A cow or a sheep, it and its child, do not slaughter on one day.” Vayikrah 22:28 In one of the many mitzvahs that teaches us how to deal with animals, the Torah commands us not to kill a...
“And a man from the house of Israel, and from the converts who live with you, who shall consume any blood, I shall place My face against the soul of the one who consumed blood, and I shall cut...
The Kohain shall don a garment of linen, and he shall don linen breeches on his skin, and he shall remove the ashes.” — Vayikra 6:3 One of the daily activities in the Mishkan was...
Great affront to the Mitzrim After months of witnessing HASHEM’s mastery over nature, the Jewish people were commanded to commit the ultimate affront to the Mitzrim: to take their very god,...
“You shall place both stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, remembrance stones for the Children of Israel.” Shemos 28:12 Moshe was commanded to make garments for the Kohanim Moshe...
“And you shall make a menorah of pure gold; hammered out shall the menorah be made. Its base, its shaft, it cups, its knobs, and its blossoms shall be (hammered) from it.” — Shemos...
This past Shabbat I participated in Vancouver’s first “Occupy Shabbat.” The thirty of us crammed into Occupy Vancouver’s meditation tent weren’t the only ones...
And Yisro… heard that which HASHEM did for Moshe and Yisrael” With these words, the Torah explains what motivated Yisro to join the Jewish people. He heard all of the great miracles...
And Moshe stretched out his hand over the sea, and HASHEM moved the sea with a strong eastern wind all the night, and He turned the sea to damp land and the water split.” — Shemos 14:21...
“This was Aaron and Moshe to whom HASHEM spoke....” — Shemos 6:26 After HASHEM commanded Moshe and Aaron to be the emissaries to free the Jewish people, the Torah lays out their...
"And Yisroel came close to the day of his death, and he called to his son, to Yosef, and he said, "If I have found favor in your eyes, do to me a chessed and truth, please do not bury me...
The miracle of the oil Why do we celebrate Chanukah? “When the Yivanim entered the Bais HaMikdash, they defiled all the oil set aside for lighting the Menorah. When the Chashmonoim were...
“And Yaakov feared greatly, and it caused him pain, and he split the nation that was with him, the sheep, cattle, and camels into two camps.” — Bereishis 32:7 Aysav comes to...
"And Yaakov made a vow saying if HASHEM will be with me and guard me on this path that I am embarking upon, and if He will give me food to eat and clothing to wear, and he will return to...
And Yitzchak prayed intensely opposite his wife because she was barren. And HASHEM listened to him, and Rivka became pregnant.” — Bereishis 25:21 HASHEM answered Yitzchak’s prayers...
"And I asked her and said: "Who is your father?" and she said, "I am the daughter of Bisuel…" and I placed the bracelet on her hands." — Bereishis 24:47...
“And to the cattle Avrohom ran, and he took a young calf, soft and good, and he gave it to the lad, and he hurried to prepare it.” — Bereishis 18:7 Parshas Vayaira opens...
“And Noach, his sons, and his wife came with him because of the waters of the flood.” — Bereishis 7:7 HASHEM told Noach that his entire generation was wicked and would be...
Friday night we were eating our Shabbat meal and the Challah bread was particularly crusty. I thought of the Midrash that Moshe told the Israelites that everyday Manna would fall, but since none...
“Because you did not serve HASHEM, your G-d, amid gladness and goodness of heart when everything was abundant.” — Devarim 28:47 The destiny of the Jews The fate of the Jewish...
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Yom Kippur The Storyline The story of Bilam, the gentile prophet, is most peculiar. It begins when Balak, the king of Moav, recognizes that he is in danger. The Jewish Nation had...
Parshas Nitzavim/Vayeilech Your attitude determines your altitude “It is not in the heavens for you to say, ‘Who can ascend to the heaven for us and take it for us so that we can listen...
Rosh Hashanah is the beginning of the new Jewish Year. Why of all days, do we observe New Years on this particular day? Jewish history began when the Jews left Egypt in the spring. Does it not make...
“Because you did not serve HASHEM, your G-d, amid gladness and goodness of heart when everything was abundant.” — Devarim 28:47 The destiny of the Jews At the end of a long...
“When HASHEM your G-d will broaden your boundary as He spoke to you, and you say, “I will eat meat,” for you will have a desire to eat meat, to your heart’s entire desire you...
This Shabbat is the 18th day of Elul, the last month before the Jewish New Years. Beginning with this Shabbat, there remain only 12 days to this year, one day for each of the 12 past months. Each of...
The Mitzvah to be Happy “Because you did not serve HASHEM, your G-d, amid gladness and goodness of heart when everything was abundant.” — Devarim 28:47 The destiny of the Jews At...
This week’s Torah Reading instructs us not to withhold the pay of an employee. We are you pay the worker on the very day that he completes his work, before the sun has set. An employer...
“You shall not pervert judgment, you shall not respect someone’s presence, and you shall not accept a bribe, for the bribe will blind the eyes of the wise and make just words...
“You shall not reject an Edomite, for he is your brother; you shall not reject an Egyptian, for you were a sojourner in his land.” – Devarim 23:8 Our attitude toward the Mitzrim...
This Shabbat's Torah Passage (Ekev) emphasises the importance of listening. The Torah Portion concludes with the second chapter of the daily Shema that opens by saying, “If only...
Many of the time honoured rules respected by generations of Jews, have fallen by the wayside in our community. Not too long ago, even the most secular Jew would not dream of intermarriage; today it...
“The three cities you shall place on the other side of the Jordan, and three cities you shall place in the land of Canaan; cities of refuge they shall be.” – Bamidbar 35:14 A...
“And if her father will revoke [the neder] the day that he hears all of the vows and prohibitions that she placed on herself, they [the vows] will not stand, and HASHEM will forgive her...
“Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon HaKohain, appeased My anger against the Bnai Yisroel by taking My revenge amidst them, and so I didn’t have to destroy them with My...
“Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon HaKohain, appeased My anger against the Bnai Yisroel by taking My revenge amidst them, and so I didn’t have to destroy...
The Be’er disappeared when Miriam died For almost 40 years, as the Jews travelled in the desert, their source of water was the Be’er: a large rock that provided the water they needed to...
Korach’s rebellion Korach gathered together 250 men of stature and mounted a rebellion against Moshe and HASHEM. Rashi explains that Korach’s motivation was jealousy: he felt that he...
Links of the Golden Chain This coming Tuesday night, June 9, marks the beginning of Shavuot, the holiday that commemorates the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. On Wednesday morning,...
“Speak to the Bnai Yisrael and say to them: any man whose wife shall go astray and commit treachery against him. . . ” — Bamidbar 5:12 The Parsha of Sotah The Torah describes the...
“And HASHEM said to Moshe, “Descend, warn the people, lest they break through to HASHEM to see, and a multitude of them will fall.’” – Shemos 19:21 The moment in...
“The families of the children of Korach would encamp on the side of the Tabernacle, to the south.” — Bamidbar 3:29 Yissochor and Zevulun became the teachers and supporters of Torah...
“If you go in my ways and follow my statutes…Five of you will chase a hundred, and a hundred of you will chase ten thousand, and they will fall from your sword.” Vayikra 26:8 The...
This is an excerpt from the new Shmuz on Life book: Stop Surviving and Start Living. The book will be in seforim stores beginning April 2011. Pre releases copies are available now at www.TheShmuz.com.
This is an excerpt from the new Shmuz on Life book: Stop Surviving and Start Living. The book will be in seforim stores beginning April 2011. Pre releases copies are available now at www.TheShmuz.com.
“You shall sound a broken blast on the shofar, in the seventh month, on the tenth of the month; on the Day of Atonement you shall sound the Shofar throughout your land.” — VaYikrah...
People Believe What They Want to Believe “And Moshe stretched out his hand over the sea, and HASHEM moved the sea with a strong eastern wind all the night, and He turned the sea to damp land...
“You shall place both stones on the shoulder straps of the ephod, remembrance stones for the Children of Israel.” Shemos 28:12 Moshe was commanded to make garments for the Kohanim...
In the times of castles and moats, there lived a princess. An only child, her life was to be one of comfort, lavishness and splendor from the cradle to the grave. She wore only satin and silk. She...
