Parshat Hashavua

Sages of Israel:

The spirit of wisdom

What defines an authentic Sage of Israel?

Parshat Ha’azinu: The makings of a brachah

Parshat Ha’azinu teaches why the words of our prophets and sages carry the force of a Divine command - and why we recite blessings on rabbinic mitzvot.

Parashat Haazinu:

The mercy of being awakened

The holiest day of the year does not arrive without warning.

The longest and shortest words in the Torah

We ask Hashem for the blessing of being able to be clever, so that we can use our wisdom to cope well in this world.

Nitzavim-VaYeilech:

Foundation of repentance

It is supremely relevant that our national return to our homeland causes such paroxysms of fury among the nations of the world - and tragically among certain of our own people - who hate being confronted with the truth of the Torah’s decrees.

Dvar Haftorah: Nitzavim-Vayelech

Standing firm, 25 years after September 11

Survival is not enough. There is also an obligation to preserve the truth about what happened.

Nitzavim-VaYeilech:

The Torah is a song - Are we listening?

Have we really been listening to the song? Have we allowed the Torah to speak to us again?

Nitzavim-VaYeilech:

Call of the Shofar

All the prophecies of the prophets are written in condensed form in this Torah portion. All the descriptions in the portion are, in fact, descriptions of the Mashiach.

Nitzavim-VaYeilech:

Coming home is only the beginning

Nitzavim promises that G-d will bring us back. VaYelech tells Yehoshua that he must lead the people in taking possession of the Land - and that is in our hands.

Nitzavim-VaYeilech:

All for one and one for all

Upon entering the Land of Israel, we rose to a higher level. We went from a level in which every Jew is judged individually for his thoughts and actions to a level in which the individual takes responsibility for all of Israel.

Nitzavim-VaYeilech:

Never lose hope

“Even if a person has been a sinner all his life and does Teshuva at the end, it is effective." (Rambam, Hilchot Teshuva 2:1)

Nitzavim-VaYeilech:

The Covenant of guarantee-ship

Since Hashem already entered into a covenant with them at Har Sinai, what need was there to enter into a further covenant with them, here?

Who do you think you are?

The one thing new money cannot buy is old money, so the people at an 1897 gala rented someone else’s past for the evening. It was ancestry as wishful thinking. Which brings me to the opening of Parshat Ki Tavo - the exact opposite.

Dvar Haftorah:

Mashiach can come today

The past tells us only how long we have already waited. It cannot tell us how quickly things may change.

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi:

Parashat Ki Tavo: Life in the world to come

Good people leave behind an outstanding legacy through others, and future generations benefit from the example that has been set.

Thanking G-d

We must not ignore the goodness, kindnesses, miracles, and wonders that the Lord, Blessed be He, performs for us day after day.

Parashat Ki Tavo:

They hate us for good reason

I know the title of this article will trigger almost every Jew and please every antisemite. But I say to both of you, don’t judge an article by its title. Read on and see what I mean.

Parashat Ki Tavo:

Gratitude has a memory

The farmer does not simply bring his fruit to Jerusalem. He tells a story.

Parashat Ki Tavo:

The fifth 'language of Redemption'

There are four languages of the redemption promised by Hashem, - for which, the four glasses of wine are drunk at the Seder - but there is a fifth promise as well. Which promise is that?

Parashat Ki Tavo:

Telling G-d what to do

We are not the givers, but are merely transferring what Hashem has allotted. Happy is the one who has the merit to serve as Hashem’s delivery person.

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi:

Don’t be like an Ammonite or a Moabite:

What was wrong with the Moabites and the Ammonites?

Dvar Haftorah - Parashat Ki Teitze

The answer to destruction

Isaiah’s message was one of consolation, but also of responsibility.

Parashat Ki Teitze:

The yetse hara conundrum

The manner in which we confront the wiles of the yetser ha’ra in its efforts to subvert our avodat Hashem, is the true measure of our service of our Creator.

Parashat Ki Teitze:

When peace breeds complacency

The Torah's lesson is one Israel learned tragically on October 7: Do not mistake quiet for a permanent change in the intentions of those who wish us harm.

Parashat Ki Teitze:

All in the Family

Because of the closeness to his family, a person ometimes allows himself to speak ill of his wife, husband, children, uncles, and other relatives. This is an unfortunate error.

Parashat Ki Teitze:

The favors of bad people

It is painful to note that, today, the degree of assimilation in the USA is such that, in the not distant future, the once robust American Jewish community will be a shell of its former self.

Parashat Ki Teitze:

Protecting the home

Note: The parapet around the roof of a house protects the house. “You shall not place blood in your house": inside the house - inside the national home - must be a safe place.

Same ma'akeh, different paths:

The forthcoming elections and the unity of Am Yisrael

A house can contain people who are different from one another, each with his own character and his own way, and yet they are all living under the same roof. That is the picture we should have of Am Yisrael.

Dvar Haftorah for Shoftim:

The Haftorah we sing every Friday night

We are expected to rise, to rebuild and to act.

Shoftim:

A prophet as great as Moshe--possible, or heresy?

What does the Torah mean when Moshe communicates that the prophet must be 'Like me'?

Parashat Shoftim:

Wholeheartedness is the key

Hashem adjures us to ‘cleave to Him’ - and as Hashem is upright and righteous, one who wants to cleave to Him, has to also be ‘upright and righteous’.

Parashat Shoftim:

Shoplifting erodes the fabric of society

The Torah teaches that stealing from the community is not less serious than stealing from an individual. In some ways, it is even more dangerous.

Parashat Shoftim:

The land-for-peace travesty

Giving enemies, who are sworn to our destruction, parts of Israel is equally emphatically not the Jewish way of relating to them.

Parashat Shoftim:

The Torah’s command not to fear

Our generation has been given something Jews prayed for over the course of centuries: the ability to defend ourselves in our own land.

Parashat Re'eh:

Standing before the Arizal

"Re'eh" means "see." We must see beneath the surface. See that within us lies the history of the world, - and adjust accordingly.

Torah Mitzion on the Parasha:

The essence of the Regalim

Sefer Devarim does not replace the Torah given in the first four books; it illuminates it. The Regalim are an example.

Dvar Haftorah - Parashat Re’eh:

The assault that changes its form

For generations, some tried to frighten Jews away from their faith. Others tried to argue them out of it. The Malbim finds the strength to prevail prophesied in this week's Haftorah.

Parashat Re'eh:

Today and every day

We need to make the choice between blessing and curse, and by our ethical conduct, we decide for ourselves which way our faces incline.

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi:

Parashat Re'eh: Food parcels save lives

One of the great elements of the practice of sending food parcels is that it’s not just those who receive who benefit, but those who send the food, they rejoice.

Parashat Re’eh:

Preparing for Rosh Hashanah

As bewildering as the world can be, the parasha and haftorah assure us of our wonderful future. Our enemies, whether on the battlefields or in the international courtrooms, are destined to fail.

Parashat Re'eh:

Its own reward

Judaism affirms the tenet of reward and punishment. But we are not privy to the guidelines the Creator utilizes in implementing this principle.

Haftarat Parashat Re’eh:

The unity of the gemstones

The combination of physical and spiritual advancement in the modern Jewish state propels us towards the redemption represented in our haftarah by כַּדְכֹד.

Parashat Re'eh:

When miracles prove nothing

The test comes when falsehood is persuasive, when it is wrapped in emotion, reinforced by success and presented by someone who appears impossible to dismiss.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Parashat Eikev: Two Loves for Eretz Yisrael

One who is closer to the Land of Israel, and demonstrates a greater connection to it, comes first for blessing.

Dvar Haftorah for Parashat Ekev:

The prophecy that awaits every Jew

The renewal of the Land mirrors the renewal of the nation.

Parashat Eikev:

Why we are chosen

We were chosen, but non-Jews should not believe that they are completely relieved of the responsibility of observing Mitzvot.

The gift of the land is only in the merit of the Avot

Why is it important to stress that we were given the land because of our forefathers' merits? Famous commentators give their explanations below.

Eikev: The Benefit of Holy Encounters

This week's Torah portion presents the only two blessings that are Biblical commandments.

Haftarah of Redemption

It is worthwhile to study this Haftarah because it describes what is destined to take place amongst the People of Israel, and indeed we are witnessing it with our own eyes.

Alcatraz Syndrome

The gates are open. With a little courage and faith, you too can be here, a free Jew in the Jewish Homeland.

Parashat Eikev:

The danger of success

Parshat Eikev reminds us that humility is not the enemy of achievement but its proper companion.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Va'etchanan: Loving God with all your might

What does it mean to love God וּבְכָל מְאֹדֶךָ - "with all your might"?

Parashat Devarim:

Can man create Torah?

The Torah does not necessarily have to remain the exclusive province of the Creator. A miraculous transformation can occur, and it can become the Torah of man.

Moses explained the Torah in 70 languages

Why the need to explain it in seventy languages, as Rashi writes, specifically at this time, as they were about to enter the Land? - what is the meaning of: ’he explained it in seventy languages’?

The Book of Devarim:

Moses reviews the Torah

HaRav Tzvi Yehuda would ask his gathered students in the large Beit Midrash of the yeshiva: “What is the very first thing Moshe teaches the Nation, who are all waiting to hear the explanation of the Torah from Moshe himself?

Increasing love and faith

Why is the infamous weeping of the generation of the wilderness called a "baseless weeping"? Because in truth they had no reason to weep.

Matos-Masei: Our own worst enemy

Reflecting on the war against Midian, this week's Torah portion highlights the extraordinary miracle that not a single Jewish soldier was lost in battle, drawing a timeless lesson about the power of Jewish unity and the heavy cost of internal division.

As summer vacation begins:

“Build for your children first": The foundation of the future

If the next generation is not anchored in Torah and yirat Shamayim, everything else we build is standing on unstable ground. This week's parshiyot teach that to us.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Pinchas: Atonement for the New Moon

There is a very peculiar Talmudic tradition about the purpose of the new moon sin-offering. For whom does this offering atone?

Parashat Pinchas:

Are you comfortable with vulnerability?

Within every person is a beautiful soul with light to contribute, but many are rendered mute by the traumas of the past.