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Posts Tagged ‘ Dvar Torah ’

Parshas Yisro

The Ten Commadments At first glance, the Ten Commandments consist of highly contrasting types of mitzvos. The first command­ments, “I am God, your God,” and the prohibition against idol worship address the most spiritual matters related to God’s unity. The other commandments, however, consist of such simple instructions as “You shall not murder,” and “You shall [...]



Parshat Yitro

וַיִּחַדְּ  יִתְרוֹ  עַל  כָּל  הַטּוֹבָה  אֲשֶׁר  עָשָׂה  ה’  לְיִשְׂרָאֵל  אֲשֶׁר  הִצִּילוֹ  מִיַּד  מִצְרָיִם Jethro  was  happy  about  all  the  good  that  G-d  had  done  for  Israel, that  He  had  rescued  them  from  the  hands  of  the  Egyptians  —  Ex 18:9 After  many  years  of  doubt  and  disillusion  with  his  heritage,  Abe  decides  to  leave  the [...]



Parshat Beshalach

וַתַּעַל  שִׁכְבַת  הַטָּל  וְהִנֵּה  עַל  פְּנֵי  הַמִּדְבָּר  דַּק  מְחֻסְפָּס  דַּק  כַּכְּפֹר  עַל הָאָרֶץ The  layer  of  dew  lifted,  and  behold,  on  the  surface of  the  desert, a  fine,  substance  as  fine  as  frost  on  the  ground  —  Exodus 16:14 If  you  had  to  pick  one  item  to  symbolize  Shabbat,  the  day  of  rest,  which  item  would you [...]



Parshas Bo

The First Mitzvah — Fixing the New month The Torah was given to bring sanctity to the world. Each time a mitzvah is observed this goal is brought one stage closer, as another place and another moment becomes holy. The mitzvah causes holiness to be felt in two dimensions: space and time, but most mitzvos are limited to a specific place [...]



Parshat Bo

אַךְ בַּיּוֹם הָרִאשׁוֹן תַּשְׁבִּיתוּ שְּׂאֹר מִבָּתֵּיכֶם … but on the preceding day you shall clear away all leaven from your houses — Ex. 12:15 וְהָיָה לְאוֹת עַל יָדְכָה וּלְטוֹטָפֹת בֵּין עֵינֶיךָ כִּי בְּחֹזֶק יָד הוֹצִיאָנוּ ה’ מִמִּצְרָיִם And it shall be for a sign upon your hand and for ornaments between your eyes, for with a [...]



Parshas Shemos

“They will not believe in me and they will not listen to my voice.” (4:1) If Moshe knew that the Jewish people had a tradition from their Patriarchs that a redeemer would arrive (as Maharsha writes) then why did he fear that “they will not believe in me”? However, Moshe’s fear was that after so many years of slavery [...]



Parshat Shemot

וַיְמָרְרוּ  אֶת  חַיֵּיהֶם  בַּעֲבֹדָה  קָשָׁה  בְּחֹמֶר  וּבִלְבֵנִים  וּבְכָל  עֲבֹדָה  בַּשָּׂדֶה And  they  embittered  their  lives  with  hard  labor,  with  clay  and  with  bricks and  with  all  kinds  of  labor  in  the  fields  —  Exodus 1:14 Moses, Museums and Menorahs. I must make a confession.  As we read the Torah portion every week, year after year, it [...]



Parshas Vayechi

The names of Yosef’s two sons.  Menasheh received his name because, “God has caused me to forget (NaSHaNi) all my hardships and all that was in my father’s house”(41:51). This expressed how Yosef was pained by the fact that he found himself in a place which made him forget his father’s house.  Efrayim was named, because “God has [...]



Parshat Vayechi

One fine summer day Family Goldstein visit the zoo and are taken to the wolves’ enclosure. There they witness an incredible sight; the fulfilment of Isaiah’s prophecy – a wolf and a lamb side by side in the enclosure together! Mr Goldstein calls over one of the staff: “How long have you had a wolf [...]



Parshas Vayigash

Yosef does not seek revenge against his brothers. We can learn from the example of Yosef towards his brothers that one should never seek revenge against a person who causes him any form of distress or damage. Rather, one should repay even a guilty offender with kindness (Tanya ch. 12). Why should we be kind to guilty offenders? [...]



Chanukah Light

The Secret of Miracles We live in a world of cause and effect. The deeds of man, in particular, profoundly affect both the material and spiritual dimensions. In that light, what was the “cause,” i.e., merit that awakened the phenomenal miracles of Chanukah? The story of the Exodus from Egypt sheds light on our question. [...]



Parshas Vayeshev

Yosef interprets the dreams of the chief butler and chief baker. The natural reaction for Yosef, after being wrongly imprisoned, would be utter contempt for Egypt and its government. Thus, when Yosef was joined by the chief butler and chief baker—two of Pharaoh’s high-ranking ministers—it would only have been natural for Yosef to shun them [...]



Parshas Vayishlach

Ya’akov’s fight with the angel. According to Ramban, Ya’akov’s fight with the guardian angel of Eisav alludes to the suffering of the Jewish people during the times of Exile. The fact that Ya’akov was later healed completely (see below 33:18 and Rashi ibid.) indicates that when the exile finally ends there will be no remnant [...]



Parshat Vayishlach

וַיְהִי בְהַקְשֹׁתָהּ בְּלִדְתָּהּ …  וַיְהִי בְּצֵאת נַפְשָׁהּ כִּי מֵתָה …  וַתָּמָת רָחֵל וַתִּקָּבֵר בְּדֶרֶךְ אֶפְרָתָה הִוא בֵּית לָחֶם It came to pass when she had such difficulty giving birth … her soul departed … and she was buried on the road to Ephrat, which is Beit Lechem.  And Jacob built a monument on her grave, [...]



Parshas Vayetze

Ya’akov’s flocks of sheep. The Midrash describes the Jewish people as God’s “sheep” (Shir Hashirim Rabah 2:16), as an expression of their total dedication to God, like sheep that follow their shepherd unquestioningly. Ya’akov exemplified this level of dedication while he worked for Lavan, remaining loyal to God’s commands despite the spiritually alien environment. Thus, to hint to [...]