Tishrei 4, 5778, 9/24/2017
 The "Nakba" is Not What You Think It isThe year 1920 has an evil name in Arab annals: it is referred to as the Year of the Catastrophe (cĀm al-Nakba). Read the surprising, little-known reason below. Jerusalem Liberation Day (Yom Herut Yerushalayim)Like the dove which Noah had sent forth, had we found rest we would not have returned to all the places we regained in 1967. Mundane MiraclesWith the double parashah of Behar-Bekhukkotay we complete the Book of Leviticus this Shabbat before going on to Numbers. It Happened Seventy Years Ago - TodayThree events of great significance occurred on the 12th of Iyar - two in 1943 and one in 1948. What a difference between the three - and at the same time, what a connection! Yom Ha'atzmaut: Steps Toward RedemptionThe signs of Redemption are here. Only we must recognize them. A Line Stretches From Egypt to WarsawThey tried in Egypt, Persia and Europe. And in Warsaw, the valiant Jewish fight against impossible odds began the same day that, 3,255 years earlier, the Jews of Egypt had shaken off their fear of their slave-masters. When Does Pesach End?There are two holidays in Nisan connected by the Seder. Most people do not realize that. Telling of FreedomWhat is our response to the wicked son? – We include him against his will! His very opposition to the Jewish tradition becomes part of the Jewish tradition. The Meaning of Shabbat Parshat HachodeshThe Sabbath preceding the first day of the month of Nisan is called Hachodesh. We read the first mitzvah given to the Jews as a people, which tells us to take control of our time. Shabbat Parshat Parah: Preparing for RedemptionBetween Parshat Zachor before Purim and Parshat Hachodesh in Nisan is Shabbat Parshat Parah when we read about the red heifer, a statute elucidated below. Purim: Why Pretend?Confronted with extermination, the Jews threw aside their costume of idol-worship and returned to G-d in complete repentance. MIshpatim: Festivals Link the Torah and Land of IsraelThe seventy commandments in Yitro and Mishpatim are not a random selection. There is a theme and a lesson. Yitro: Portrait of A Tzaddik and TzaddeketHow our Sages could name the Torah portion that contains the 10 Commandments for a former idolator. B'shalach: For Whom Did You Vote?There are competing and valid ideologies, but the timing for applying them is crucial. Islam, Jihad and Non-MuslimsA definitive summary of the recent articles on the subject. For a current object lesson, read the article below on Egypt. Satire: The Day the Iranian Missile was LaunchedIt is not whether you launch the missile or not that matters, but where it is headed. Shmot: Hastening Redemption, Rejecting RedemptionToday, we hear the same arguments that the Israelites used in Moses' time. Vayechi:An Unexpected BreakWhat does the way this Torah portion appears tell us? Vayigash: UnityJudah knew that from his descendants was destined to come forth the kingship over Israel; he knew of the royal treasure that was to be his. Yet he willingly threw it away for his father's sake. MIketz and Hanukkah: Defeating DarknessAn interesting connection between the Torah reading that almost always is during Hanukkah and the Festival of Lights itself. Peace between Islam and Israel? Response to Ms.TezyaparMs. Tezyapar's vision of Islam's peace with Israel is laudbable, but Islamic theological reality at the present time leaves many questions unanswered, says the writer, and details them below. Israel's First WarThe story of the first war teaches lessons about whom to fear. Toldot: Generations Past, Generations to ComeTo be called a descendant of a great man, you have to earn it. Abraham's Ten TestsWhy is buying a burial place for Sarah considered a test by Rabbeinu Yonah? Lekh Lekah: Entering the LandAbram entered the land and stopped at Shechem, the central city that controls the north. The Origins of Simchat TorahSimchat Torah is the great equalizer. When did it start? Sukkot: When All Jews are UnitedWhen we Jews, down here on earth, become unified, then G-d Himself becomes elevated. Guide to Yom Kippur PrayersYom Kippur is the Genesis of Repentance. Read how that develops as the day's prayers reflect it. The Final Parsha of the YearNitzavim, read this Shabbat, suits the High Holy Day ambience. It has a message that may be meant for you. Appointing a KingIs this a commandment that must be kept or simply the instructions that tell us what to do if we decide we want a king. Approaching the Month of ElulThe portion of Re'eh, in Dvarim, always comes out towards the start of Elul. This has a message for us. Vaetchanan and Tu B'AvUltimate love: The model of love between man and woman as a paradigm for the love that the Jew should feel towards G-d is a persistent theme in Judaism. Eicha! (Lamentations)Mourning Destruction - the Book of Lamentations by Jeremiah decribes his emotions at the destruction of the Temple and is read on the eve of the 9th of Av while sitting on the floor in the synagogue with the lights dimmed. Reading Mattot-Masei "Between the Straits"The reading of this week's parsha invariably falls during the Three Week mourning period for the destruction of the Land of Israel and theTemples. Its commandments deal with preserving the land.Balak: A Tale of Two ProphetsWhy does Ethics of the Fathers contrast Bil'am and Abraham? Becoming Jewish on ShavuotThe significance of Shavuot is as the holiday of conversion as well as the end of the grain harvest. Yom Herut Yerushalayim - BechukotayKoach (28): The power of Iyyar Behar (Israel): The 19 Year Gap and the RedemptionThe number 19 has special historical significance - in our time and in days of yore - and in our prayers. Emor: The Kohanim's Portion (Israel Reading)Perhaps it is not entirely coincidence that Parashat Emor almost always falls in the 23-day period between Israel Independence Day and Jerusalem Liberation Day - and that the menorah lighting is written after the list of holidays. Acharei Mot-Kedoshim, Atonement and IsraelThis year we read these portions right after Independence Day. There is a message. The Temple Mount on Passover!Actually, without the Korban Pesach, we have not fulfilled the mitzvah at all. The Pesach is the Pesach Offeriing; without that, we have no Pesach at all! Who Set a Precedent for Bombing a Nuclear Reactor?Nuclear reactors have been bombed by other countries in the past - you'd never believe by whom. A Tale of Two Assads: Lion and CubBashar is still far short of what his father Hafez achieved thirty years ago this month in Hama; but he is making valiant efforts to catch up. It is sobering to think that Rabin almost gave up the Golan Heights to Syria. Shabbat Zachor is Here - Learn All About ItThis week we read Parshat Zachor at the end of the Torah portion. The Torah commands us to hear the short reading, we stand and absorb every single word. There are 3 major episodes with Amalek in the Tanach - each with a strong message for today. Shemot: And Thus Begin All ExilesExiles start the same and end the same. The Tenth of TevetIf the 10th of Tevet falls on Friday (as it did last year), then we fast on Friday: we enter Shabbat fasting, and do not eat until after Kiddush, in contrast to other fasts. Why? The Dreamer Leads - Follow in his FootstepsMan is captain of his own soul; and wherever there is a will to Judaism, there is a way to lead the Jewish life. Joseph was viceroy of Egypt, yet he remained a loyal son of Israel. The stars bowed to him, not he to them. The Banality of GoodParashat Chayyei Sarah is the story of the genesis of the Hebrew Nation, but is the first parashah in the entire Torah, and one of only five outside of the Book of Deuteronomy, in which G-d never addresses anyone directly. Abraham Passes the TestsThere are several versions of the 10 tests of Abraham, but no matter which you read, he passes them all - including the hardest one, Akeidat Yitschak. Why isn't stopping Sodom's destruction on any list? Of Covenants and ConsolationThe final and greatest covenant which G-d will ever establish with us –is the covenant of the days of Mashiach, may it be soon. An Apology to TurkeyTurkey has downgraded its ties to Israel after Israel refused to apologize for the Mavi Marmara incident. Egypt is Remilitarizing Sinai: Calling a Spade a SpadeIt’s 1936 all over again, and Egypt is Germany, and the Sinai Desert is the Rhineland which is being remilitarised. There are none so blind as those who will not see. Eikev: Do Not Fear Them; G-d Works His Miracles For UsThe Torah admonishes us: “Should you say in your heart, These nations are greater than me! How will I be able to drive them out?! – Do not fear them! Remember – just remember – what HaShem your G-d did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt..." Shabbat Hazon and Parshat DvarimIt is in our hands to transform the ninth of Av this year – just a couple of days away! – from a day of mourning to the day of Redemption that it was always intended to be. The Color Wheel of PoliticsA unique way of characterizing political ideologies. |
