We Will Outlive Them, Too
In this week's Parsha, we learn the tragic story of Nadav and Avihu, the two sons of Aharon who died after offering a "strange fire" to Hashem. Moshe gives Aharon and his remaining sons special instructions: "do not grow your hair and do not tear your garments, that...
The Battle Continues
The Sabbath prior to the holiday of Purim is called Parshas Zachor, the portion of remembrance. There is a Biblical command to remember what Amalek did, and to blot out the remembrance of Amalek. There is even a prohibition against forgetting. The Torah portion that...
Just Passing Through
This week's reading, Pikudei, closes out the second book of the Torah. As Rashi says, it provides an accounting of the donations or the Tabernacle, of silver and gold and copper, and accounts for all of the holy vessels used in the Divine Service. Then the Torah tells...
Crushed for Brilliance
"And you shall command the Children of Israel, and they shall take to you pure olive oil, crushed for lighting, to elevate a light at all times" [Exodus 27:20]. The Torah requires that only the purest form of olive oil be used for lighting the Menorah in the Holy...
What Sets Jews Apart
This week we read of the Revelation of the Divine Presence on Mt. Sinai, and the Ten Commandments (which actually contain fourteen of the 613 Commandments, and are more precisely translated as "the Ten Statements"). The Medrash says that Sinai is related to the...
When Free Will is Miraculous
Our reading begins, "And G-d said to Moses, come in to Pharaoh, for I have hardened his heart and the heart of his servants, that I may place these signs among them" [10:1]. This seems to contradict the idea of free will, which is a core concept in Judaism. Much as...
