The Torah completed its annual cycle of weekly readings this past week with the parsha of V’Zot Habracha. It begins our new yearly reading of the Torah this Shabat with the reading of parshat Bereshith. Rashi points out to us that when Moshe came to bless the tribes of Israel before departing this world he purposely connected his blessings to the past blessings of Yaakov to his children...
יש הרבה שיעורים מוסריים שאפשר ללמוד מסיפור הבריאה כפי שהוא מסופר לנו בפרשת השבוע וגם בפרשה של השבוע הבא, פרשת נח. אחת התובנות הרלוונטיות והמועילות ביותר נוגעת ליחסים שבין האנושות לממלכת החי ושאר עולם הטבע. לפי...
There are many moral lessons that are derived from the story of creation as related to us in this parsha and also in next week’s parsha of Noach. One of the insights that I find most relevant and instructive has to do with the relationship of humankind to the animal kingdom and the rest of the natural world. According to Jewish tradition Adam and Chava and their immediate...
The holy Torah concludes with the blessings of Moshe to the people of Israel before his passing from the world. Though the point has been made before, a number of times in these parsha articles, it bears repetition – the blessing to each of the tribes is different in detail and purpose. Contrary to much current belief and practice in religious Jewish society, there is no one-size-fits-all...
This song of Moshe is the song of the Jewish story. It accurately portrays the arc of Jewish history in its glorious as well as its dolorous moments. The Ramban’s comment as to the proof of the holiness and accuracy of Moshe’s prophetic words – “If someone stood and accurately foretold what would happen many centuries later, would not one in hindsight be forced to admit to the truth of...
At first glance one may think that these two special days on the Jewish calendar stand in stark contradistinction one from the other. Yom Kippur is a day of awe and solemnity, of fasting and abstinence while Succot is the holiday of joy and beauty, of good and plentiful food and friendly camaraderie. And yet there is an underlying theme that binds together all of the special days of the Jewish...
The year 5773 is now upon us. As with every new year, every new beginning, every new infant born and project initiated, we pin great hopes and expectations upon the new arrival. We hope and pray for a new year of tranquility and peace, success and health and for our emotional and spiritual growth. Most of us have had many such hopes in the past and truth be said not all of the new years met our...
The parsha of Vayelech is the parsha that contains the smallest number of verses – only thirty – of any other parsha in the Torah. It also is the parsha that usually coincides with Shabat Shuva, the holy Shabat between Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur. The words of the parsha are part of the last testament of Moshe uttered on the day of his passing from this earth. As is his wont, Moshe...
This is the week that selichot – the penitential prayers that are added to the weekday morning prayer service – are recited in the synagogue according to Ashkenazic custom. Sephardic Jews have been reciting selichot in their morning prayer services since the start of the month of Elul. There are different customs even within these two main groupings of Jews as to which particular penitential...
The title of this week’s parsha says everything that needs to be said about the Jewish story, nation and people. After forty years of war, rebellion, strife, great accomplishment, Divine revelation, miracles, defeats, Torah study, and personal and national tragedies and heartbreak, Moshe remarks, almost incredulously, that atem nitzavim – you are erect and still standing proud and mighty....
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