Danny Ginsbourg

'One thing I ask of Hashem' - the one thing He asks of us

What could Hashem need of us?

Nitzavim: You shall choose life

As we read our Parasha approaching the Day of Judgement, it guides us as to the ‘life’ for which we should fervently plead, on that Day.

Ki Tavo: A tale of two declarations

Two haggadot, two promises. Commentators weigh in on the differences and similarities.

'Go out to war against your enemy,,,;

Commentaries weigh in on how waging war against enemies is what is ‘upright in the eyes of Hashem’.

Re'eh: You are children to Hashem, your G-d

The principle of principles - what do the commentaries say about this and how it affects every Jew?

Va'etchanan: What is greater,- prayer or good deeds?

One of G-d's greatest kindnesses to us is allowing us to pray. Prayer affects reality.

What Moses learned from the Patriarch Jacob

Moshe rebuked them only a short while before his death. From whom did he learn this? From Yaakov. Why did Yaakov wait to rebuke his sons?

Matot-Maasei: Our mouths are sacred vessels

Various commentators weigh in on the power of speech.

Zealotry - for Hashem

Zealotry, like every other aspect of a Jew's life, has halakhic boundaries and limitations..

Balak: Learning mussar from a donkey

Are the donkey's words important enough to take up room in the Torah? Why?

It's not the snake that kills - but sin (Chukat-Israel)

Why did Hashem command Moshe to make the lifeless serpent, and to raise it on a pole?

The wondrous test - who was being tested?(Korach)

How could Moses be sure his threat would work?

Complete repentance? Not when it is a transgression in itself

The Israelites did not comprehend what their real sin was, so their repentance did not atone for it - quite the contrary.

The gift from Esau and Ishmael: Naaseh veNishma

Ramban:’Had not Israel accepted the Torah, the world would have returned to nothingness, BY ITSELF...’.

Count by the number of the names

Each name is a thread in the tapestry that is Am Israel - but why not do the same in parashat Pinchas, a later census?

Torah Portion:

The most difficult mitzva of all

Shmitta is the most difficult mitzva.What special relevance does the Mitzvah of Shemitah have to Har Sinai?.

Kedoshim: ‘Reprove your fellow’- but first: reprove yourself!

Rabbi Tarfon said:'I would be amazed, if there is any person in this generation who will accept rebuke;' And what would we say?

The proportionate punishment for malicious speech - lashon hara

Why must only the slanderer be afflicted with tsaraat nd dwell alone outside the camp?

'And they had faith in Hashem and in Moshe, His servant'

Hashem has His sometimes hidden ways to vanquish His enemies and exact revenge upon them.

'So that you may relate in the ears of your son'

The message of the Exodus as seen by Torah commentators from the Riva to the Slonimer Rebbe.

The spiritual defect of a depleted pocket

Selected commentators explain why the priests had to be urged to bring the burnt offering as opposed to other offerings.

The offering of self

The wondrous burnt offering and what its purpose is. A selection of renowned commentators.

The power of priestly clothes

Read the Netivot Shalom, Rav Zalman Sorotzkin, Rav Avigdor Nebenzahl,The Ra’ma, Maharal and more on the power of priestly clothes to atone..

These ordinances could only have been given at Sinai

Selected commentators explain the reasons ordinances between man and his fellow man had to be given at Sinai.

Were the Children of Israel deprived of Free Will at Sinai?

Delving into the events surrounding this seminal and unconditional acceptance of Torah by Bnei Israel.

The staff which was taken, not to be used

Why did Moshe take his staff with him to the top of the hill in the Amalek battle, as seemingly he did not perform any act with it?’

Why did Hashem make a mockery of Egypt?

What purpose does making a mockery of those who mock Hashem and mistreat His people?

Vaeira: Aaron's wondrous staff-swallowing staff

An eye-opening review of the commentators' explanations on the purpose of the staff and the miracle involved.

Yaakov Avinu: God is my shepherd

Ohr Hachaim Hakadosh,Alshich Hakadosh, Malbim and others on the double clause in Yaakov's blessing to his beloved Yosef.

Why does descending to Egypt frighten Jacob?

A selection of commentators whoweigh in on this troubling question and their psychologically enlightening answers.

Vayeshev: Error after error

There is no wisdom nor counsel, not in Yaakov, nor in Yosef Hatzadik, nor in his brothers, in this parasha. What is really happening?

Help us to learn from our enemies

Learn from them but not from their evil deeds, as Jacob testified about himself. But what could he learn from the wicked Laban?.

Behold it was Leah!

As Jacob's first marriage was based on ‘mistaken belief’, should it not have been deemed invalid?

Who was the batlan (idler), Jacob or Esau?

A surprising Rashi on the two sons of Rivka and Isaac leads us to wonder if it is the hunter or the tent-dweller who is of no consequence?

Chayei Sarah: All her years were equally good

This is the only instance in the whole of Tanach, that the number of years of the life of a woman, is written.

Thou shalt not steal - from God

Is stealing from one another really the reason for The Flood?

Tishrei's festivals culminate with Ashrei

By reading the two parshiot on Simchat Torah, we allude to the crux of the Shma prayer - that Torah should be inscribed on our hearts. How?

On the third day, schach was created!

Had it not been for the seeming ‘failure’ of the earth to comply with Hashem’s words when trees were created, we could not have had schach!

Heaven and Earth, eternal witnesses: What the commentators say

Our Parasha opens with the injunction:(32:1)’האזינו: Listen O Heavens, and I will speak; and may the earth hear the words of my mouth.’

The wondrous mitzva

Read what Torah luminaries say about Hakhel, the next to last mitzva in the Torah: the reasons for it, its timing and its effect

Choose life - for you and your offspring

A look at the commentaries on what it means to choose life for ourselves and future generations..

Ki Tavo: Serve Hashem with joy - it's a mitzva!

What do the commentators say about the Torah reprimanding or punishing us for not performing mitzvot joyfully?

Ki Teitse: Build a new home, so you can erect a guard rail

Commentators on this mitzva, ‘It follows, that the guard rail is in reality the guardian of the house, that it should remain in his hands!.’

When the eyes of the congregation don't see

Of course we have seen a righteous man forsaken, so what do those words in Birkat Hamazon mean? The Chatam Sofer enlightens us.

A blessing and a curse

Torah Commentators expound on the way that the mitzvahs can be a blessing or a curse.

Do not trample minor mitzvot under your heel

Eikev means a heel and "as a result of" - and the two are connected by God's admonition and promise of love. The views of commentators.

Fair and good in the eyes of Hashem

Rashi expounds:’Fair and good’: compromising, acting beyond the strict demands of the law. What do other commentators say?

Matot-Masei: The crossing of the River Jordan test

How could Bnei Israel show their appreciation of this priceless gift, of the Land Hashem gave them? The answer is easier for olim to do.

Pinchas: Why harass the Midianites and not the Moabites?

A selection of rabbinic commentaries on the question.

Chukat {Diaspora}: Why Moshe struck the rock not once, but twice

There are levels of dedication to Am Yisrael that only Moshe reached. His hitting the rock, say these commentators, is an example.

"And Korach took": What did he take?

See how seven Torah commentators elucidate this one phrase.in different, but non-contradictory ways.

Lessons for life from Mitzvat Challah

The ‘first’ is always the most precious in a person’s mind; by setting it aside for Hashem, it becomes especially beloved by Hashem.

Moses, the humblest person on earth

What is the real meaning of humility? Is it self-deprecation or something very different?

Banners of love

Why this Parasha is read shortly before we again receive the Torah on Shavuot.

Do not behave casually with Hashem

Commentators from the Dubnow Maggid to Rav Yosef Shalom Elyashiv on what the sin of behaving casually with Hashem means.

Want to merit entering the Land of Israel? There are conditions!

Keeping the prohibition on taking interest from one's fellow Jew is relying on the God who took us out of Egypt to bring us sustenance.

Blasphemy

Why did the son of an Egyptian man blaspheme?

Omer conundrums

All you have to do is count until Shavuot, but it is not as simple as it seems.

What Pesach mitzva did the Brisker Rav find the most difficult?

A wondrous midrash provides a clarification and way of looking at a difficult mitzva that we must observe on Pesach but all year as well.

Tazria: When a woman conceives and gives birth to a male

A mother merits a share in those good deeds that her son performs, and which she herself does not do, as she is exempt from them.