18 Iyar 5783 – 9 May 2023 “You shall sanctify the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land for all of its inhabitants; it shall be the Jubilee year for you…” (Leviticus 25:10). This verse contains the stirring phrase that was engraved on Philadelphia’s Liberty Bell in 1752. The… Read More »Leviticus 25:10 – When is a Society Liberated?
7 Iyar 5783 – 28 april 2023 “…love your neighbor as yourself; I am Hashem” People don’t love themselves in order to fulfill a Biblical commandment. So too, you shouldn’t love your neighbor simply because you were commanded to by Hashem. Your love should be spontaneous and genuine. (The Alter… Read More »Leviticus 19:18 – Love your neigbor
28 Nissan 5783 – 19 april 2023 “If a woman will conceive and give birth to a boy…” This chapter begins by discussing various laws pertaining to the birth of human beings. The previous Torah portion concluded with laws about animals. Rashi, in his commentary to this verse, says that… Read More »Leviticus 12:2 – Two Pockets in Life
27 Nissan 5783 – 18 april 2023 “Whatever crawls on its belly…” (Leviticus 11:42). The word for stomach/belly is gachon. The letter vav in this word is always written enlarged in a Torah scroll. It happens to be the middle letter in the entire Torah, the center point. (Second line,… Read More »Leviticus 11:42 – What can we learn from the “belly”?
