Parshat Shavua

Pomegranates and bells: When silence is lashon hara

The judgement of when to speak up and when to remain silent is our constant challenge.

Tetsave: Where is Moshe?

Parshat Tetzaveh is the only Parshah from Sefer Shemot until the end of the written Torah that does not contain Moshe's name.

Recreating oneself

Strangely, the order of work in building the mishkan is reversed in Vayakhel-Pekudei when compared to Trumah-Tetzave.

The Recipient or the Giver - who is more important?

It is not enough to be a giving spouse; Be an attentive one. It is not enough that your children love you, Let them know you love them.

Teruma: If everything is G-d's, what can we give Him?

All things belong to G-d ,yet the choices of the heart are left in the control of His creations.

Terumah: The labour of gratitude

Bad things may happen but God has already given us the remedy if we know where to look for it.

Terruma: Make Me a Sanctuary..

Where exactly is that Sanctuary located?

Ear and Eerie

Jewish law insists on humane treatment of slaves, but why bore a hole in the ear of a slave who wishes to continue and why at the doorpost?

Talking Parsha:

Mishpatim - Was it really na'aseh & then nishma?

We are told the Jews said, 'We will do & we will listen' - but they said that after hearing it 3x! How is that 'doing' before 'listening?'

Mishpatim: Feeling like the little guy

The Chasidic masters would often remind us that we are each critical to G-d.

Mishpatim

Healing the heart of darkness

If knowledge, emotion, and reason lead us to be moral, why is it that humans hate, harm and kill?

Weekly Torah Study: Yitro

Are we commanded to believe in Hashem, or is it a function of our free will?

Honoring parents

The reward for honoring one’s parents holds only in Eretz Yisrael; it is not the individual’s length of days, but that of the entire nation.

Humanity is presently perched on a seam of history

Humanity today awaits to see what is next. Nuclear war? Decimation through viral infection? Economic disaster? Racial and religious wars?

Yitro: The best entry points to greater Jewish engagement

What is the best entry point through which more people can engage better with their Judaism?

Yitro: One Heart

One people one heart, or one heart one people? They are not the same but we do not have to be the same to be one people with one heart..

They saw the thunder

If anyone had asked the Israelites to articulate what took place they would not have been able to give a straight answer.

Israel's first Chief Rabbi:

Beshalach: Innate and acquired holiness

“Until Your people have crossed, O God; until the people that You acquired have crossed over.”- why is the crossing mentioned twice?

Talking Parsha:

Beshalach: Miriam and the bittersweet lesson

What does the fact that the Jews ran out of water have to do with the promise that they will not suffer the punishments brought upon Egypt?

Az Yashir: Song touches the eternal

Some say that prayer is not fully prayer until it contains that ineffable spark that only true song brings to it.

Weekly Torah Study: Beshalach

Complaints, complaints. When will they ever learn?

Birth and rebirth in the Book of Shmot

Paralleling our national birth and rebirth is the birth and rebirth of Moses.

'When Pharaoh had let the people go” – or did he?

There seems to be a mixed message coming from Pharaoh and the Egyptians about letting the Israelites go.

Cloud by day, fire by night

The Israelites were protected as they fled Egypt. Was this a message for the future as well?

The Parsha and Current Events: Who knows five?

When our “backs were to the wall” (“to the sea wall”), Hashem said “Stop praying and be pro-active ...”. That holds for today as well.

Weekly Torah Study: Bo

What is so terrible about darkness? It happens every evening.

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi

Bo: The slave to the compass has freedom of the seas

T"he slave to the compass has the freedom of the seas." How can we harness the power of this statement to find our own freedom?

'Come to Pharaoh for I have hardened his heart'

The Beit Halevi, the Yismach Moshe, the Dubner Maggid and Rav Moishe Mendel of Vilan grapple with the reason G-d hardened Pharaoh's heart.

Parshat HaShavua

Parshat Bo: Why Hagim are celebrated differently In Israel

Baruch Gordon provides insights into this week's Torah reading "Bo".

Israel's first Chief Rabbi:

Va'eira: God's Name

Israel's first chief rabbi, Torah luminary and iconic leader of Religious Zionism: The Names of G-d are connected to living in Eretz Yisrael

Vaera: Transmitting a legacy

Parshat Va’era (Exodus 6:2-9:35): The vast difference between inheritance and heritage.

Talking Parsha - Va'era: Moses can't speak?!

Why so is there so much emphasis on speaking to Pharaoh and on who will speak to Pharaoh, if no one is going to listen anyways?

Do we double down like Pharaoh when we are wrong?

The Steipler Gaon teaches that our denial does not result from ignorance, but is the result of a lack of will. Not so Pharaoh.

Vaera: Realize your worst fears

There is another, and much more profound, meaning to the words 'realize your worst fears' than the obvious one.

Getting to know you...

What is the antidote to polarization? Pharaoh and Joseph are a case in point.

Entering Eternity

The Name told to Moses to describe Hashem is cryptic, implies the unknown, the Unknowable and the Eternal, God's Name of the future.

Weekly Torah Study: Shemot

The unaccountable occurrences in our lives do have explanations.

Shemot: What is it about crying out?

The Book of Exodus is a guidebook. What does it teach about bringing redemption - from everything that needs change?

Who performed Bris Milah on Moshe’s son?

Can there possibly be anyone who says that a woman is not fit to perform circumcision if the Torah describes Zipporah doing so?

Shemot: On not obeying immoral orders

This parasha has the first recorded instance in history of civil disobedience.

Talking Parsha - Vayechi: Is Yosef our 4th Forefather?

From the verses in this week's Torah portion, it would seem that Yosef is considered one of the forefathers. So why is he not on the list?

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi

What is your greatest blessing?

You might think it is the greatest blessing if your children are blessed, but there is a step beyond that.

When can we lie?

Truth and peace are both values, but which do we choose when they conflict? Not everyone among the rabbinic Sages agreed.

VAYECHI 5728

A preview of Mashiach

The blessing for the Tribe of Dan, the unifying tribe, has all the prerequisites for the Redemption.

VAYECHI 5728

A blip on the radar screen

Our father Jacob looks forward to the future, knowing the present, as earthshaking as it may seem, is only a blip on history's radar screen.

Finding courage

The Torah Portion of VAYIGASH Genesis 44:18–47:27: The ability to acknowledger mistakes is a powerful but rarely found tool of spirituality.

Talking Parsha - Vayigash: The brothers didn't sell Yosef?

Why does Yosef remind his brothers twice that they sold him to Egypt? And why does he tell them they didn't send him to Egypt, only G-d did?

VAYIGASH 5782

Jacob's fear of exile

Jacob's fears were justified. One need only look at the last fifty years of American Jewish history to appreciate the dangers of galut!

VAYIGASH 5782

Yehuda – Responsibility and Redemption

Yehuda had no moral high ground to retreat to. When he looked into his past, all of his accusations boomeranged back at him.

VAYIGASH 5782

Was Jacob aware of what the brothers had done to Joseph?

Parents know that there are things about their children and their progeny that they do not wish to be informed about.Is that the case here?

Joseph's brothers judge themselves

'Indeed we are guilty concerning our brother, inasmuch as we saw his heartfelt anguish, when he pleaded with us and we paid no heed...'

MIKETZ

Heaven's perfect timing

Among the fallacies of human thought is the idea that we not only control events, but have the power to decide when those events take place.

MIKETZ

The Parsha and Current Events: Iran, JCPOA and the Prophets

The Iranians don’t need ICBMs to attack Israel. We are camouflage for their real enemies, the West. It is all predicted in Jewish sources.

"I am searching for my brothers"

We cannot lose our sense of a common goal. We cannot raise banners of ultimate truth without co-opting all the positive powers around us.

Talking Parsha - Vayeshev: Yosef & his brothers - the real deal

Why does Yosef continue telling his brothers about his dreams, even when he sees how they're responding? And why do they hate him so much?

VAYESHEV:

To dream like Joseph

When did he turn into a talented leader with the highest managerial ability? Where is Joseph's turning point?

Parsha Video

Secrets of the Return to Zion in the Story of Yosef

The Talmud tells us that before the appearance of Mashiach Ben David, there is another one, Mashiach Ben Yosef. Why do we need both?

See my son!

Whilst to the brothers, Yosef’s dreams were like thorns in their eyes, to Reuben they were like sweet honey - and he wanted to save Yosef.

Our forefathers made a fortune

The Torah is keen to mention how our forefathers made a fortune, each one in his own way, a sort of rags to riches story specific to him.

A billion Chinese can't be wrong

The Chinese translate the word "Judaism" in a unique way taken from this week's Torah reading.