Pekudei – Panic Today, Joy Tomorrow
The parallel in wordings between the Torah’s account of the universe’s creation and of the building of the Mishkan has been noted by commentaries. I won’t cite examples here but they abound. The late...
Category: General
Ki Sisa — Knot Theory
The Hebrew words panim and achor (as in lifnei and acharei) are used in both a spatial and temporal sense – either as “front” and “back” or as “before” and “after.” One approach to...
The Day After Is Now
Since that day of infamy in October, we’ve been speculating about how the Jewish world would look different, once the war was over. We deferred talking about the day after, in order to focus...
Bishalach – La Différence
Our ancestors’ wondering “Is Hashem in our midst or not?” is followed immediately in the Torah by Amalek’s attack (Shemos 17: 7-8). The word expressing Klal Yisrael’s existential doubt – “or not?” – is...
Vo’eira – When To Remind Can Be Unkind
It’s intriguing that when Moshe and Aharon are sent to present themselves to Par’oh and to demonstrate the miracle of a staff turning into a snake, Moshe is commanded by Hashem to tell Aharon...
Notes From the War, Dec. 4: An Optimistic Take On Achdus
While we celebrate it here in Israel, many fret about it as well. On the one hand, achdus is our most potent spiritual weapon in wartime. This is not to minimize the efficacy of...
Vayeishev – What’s Wrong?
When we read the account of Yosef’s unfair imprisonment – and his eventual release after the Egyptian ruler is informed by the sar hamashkim, the butler, of Yosef’s G-d-given ability to interpret dreams...
Vayishlach – Much Vs. All
One might not expect the key to happiness to be hidden in the meeting of Yaakov and Esav recounted in the parsha. But it’s there. When Yaakov explains the lavish gifts he had sent...
Rav Chaim Shmulevitz’s Powerful Wartime Questions
by Rabbi Eliezer Simcha Weisz Rav Chaim Shmulevitz zt”l asked powerful questions during the Yom Kippur War: Why don’t we see awakening in prayer and learning despite the crisis of war? He concludes it...
Nosei B’ol Im Chaveiro
by Rabbi Shaya Karlinsky The coverage of the horrors of the Simchas Torah carnage in Mishpacha magazine generated many letters to the editor. Some complained that showing the images (and they were quite benign...
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