Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Korach: We’re all holy!

Korach confused what we are with what we should be.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Naso: Is nezirut saintly or sinful?

Abstinence leads to holiness but isn’t holiness itself.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Bamidbar: No nepotism

Moshe didn't use his position to advance his children’s careers.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch: Behar-Bechukotai

Inner peace

This parsha contains the secret to overcoming anxiety and self-doubt.

Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch:

Emor: No disabled people allowed

Judaism is supposed to be a springboard, not a crutch.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Achrei Mos-Kedoshim: Which goat are you?

Stubbornness can lead us to, or away from, Hashem.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Shmini: Just obey the Good Book

Judaism calls on us to serve G-d, not our own whims.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Tzav: Rise and shine

Judaism flourishes in light, not darkness.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Vayikra: Are you happy?

A korban shelamim is the quintessential “Jewish” offering.

Yeshiva University’s inexcusable surrender

The prohibition against the homosexual act is clearly stated in the Torah. While that does not mandate ostracizing anyone, allowing an LGBT club is tantamount to approval of a way of life that is forbidden. Opinion..

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Vayakhel: Single, double, triple pay

"Ain;t gonna work on Saturday" is a much loved children's song . But why does the Torah forbid some non-strenuous activities on Shabbat?

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch: Tetsave

More red than blue

The kohen’s avnet represents the life we should all live.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Terumah: A team effort

Thinking and acting must always go together.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Mishpatim: Watch your diet?

The Torah quickly disabuses us of a popular notion.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch: Yitro

Rendering yourself non-existent

Don’t smother the unique characteristics with which Hashem blessed you.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Parashat Bo: How free were we?

Matzah reminds us that we left Egypt thanks to G-d’s grace alone.

Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha

Vayechi: The road to the heart

Yosef targeted his brothers' feelings by appealing to their minds.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Vayigash: Yaakov's strange answer

G-d wants us to accomplish, not just exist.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Miketz: Rejoicing in another's happiness

Pity comes naturally; sympathy doesn't.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch: Vayeshev

Why Shechem?

Equality before G-d is supposed to govern human society.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Vayishlach: Won't you be my neighbor?

Esav sought to escape Yaakov's influence.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Vayetze: G-d loves, and demands

G-d is our father… and our lawgiver.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Toldot: What was Rivkah thinking?

Even if she could fool Yitzchak, there's no fooling G-d.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch: Chayei Sarah

Did Avraham have a daughter?

If he did, what happened to her?

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Vayera: The first act of the first Jew

Avraham rushed to serve pagan guests.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Lech Lecha: Sarah’s miscalculation

Avraham’s spirit elevated Hagar into an entirely different person.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Noach: Can ‘man’ mean ‘woman’?

A functioning society is impossible without objective language.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Bereishit: G-d’s ‘personality’

Imparting pure philosophical truth isn’t the Torah’s primary aim.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

V’zot Habrachah: Exiting the stage

We all have a role to play in the divine plan.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Haazinu: Looking for an excuse

Denying religious truth is often convenient.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch on Ki Tavo:

You can’t pick and choose

One category of sin isn’t “better” than another.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Ki Tetze: Female power

The fate of a nation rests on its mothers.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Shoftim: What’s wrong with magic?

Our actions – not “black arts” – determine our future.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Re’eh: Between the head and the heart

Truth, not feelings, must govern our actions.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Ekev: G-d provides

Supporting a family is no excuse for violating the Torah’s commands.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Vaetchanan: Black and white

Truth isn’t equivocal, and we dare not present it as such.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Matos-Maasei: Why Is Tumah Bad?

Our body must ultimately succumb to nature; not so our soul.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Parashat Pinchas: Speak up!

Hashem wants us to defend His honor.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Balak: Our moral core

Bilaam couldn’t harm us, but our own misbehavior did.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Korach: Sleep on it

Moshe hoped Korach’s men would reconsider if given time to reflect.

Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch:

Shelach: Jewish giants

The physical world may affect our spiritual nature more than we realize.

Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch:

Behaalotcha: Patience is a virtue

Our ancestors didn’t know their arrival and departure dates.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Naso: Chinuch and chenek

Why are the Hebrew words for education and strangulation connected?

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Bamidbar: She’s family

In Jewish law, a maidservant isn’t a lowly slave.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Bechukotai: Is Jew-hatred immutable?

Hashem promised us three periods of exile – each one better than the next.

Israel's government needs roaring lions

The existing parties won’t save Israel. The country needs roaring lions, and it needs to find them. Here's how. Op-ed.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Parshat Behar: Come home

Why did Yericho’s walls crumble to the ground?

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Emor: Time to remember G-d

On Sukkot, both nature and man recede into the background.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Parashat Kedoshim: How can you love someone like yourself?

The Torah doesn’t demand the impossible.

Rabbi Hirsch on the parsha: Put on your weekday clothes with care

Torah truth must permeate a person’s mundane life.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Sharing isn’t optional

Private property comes with responsibilities – to others.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Tzaraas isn’t leprosy

The laws of tzaraas are incomprehensible if we adopt the general translation.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: ‘Progress’ in Judaism

The Prophetic Books are not more “ethical” than the Pentateuch.

Should we have canceled Candace Owens?

Every statement she’s made regarding Israel can be explained without assuming anti-Semitism on her part. Opinion.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: Do you care?

Animosity is often better than indifference.

Rabbi Hirsch on the parsha: Enmeshed in darkness

Why couldn’t the Jews erect the Mishkan at night?

Rabbi Hirsch on the parsha: Mirrors in the Mishkan

G-d wants us to sanctify the physical, not shun it.

Rav Samson R. Hirsch on the parsha: Want to be free?

The Torah enables us to rise above the natural order.

Rabbi Samson R. Hirsch on the parsha: Hold its feet

The Jewish lamb is happy, joyful, and virile – not meek.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch on the parsha: 6 and 1

The menorah teaches us how to live our lives.