בס”ד You shall not add to the thing which I command you, and you shall not subtract from it, that you may guard the commandments of the L-rd your G-d which I command you. לֹ֣א תֹסִ֗פוּ עַל־הַדָּבָר֙ אֲשֶׁ֤ר אָנֹכִי֙ מְצַוֶּ֣ה אֶתְכֶ֔ם וְלֹ֥א תִגְרְע֖וּ מִמֶּ֑נּוּ לִשְׁמֹ֗ר אֶת־מִצְוֺת֙ ד’ אֱלֹֽהֵיקם אֲשֶׁ֥ר אָנֹכִ֖י… Read More »THE 13 PRINCIPLES OF FAITH #9: THE TORAH IS THE IMMUTALBE WORD OF G-D
בס”ד 26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you shall hearken unto the commandments of the L-rd your G-d, which I command you this day; 28 and the curse, if you shall not hearken unto the commandments of the L-rd… Read More »PARSHAT RE’EH – EVERDAY PEOPLE
בס”ד 12 And now, Israel, what does the L-rd your G-d require of you, but to fear the L-rd your G-d, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the L-rd your G-d with all your heart and with all your soul (Devarim 10:12) … Read More »PARSHAT EIKEV – FEAR
23 Av 5783 – 10 August 2023 “After Hashem, your G-d you shall follow…and cleave to Him” There are two Hebrew words that can mean ‘after’. One is ‘achar’ and the other is ‘acharei’. In his commentary to Genesis 15:1, Rashi explains that achar implies proximity, where one event follows… Read More »DEUTERONOMY 13:5 – FOLLOW G-D FROM A DISTANCE?
22 Av 5783 – 9 August 2023 “For my sin I admit, I worry about my transgression.” The Book of Psalms, indeed, the Bible often uses parallelism – the same idea is expressed in two ways. This is how this verse is usually understood. Rebbe Nachman of Breslov took it… Read More »Psalm 38:19 – I Worry About My Transgression!
Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17 The Torah forbids various forms of mourning that were prevalent among the non-Jewish nations. One of the reasons that these were forbidden is they were too excessive, ascribing a sense of permanency to death, when in truth, we know that the person’s soul continues to exist and lives… Read More »Parshat Re’eh – Mourning for a Parent
21 Av 5783 – 8 August 2023 “See, I place before you today a blessing and a curse” According to R’ Ovadiah Seforno, we are warned here against thinking there can be a middle ground in our spiritual lives. There are only the two extremes of either blessing or curse.… Read More »Deuteronomy 11:26 – The Middel Road is for…?
19 Av 5783 – 6 August 2023 “…cleave to Him”. There are many ways to attach ourselves to the Creator. Rashi teaches that one way is by connecting ourselves to Torah scholars. Our sages teach that something which is attached to that which is (ritually) pure has the status of… Read More »Deuteronomy 11:22 – Cleave to Him
17 Av 5783 – 4 August 2023 “I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my two hands and broke them in your sight” According to the Talmud, the broken pieces of the shattered tablets were gathered up and placed in the ark along with the new… Read More »Deuteronomy 9:17 – Learning from Mistakes
16 Av 5783 – 3 August 2023 “…and you shall eat and be satiated and bless Hashem your G-d…” This is normally understood to mean that after we have eaten enough to feel satisfied; we should thank Hashem for the food. Rabbi Shlomo of Karlin offered a beautiful way of… Read More »Deuteronomy 8:10
