The parsha of Tzav more often than not coincides with the Shabat preceding Pesach – Shabat Hagadol, the “great Shabat.” At first glance there does not seem to be any inherent connection between the parsha of Tzav and Shabat Hagadol and Pesach. However, since Judaism little recognizes randomness or happenstance regarding Jewish life, and certainly regarding Torah itself, a further analysis... READ MORE →
This week’s parsha marks another new beginning in our public reading and personal understanding of the Torah. Whereas the first two books of the Torah are mainly narrative in nature and content, the book of Vayikra is mainly a book of laws and commandments and of the nature of purity and impurity, sacrificial offerings and priestly obligations. Vayikra not only offers us a change of... READ MORE →
The book of Shemot that began with such high drama just a few months ago ends this week on a rather bland and apparently purely technical note. The Torah once more reviews and recounts for us the details of the construction of the Mishkan and an exact accounting of the material goods that were used in its construction. Through the ages, the commentators have dwelt long and hard on these... READ MORE →
Moshe is absent from the people of Israel for forty days. This seems to trigger a disastrous turn of events that results in the incident of the Golden Calf. Why is Moshe’s absence such a cataclysmic event in the evolving story of the constant and continuing backtracking of Israel from its Sinai commitment? After all, every rabbi is entitled to a vacation away from his flock. The... READ MORE →
משה נעלם לבני ישראל למשך 40 יום, ונראה שההיעדרות הזאת מובילה לשרשרת אירועים טרגיים שמסתיימת בתקרית עגל הזהב. מדוע ההיעדרות של משה היא אירוע כל כך נורא בסיפור המתפתח של הנסיגה המתמשכת של בני ישראל מהמחויבות שלהם בהר... READ MORE →
התורה מצווה אותנו להדליק את המנורה, את נר התמיד, בשמן זית זך כתית, השמן הכי טהור והכי משובח. יש היגיון ברור בדרישה הזאת. שמן שאיננו זך גורם ללהבות לרטוט ולהבהב וגם להדיף ריח לא נעים ולהפוך את המטלה של ניקוי המנורה לבלתי... READ MORE →
The Torah ordains that the olive oil used to light the eternal menorah - candelabra - must be of the purest and best available. There is obvious logic to this requirement. Impure oil will cause the flames to stutter and flicker. Impure oil also may exude an unpleasant odor and make the task of the daily cleaning of the oil lamps difficult and inefficient. Yet I feel that the basic underlying... READ MORE →
Giving away some of one’s material wealth is never an easy thing. Our instinct tells us that what is mine, earned through my efforts, should always remain mine and in my possession. In the phrase of the rabbis, we have “a jaundiced eye” towards others and we resent their imposing themselves upon us for continued help and financial donations. We do not even think ourselves to be selfish for... READ MORE →
היכול לנדב תמיד קשה לנו לתרום חלק מההון החומרי שלנו. החושים שלנו אומרים לנו שמה ששייך לנו, שהרווחנו בזיעת אפנו, צריך להישאר שלנו וברשותנו. אם נשתמש בביטוי של חז"ל, עיננו צרה בזולת ואנחנו נוטרים לנזקקים טינה על כך שהם... READ MORE →
The full acceptance – the naaseh v’nishma – we will do and we will hearken – of the Torah by the Jewish people appears in this week’s parsha rather than in last week’s parsha where the actual description of the revelation at Mount Sinai is recorded. We are all quite aware that the maxim that the devil lies in the details is incontrovertibly and unerringly correct. General acceptance... READ MORE →
