by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Mar 27, 2026 | Lifeline
Along with Elevation Offerings, Guilt Offerings, Flour Offerings and others, this week Aharon and his sons, the Kohanim, learn how to offer the Sin Offering. Last week we discussed, with regards to this offering, an exception to the rule: when one gave an offering for...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Mar 20, 2026 | Lifeline
In this week’s reading, we learn about sin and guilt offerings in the Temple. One was called the “higher or lower” offering, as this offering depended upon a person’s financial situation. If a person entered the Temple without being in a pure state, or swore falsely...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Mar 13, 2026 | Lifeline
After returning from atop Mt. Sinai, after Yom Kippur, Moshe calls the people to congregate. He is about to tell them to collect donations: gold, silver, and copper, colored cloths and skins, oil and spices. They were all to be used to construct the Tabernacle for...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Mar 6, 2026 | Lifeline
In this week’s reading, we learn that Moshe received the entire Torah during 40 days on top of Mount Sinai, and received two Tablets that were miracles unto themselves (the Medrash tells us that letters engraved all the way through, similar to O, Q, B, etc. in...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Feb 13, 2026 | Lifeline
Our reading this week begins, “And these are the judgments that you shall place before them” [21:1]. Rashi comments that a statement beginning “these…” rejects or supplants that which came before it, whereas “and these” means...
by Rabbi Yaakov Menken | Jan 23, 2026 | Lifeline
This week, Moshe comes before Pharaoh to warn him of the coming Tenth and Final Plague: So says G-d: at roughly midnight, I will go though Egypt…and every firstborn will die…” [11:4] Moshe told Pharaoh that at “roughly” midnight—“Ka”-chatzos Halaylah—G-d will go...
