This week we are marking the fifth Yahrtzeit of my father-in-law, Rabbi Dr. Azriel Rosenfeld. He was a leading researcher in the field of computer vision, and was also a scholar of Torah with keen insight. He graced Torah.org with two classes in Jewish Law, one each at the basic and advanced levels.

Given his incredible memory, he was also a tremendous resource for our “Ask the Rabbi” service — able to quickly refer to multiple texts to find quotations and answers. After his passing, we launched JewishAnswers.org in order to permit a team of Rabbis and scholars, today numbering over 50, to share the burden. Today we are able to field dozens of questions every month, while referring people to local resources for further study. May Rabbi Rosenfeld be remembered for a blessing, and may our efforts be a good remembrance for him and his great contributions.

Good Shabbos!
Rabbi Yaakov Menken
Director, Project Genesis – Torah.org

This Shabbos, Jewish congregations around the world read Parshas Yisro, which describes our receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai. G-d made Ten Dibros, or Declarations (commonly referred to as the Ten Commandments, but by all accounts there are more than ten Mitzvos therein), which were inscribed upon two Tablets.

Our Sages point out that an even division across two tablets is actually very uneven. The first five of these Dibros are entire paragraphs, while the second are very brief, e.g. “You shall not murder.” The longest of these is the last: “You shall not covet your friend’s wife, his servant, his maidservant, his ox, his donkey, and all that is your friend’s.”

How, then, would these Ten Dibros be inscribed on two tablets of equal size?

One answer from our Sages was: indeed, both sets filled an entire tablet — the second set was inscribed with much larger letters.

What happens when you use a larger font? The message is louder, bolder and clearer. HaShem begins by telling us our obligations towards Him, but the second set declares our obligations towards each other.

The message of the larger letters is: these, too, are Torah. We must not forget that just as G-d expects us to follow His ways with Him, we must also follow His ways with each other. Rabbi Yisrael Salanter said that it is easier to learn the entire Talmud than to change a single personal trait for the better — but this is our task.

Good Shabbos!

Rabbi Yaakov Menken
Director, Project Genesis – Torah.org

This week, we share in the mourning for Rabbi Noach Weinberg, founder and leader of Aish HaTorah until his passing on Thursday. As I detail in a post on Cross-Currents, I attended only one of his classes (until I, much later, was involved in outreach myself) — but that one occasion is burned into my memory. He was a tremendous leader, passionate about Jews, Torah, and bringing the two together, and most everyone involved in Jewish outreach has been impacted by him, either directly or through thousands of students.

May his memory be for a blessing.

Good Shabbos,
Rabbi Yaakov Menken
Director, Project Genesis – Torah.org