says that "the nation shall judge," and a verse later, "the nation shall save" [Num. 35:24-25]. The Talmud learns from the juxtaposition of these verses that the Sanhedrin, the High Court, should side with saving the accused, try to find merit for him, and...
The Killer Peacemaker
"Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon the Priest, has turned away My anger from the children of Israel, by being zealous for My vengeance amongst them; and [thus] I did not destroy the children of Israel in My vengeance. Therefore, I say, behold I give to him...
