14 Elul – 31 August 2023 Deuteronomy 28 contains G-d’s foreboding admonition of what will happen to the people of Israel if we stray from Him and His instructions. Verse 47 lays out the bottom line about why we may suffer these curses: “Because you did not serve Hashem, your… Read More »DEUTERONOMY 28:47 – WRONG GLADNESS OF HEART
13 Elul 5783 – 30 August 2023 “Cursed is the one who strikes his fellow in secret…” What is meant by striking someone in secret? People know if you have hit them. Rashi explains that striking one’s fellow secretly means to slander him. The Baal HaTurim points out that this… Read More »DEUTERONOMY 27:24 – IN SECRET = WITH SLANDER
8 Elul 5783 – 25 August 2023 “When you go out to war against your enemies, and Hashem your G-d delivers them into your hand, and you take their captives”. On a personal level, this refers to our war against our Yetzer Hara (inner adversary) – the urges and base… Read More »DEUTERONOMY 21:10 – SINS TRANSFORMING TO MERITS
8 Elul 5783 – 25 August 2023 “Do not despise an Edomite, for he is your brother; do not despise an Egyptian, for you were a stranger in his land” Based upon this verse, the Talmud teaches: Do not throw a stone into the well from which you drank (Baba… Read More »DEUTERONOMY 23:8 – A STONE INTO THE WELL
28 Av 5783 – 15 August 2023 “Everything that I am commanding you – be careful to fulfill it; do not add to it and do not subtract from it” Why does the Torah seem to repeat here what had been written previously in 4:2 “Do not add to the… Read More »DEUTERONOMY 13:1 – DO OT ADD
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!
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
