עולם עצוב-עגום
יש אגדה/אנקדוטה מפורסמת שהסתובבה בעולם הישיבות ובתנועת המוסר על בחור ישיבה צעיר שעזב את עולם הישיבה ואת סביבתו כדי לחפש את מזלו במחוזות רחוקים. כשעזב את הישיבה, הוא היה מזוקן ולבוש בצניעות בהתאם למסורתו...
VAYAKHEL
One of the main questions that all of the commentators to this week's parsha raise is why the Torah again discusses the prohibitions of the Sabbath. The Torah has done so a number of times in the previous parshiyot of Shemot so one might question this seemingly unwarranted repetition. One of the ideas presented in their comments I feel to be especially relevant to our world. We do not find that...
ON BECOMING LEFT-HANDED
While walking on a darkened street here in Jerusalem near my home last week while having an animated conversation with my wife over the frustration of the world’s treatment of Israel, the Jews and Judaism, I neglected to look where I was going and tripped over a curb and fell heavily on my arm. Eventually I was diagnosed as having a crack or chip in one of the bones of the elbow. Originally, I...
ויקהל
אחת השאלות העיקריות בפרשת השבוע שכל המפרשים שואלים היא מדוע התורה דנה שוב באיסורי השבת. הואיל והתורה כבר עשתה זאת מספר פעמים בפרשיות קודמות בספר שמות, אפשר לשאול מדוע יש צורך בחזרה המיותרת הזאת. אחד הרעיונות שעולים...
להפוך לאיטר
בשעה שהתהלכתי ברחוב חשוך ליד ביתי בירושלים בשבוע שעבר כשאני משוחח עם אשתי על התסכול מהיחס של העולם לישראל, ליהודים וליהדות, לא שמתי לב לאן אני הולך, מעדתי על המדרכה ונפלתי בכבדות על היד. אחרי בדיקות, התברר שיש לי סדק...
MY KEYBOARD
A few days ago my computer screen showed me the dreaded words “your keyboard batteries are low.” Well even I know how to replace batteries or so I thought. For then I discovered that one of the batteries was completely wedged and stuck in the small tube that governs the keyboard. I could not remove it no matter how hard I tried or whatever instruments of destruction I used. So I took the...
KI TISA
Though the main topic of this week's parsha is certainly the fateful and nearly fatal incident of the Golden Calf, the opening subject of the parsha also bears study and insight. We see throughout the Torah that there is an emphasis placed on counting the numbers of Jews that left Egypt, those that existed in the Sinai desert and finally, those that arrived in the Land of Israel. In this...
LEAP YEAR
This year on the Jewish calendar, 5774, is a leap year. In terms of the Jewish calendar this means that it is a thirteen-month year instead of the usual twelve-month year. This anomaly is accomplished by repeating the month of Adar twice. In the secular calendar every fourth year is also called a leap year. That leap year is identified by having the month of February be twenty-nine days long...
TETZAVEH
The Torah busies itself in this week’s parsha to point out the necessity for an eternal light to always burn in God's tabernacle. The Talmud points out that the light was certainly not for God's benefit. The Lord is always beyond our physical needs and environment. The commentators to the Torah always searched for a deeper and more understandable meaning to this commandment. Many ideas have...
RABBIS AND SAVANTS
There was a long and critical article that appeared this past week in one of the Hebrew newspapers here in Israel concerning the role of rabbis in society. There is no question that the role of most rabbis in the United States is far different than what is currently the case in Israeli society. In the United States the rabbi is a far more personal figure. He is a teacher, speaker and...
Prev
