Tamuz 6, 5778, 6/19/2018
 Balak: The Witching HourTrying to prevent a new age for mankind.Tetzaveh: A Perfect FitThe High Priest's garments were unlike any other.Lech Lecha: Hail to the ChiefThe Ishmaelite exile at the End of Days.Hey Noah, Nice BoatAn amazing aspect of human nature.Nitzavim: The Wait is OverWe have long forgotten what we are waiting for.Our Visit to TempleA Bar Mitzvah boy goes to temple.Re'eh: Ascend the Temple MountIf only there was a will to do so.Mas'ei: Thorns at Your SidesHow did all of this come about?Matot: False PromisesThe power of the human voice.Pinchas: Which Side Are You On?With the daughters of Zelofchad or with the spies?Chukat: The Divine Water SupplyThe water struggle continues to this day.The Impossible TaskIf we try to fix the world, G-d will do his partBehukotai: Blessings in the LandExile cannot be a blessing.<I>Kedoshim</I>: The Other Side of the CoinThis is the greatness of Judaism.Pesach: As Easy as PieWe seem to be missing the point - the sacrifice. <i>Metzora</I>: No Pain, No GainJews outside the Land do not have this concern.<i>Vayak'hel</I>: Work in the Temple on the Day of RestWhen it comes to the Shabbat - all work stops.The Eleventh Commandment: Thou Shalt DoTheTorah is a book of commands.<I>Beshalach</I>: Have to Be in It for the Long HallAfter leaving Egypt, they were heading back.<I>Vaera</I>: The Final Test is the HardestA test during the final stage of the redemption.<i>Shemot</I>: Brotherly LoveThis is the way of the Jewish people.<I>Vayechi</I>: A Lesson Still Not LearntThe most obvious answer.<I>Vayeshev</i>: The Lessons of the Two MashiachsAll that befell Yosef will befall Zion.<i>Vayetze</i>: Our Place - Their PlaceRashi enlightens us as to which is our "place."<i>Toldot</I>: Brotherly Love (Not!)The continually unfolding story.<I>Noach</I>: Got to be in for the Long HaulWait until the dust settles.'Innocents Abroad' Revisited: 1867-2007The Holy Land was unlike anything that he had seenThe Ultimate of SinsA sin for which only the day of death can atone.<I>Ekev</i>: The Source of All BlessingsThe world's sustenance derives from the Temple.<I>Va'etchanan</I>: What's Bothering Moshe?We can sympathize with Moshe only too well.Time to Arise From the GroundWhat would our sages tell us today?<I>Balak</I>: The Power of the VoiceComing against us with the power of words.<i>Shelach</I>: Returning to the SourceNo matter how far away a Jew is on his journey...<I>Beha'alotecha</I>: A Menorah by Any NameStill a need for the Jewish people to bring light.<I>Naso</I>: Clarifying a Temple Mount IssueWe are allowed to go up to certain areas.<I>Behar</I>: What Will We Eat in the Seventh Year?No greater test than the test of parnassa.<I>Emor</I>: The Right Man for the JobEach tree must fulfill its purpose in this world.<i>Mishpatim</I>: Fire on the MountainA Jewish slave - is he truly free?<I>Beshalach</I>: The Mud and the Blood and the Beerit was at that grand moment, when the Jewish people were crossing the sea, that some of the Jews began to complain to one another saying: 'Look at this, in Egypt we were stuck in the mud all day making bricks, and here, too, we are stuck in the mud that is in the seabed. We had mud then, and we have mud now!'Oh, After MidnightIn his hit song, Eric Clapton tells us that after midnight you are going to "let it all hang out." Moshe tells Pharaoh that at ?about midnight,? Hashem will strike down and kill all the firstborn sons of the Egyptians. Now, would it not have been easier for Moshe to tell Pharaoh this would occur at midnight, as opposed to at ?about midnight??Understand Well, My BrothersThe Jewish people in Egypt were so embedded in Egyptian culture, that when the redemption came, the great majority were unable to release themselves from it and had to be destroyed.<I>Shemot</I>: Down in Old Egypt Land - Why?It was only when the Jewish people gave up any hope of salvation from mankind, and despaired totally of redemption, that they were able to come to an understanding that there is no other power in this world besides <I>HaShem</I>. For it is <I>HaShem</I> who brings down the mighty and raises up the lowly.<I>Vayechi</I>: Just Not Here!"Please, if I have found favor in your eyes... do this kindness and truth with me - please do not bury me in Egypt." What was the concern that our forefather Ya'akov had about being buried in Egypt?<i>Miketz</i>: Oh, Beautiful...One does not have to be a rocket scientist to understand and see the future unfolding before us. The world today is so complex that any little jolt in the wrong direction could literally bring the house down.<I>Noach</I>: Forty YearsIn our <I>parsha</I>, we are introduced to the concept of 40 and its link with punishment.A Lesson From Yom KippurTen years go by, ten High Priests die - you would think someone would have gotten the picture.<I>Nitzavim-Vayelech</I>: The Unbreakable BondKnow that nothing is lost before Him. All the beatings, cursings, gassings, and killings that the nations have thrown at us throughout our long exile will not be forgotten....<I>Ekev</I>: It's All Written in the BookThere, in the midst of the Jordan, the water - as it disconnected from its source so as to allow the Jews to pass through - began to rise to great heights, towering over the entire Jewish people. It was at that point that Joshua stopped the Jews in their tracks and told them: I have an important message to relay to you all.Rules of the GameThe Torah tells us: "When you go out to war against your enemy...." And does one ever go out to war against one's friend, such that the Torah needs to tell us that you are going out to war against an enemy?<I>Balak</I>: Try as They MightAs the Jewish people began their approach to the Holy Land after being in the desert for forty years, the nations began to sense, both consciously and unconsciously, that the Redemption was at hand. And they all pulled together to try and stop the process.<I>Chukat</I>: The Slave WomanThe Canaanite king of Arad heard that Israel had come by the route of the spies, and he warred against Israel and captured a captive from among them. There is nothing new under the sun.<I>Korach</I>: LessonsThe rabbis asked: Korach was a wise man and leader. What caused him to rebel against Moshe?<I>Shelach Lecha</I>: A Lesson Still Not LearnedWhen one dwells on the apparently harsh punishment meted out to the ten spies and to the entire congregation, one wonders: Does the punishment really fit the crime?Purim 5766 - And Still Going StrongSome weeks ago, the president of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, while denying that a Holocaust against the Jews took place during World War II, stated that there was indeed a "holocaust" that took place in Iran some 2,000 years ago, in which the Jews killed thousands of people.Still Much Work To Do!This week?s parsha should put to rest any arguments for the philosophy of sitting around and waiting for the Redemption of the Jewish people. The Torah commands us to build a sanctuary for Hashem, that He may dwell within.Parshat Mishpatim: In for the Long HaulAs if this weren't enough for one parsha, the Torah goes on to teach us the laws of stolen property and prohibition of deceit. From there, it?s on to laws applying to judges, witnesses, and defendants as well as those of false statements and capital punishment, etc. etc. etc.Time to climb the MountainAn entirely different environment with our enemies??? What has the acting PM been smoking in his office? I suggest to the honorable actor that he go down to Gaza City by himself and ask Hamas what kind of a "new environment" he would like to see the Jewish people in! |
