Emor – When Shabbos Arrives on Tuesday
The term “afilu biShabbos shel chol” – “even on a weekday Shabbos” – is from the Zohar (Korach 179), as the end of the statement beginning:“The Shechinah has never left Yisroel on Shabbosos and...
Category: Judaism
Acharei Mos – When Life is the Equal of Death
Faced with a forced choice between continuing to live or committing one of three sins – idolatry, murder and arayos, forbidden sexual relations – a Jew is commanded to forfeit his life. In the...
Metzora – Mitigating the Miser’s Mindset
Nega’im, “plagues” that consist of certain types of spots of discoloration that appeared on the walls of a house after Klal Yisrael entered their land, signaled tzarus ayin, literally “cramped-eyedness,” what we would call stinginess....
Shemini – The Abominable Eight’s Missing Member
The nachash, the snake, makes two appearances in the parsha. Actually, one is better described as a conspicuous non-appearance and the other is one where it is described in words but not by name....
My Father’s Matzo
A Pesach -themed piece of mine appeared in the Boston Globe and can be read here. If you’re denied access, just let me know ([email protected]) and I’ll happily share a PDF.
Tzav – The Import of the Ashes
An interesting Midrash is cited by Rav Yosef Nechemia Kornitzer (1880-1933), a great-grandson of the Chasam Sofer who served as the av beis din of Cracow before World War II. The Midrash is found...
Vayikra – A Phenomenal “Fat”
Among the eimorim, the portions of non-olah animal korbanos that are burned on the mizbe’ach, in contrast to the animal’s meat, which is eaten, is the cheilev she’al hak’layos – the “fat atop the...
Pekudei – One Thing Leads to Another
It’s intriguing that, just as Chazal place importance on being masmich geulah litfillah – placing a reference to redemption immediately before prayer, i.e. the amidah (Berachos 4b, 9b) – we find something similar in...
Two Purim Pieces
My Ami column for the Purim issue can be read here. And a piece I wrote for Religion News Service is here. A happy and meaningful Purim to all! AS
Parshas Ki Sisa – Wealth Recycles
A famous palindromic word in the Torah is venasnu, in the second pasuk in the parsha. It means “and each man must give,” in the context of contributing the machatzis hashekel, which the Torah...
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