In the Torah portion of Vayikra (4:2-23), G-d instructs us: “If the anointed priest [kohen gadol] will sin … for his sin that he committed he shall offer a bull, a young male of cattle, unblemished, to G-d as a sin-offering. …. If the entire assembly of Israel [the judges of the High Court, the Sanhedrin]…
We find, when reading the Torah portion of Pekudei, that, when Moses appealed to the nation of Israel to provide funds and raw materials needed for the inauguration of the Mishkan (Holy Tabernacle), everyone responded with such amazing warm-hearted generosity that, in a relatively short time, Moses declared a halt to the contributions, and, afterwards, the Mishkan’s construction…
We read in the beginning of the Torah section of VaYakhel (Sh’mot 35:1-2): “And Moses gathered the entire assembly of the Children of Israel and said to them, ‘These are the things that G-d commanded to do them. On six days, work may be done, but the seventh day shall be holy for you, a…
Upon pondering the Torah section of Tetzave and its various mentions of the term “names of the children of Israel ” (Sh’mot 28:9 et al), the noted Torah scholar R. Yitzchak Zilberstein discusses a question concerning naming a child that sheds significant light on the entire subject (VeHa’arev Na II, pp. 215-218). The question posed concerned a…
In the Torah section of Terumah, in the process of describing the details of the construction of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), used in the desert for sacrifices to G-d, we read (Sh’mot 26:15), “And you shall make the planks of the Tabernacle of acacia wood, standing erect.” Our Sages comment on the above verse (Sh’mot Rabbah 35:2): “Why acacia wood? …
The Torah section of Yitro begins with our being told of Yitro’s sojourn from Midian into the desert to reunite with his son-in-law Moses and join the Israelites after their miraculous exodus from Egypt . We read (Sh’mot 18:5-24): “And Yitro, the father-in-law of Moses, came to Moses with his sons and wife, to the…
In the Torah section of Beshalach, we read (Sh’mot 14:31), “And Israel saw the great hand that G-d inflicted upon Egypt.” In his Darash Moshe, the latter day Torah giant R. Moshe Feinstein offers an intriguing comment on this verse. R. Feinstein wonders why the Torah placed this verse here, after the Israelites saw the…
In the Torah section of Bo, G-d completes a series of ten plagues whereby He punishes the Egyptians for their cruel enslavement and persecution of the Children of Israel and whereby He demonstrates His unequivocal dominion over this world’s events. As regards the next to last plague, we read (Sh’mot 10: 21 -23), “And G-d said…
As we consider the period following the exodus of the nation of Israel from their enslavement in Egypt up to their receiving the Torah from our Master and Creator, the G-d of the entire universe, various seemingly conflicting thoughts come to mind, the resolution of which sheds significant light on the path that we must…
On the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat, known as Tu B’Shvat, Jews worldwide mark the New Year of Trees (Babylonian Talmud, Rosh Hashanah 2a). This day is considered the start of the new year for tithing fruits that grow from the tree. Fruits blossoming from this day forward are considered to belong to…
