Parshat Shavua

Parashat Shoftim: The King of Israel

'He shall write..two copies of this Torah...'

The two Sifrei Torah represent the two ways of serving Hashem.

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi:

Until the last hostage. D’var Torah for Shoftim

‘Yisrael v’oraita chad hu’- the Jewish people and the Torah are one.

Parashat Shoftim:

Unauthorized compassion

If there is a case in which a poor person loses to a significantly wealthy one, the true verdict must be delivered. However, the matter should not end there.

Torah Mitzion: Parashat Shoftim

Why do we even need a king?

The Torah believes in our ability to repair ourselves as individuals and to repair society as a whole, so why do we need an external force?

Parashat Re'eh:

Improve your eyesight - Elul is here

In Jewish law, when we stipulate a payment on the fulfilment of a condition, if the condition is met, the payment is backdated to the day the condition was set. If we learn how to “see” G-d’s love even in prosaic things, G-d will backdate our blessings to this Shabbat

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi:

A person or a people?

D’var Torah for Re’eh.

Parshat Re’eh:

The intensity begins

Why does the Torah specifically become so emphatic and present its message with such urgent animation in this parasha?

Parashat Re’eh:

A time to return

Some Torah prohibitions became clear in our time. Only in our generation have we come to see how necessary the simple, literal meaning is: Don’t destroy synagogues, don’t raze Jewish cities, don’t bulldoze Jewish houses - in Israel, “lest the Gentiles hear of it, and destroy the Land of Israel”.

Torah Mitzion: Parashat Re'eh

Uncovering the secret of the place the Lord shall choose

“To His dwelling you shall seek, and there you shall come.” Why not identify the place in the Torah?

Parashat Re'eh:

Do we need Blessings and Curses?

There are material consequences in addition to the spiritual ones that ensue from one’s embrace or rejection of Torah.

'Hashem will bless you and multiply you'

Great good awaits those who toil in the ocean of the oral Torah - as well as those who go in the way of עקב: fulfilling all the mitzvot.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Parashat Eikev: What does G-d want of you?

Most of us know the famous verse asking that question and the answer that follows it. But what does it mean?

Parashat Eikev:

The chips of your life will make you rich

Why would Moshe make money from carving the Second Tablets?

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi

Eikev: A Rabbi or a singer?

Historically there were two different customs with regard to public Torah reading. Which is best?

Parashat Eikev:

Not like any other Land

Even commandments not dependent on the land, such as tefillin and mezuzah, are primarily for those dwelling in the Land of Israel.

Parashat Eikev:

A new light on Zion

Our Prophets and Sages have already told us that when we return to our Land to fulfill our historical mission of bringing light to the world, the nations will rise against us.

Parashat Eikev:

When rain falls in Israel

When one requires water in Israel, one looks up. When one needs security, stability, or prosperity in Israel, one also looks up.

The Parsha and Current Events:

Beyond comprehension

Hamas leaders and followers are no better than Ben-Hadad of Aram. They have forfeited any rightto live.

Parshat Ve'etchanan:

'You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness"

Begun? Why does Moshe Rabbeinu use that verb after all the miracles of the Exodus and the sojourn in the desert?

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Va’etchanan: It’s your tone

Hashem responds to sentiments, not just words.

Parashat Vaetchanan:

Be careful what you pray for

Sometimes, we may have fallen deeply in love with someone who is just “unsuitable” for us. The feeling can be so compelling that we might rush into a disastrous marriage simply because we cannot see beyond our fantasies.

Parashat Devarim:

“Moses began to explain this Torah”

The Book of Devarim is not a repetition, it is an explanation of Torah in the Land, and its first lesson is that those who think Torah and military are two separate realms, must realize that the emergence of the Jewish People involves both.

The unique nature of Devarim

The Book of Devarim teaches us about the importance of rebuke and the attitude we must assume toward it.

Parshat Mattot:

The power of speech: Understanding the laws of nedarim

The Torah emphasizes the profound power and responsibility of speech through the laws of nedarim, teaching us that individuals have the ability to create with their words and reflecting a deep connection between speech, commitment, & responsibility.

Parshiyot Mattot-Mas’ei:

Do you know what you’re fighting for?

3,297 years ago, before despatching the Children of Israel on their war of vengeance against Midian, G-d infused them with the spiritual reinforcements necessary for victory - their national identity, their sense of history, their understanding of their destiny. So too, the Religious Zionist soldiers today.

Parshiyot Matot-Maasei:

'The descendants of Reuven and Gad had an abundance of livestock'

‘Our Sages comment, that because Reuben and Gad were so attached to their wealth, till they were prepared to settle outside the land, they were the exiled from it, before the other tribes.'

The Parsha and Current Events:

An irresistible force meets an immovable object

At the end of the day, even if sanctions and other measures are introduced, we all know that no one will be shot at while delving over a complicated issue in the Gemara.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Matot-Maasei: Our problems lie within

Moving from place to place won’t solve anything.

Parashat Matot-Masei:

Refuge in a strange city

To understand the phenomenon of a refuge city more clearly, we must fully appreciate the great value that the Torah attaches to the preservation of human life.

Parashat Pinchas:

Hashem and I

The only thing that matters is your relationship with G-d.

Eretz Yisrael in the Parsha: Pinchas

The lottery

Why did the Torah require the division of the Land of Israel to be done specifically by a lottery?

Jew against Jew

Bilaam realizes that the way to overcome Israel is to instigate conflict within Israel itself.

Parashat Pinchas:

Must we hate evil?

Most people automatically and mindlessly associate religion with unconditional compassion. The Talmud, however, teaches that in the proper context, vengeance against evil can be a virtuous and necessary response.

Parshat Pinchas:

A covenant of peace

Why Hashem caused Moshe to forget the halakha when confronted by Zimri, and for it to be recalled by Pinchas.

The final barrier

This parasha actually ends the era of Moses and opens the era of Joshua. It opens the gates to the Land of Israel with all its blessings and challenges.

Parashat BalaK:

The secret of victory

The aim of Balak and Bilam to create division among Israel did not succeed. The enemies of Israel today, who seek to dispossess us of our Land and to destroy us, also understand what Balak and Bilaam understood.

Parashat Balak:

Operation Rising Lion: Bilam's prophecies in our time

As we chant the Torah portion this week, it is our privilege and duty to thank G-d for the magnificent miracles we experienced in our lifetimes. They are of the same caliber as biblical miracles and like the blessings recited by the Bilam, except that we were privileged to witness them.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch: Balak

The “black arts” don’t exist

The Torah only forbids magic because it tries to short-circuit Divine justice.

Parashat Balak:

Fatal seduction

Could Bilam really wreak havoc on the Jews? What exactly is the power of a curse? Can a human by the mere verbalization of certain words effectuate changes in the real world?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi: Chukat

Beyond human logic

It is impossible to deduce what God truly wants simply by observing the ways of the world. Our service of God can only be guided by those directives which God explicitly transmitted through His Torah.

Parashat Chukat:

"Ascend o well - call out to it"

‘This is truly ‘a gift’ - as our parsha promises - to become like a well of flowing water - of Torah.’

Parashat Chukat:

Complaints, the serpent, and the Simchat Torah War

Why doesn’t Hashem simply suspend the attack of the serpents without introduction of this strange symbol?

Parashat Chukat and its Haftorah:

The Power of words to break or build

Speech is the currency of connection, and has the power to work in ways both good and bad.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Chukat: The women saved the day

With so many men dead, who would tell the youth about yetzias Mitzrayim?

Parashat Chukat:

Honesty in the service of Hashem

Rashi seems to be saying that the sin of Moshe consisted in his deviating from the command of Hashem to speak to the rock instead of hitting it. But why would Moshe, the faithful servant, not do exactly what he was told?

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Korach: Holiness in the midst of the community

'Genuine holiness is an altruistic striving for good for its own sake, not out of self-interest.'

Parashat Korach:

Who can you trust?

If we are willing to face a painful truth, we can learn a very important lesson from this. There is no guarantee that a very learned person will also be a great Tzadik (righteous person).

Parashat Korach:

The complainers

The existence of the State, in and of itself, is a mitzvah, and transgressions performed within it do not invalidate its sanctity.

Parashat Korach:

The Levite who wanted to be High Priest

Did the intelligent Korach not feel the contradiction in his words?

The Parsha and Current Events:

Korach: Trump bombed our enemies, FDR refused to bomb tracks

Iran will remain a world threat because the U.S. and Israel did not finish the job in the fashion dictated in the Torah. But we must recognize that Trump made up for FDR's refusal to bomb the tracks leading to Auschwitz.

Parashat Shlach:

A resounding rejection of the Sin of the Spies

There are currently more than 100,000 Israelis abroad, stranded in dozens of countries ever since this current war closed the airspace above Israel. Yet the overriding concern of all these Israelis abroad is how to come home despite the missiles from Iran.

Parashat Shlach:

Like grasshoppers? Not at all

On the most basic level, the Sin of the Spies was that they were overcome by fear and communicated their despair to the nation. The lessons of this episode are very relevant to the current situation.

The attraction of golus and the spies' spiritual failure

It’s safer in the Beis Medrash. It’s safer in exile-mode. It’s spiritually cleaner to stay away from politics, from armies, from national responsibility. Just what the spies wanted.

Parashat Shlach:

The best life advice

Your primary interest should be to create a pleasant environment for others to enjoy. And that message is in the words of Hashem to Moshe.

Parashat Shlach:

Juxtaposition - and not by chance!

Answering an age-old question: Why does the story of the spies follow the story of Miriam's punishment for slander?

The Parsha and Current Events:

Your holy Jewish name

Our sources deal with the spiritual aspects of naming a child - boy or girl.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi: Naso

The benefits of the Sotah Waters

The Sages debate the exact nature of the positive effect of the Sotah waters.

The Parsha and Current Events:

The Torah as a way of life

The ultimate CHOK, which is beyond all human understanding, is the day-to-day lives we lead in Eretz Yisrael, with our phenomenal success in all walks of life.

Parashat Naso:

The sanctity of Aaron

The Kohen loves the people and they, in turn, love him.

Parashat Naso:

Building continuity

This week’s parsha, Naso, contains a passage so familiar that its poetry sometimes hides its depth: the Priestly Blessing. What is its message?