What are the 613 Commandments
The Talmud tells us (Tractate Makkot 23b) that there are 613 commandments in the Torah; 248 Positive Commandments (do’s) and 365 Negative Commandments (do not’s). However, the Talmud does not provide us with a list of these commandments. Several great Jewish scholars have compiled a complete listing of these commandments. Although they all agree on the vast majority of the […]
Parashat Ki Tavo – Graduation….
Parashat Ki Tavo “…..Yet until this day, g-d did not give you a heart to know, eyes to see, and ears to hear. i led you through the desert for forty years… you must safeguard the words that constitute this covenant….” (Devarim 29:3-8) …ולא נתן ה’ לכם לב לדעת ועינים לראות ואזנים לשמוע עד היום הזה; ואולך אתכם ארבעים שנה במדבר.. […]
Patach Eliyahu
This mystical portion of the Zohar is recited by many chassidim before themincha prayer on Shabbat eve and by most Sephardi communities before the Shacharit and the Mincha prayers every day. (translation by AvrahamSutton) The prophet Elijah, of blessed memory, opened, and said: Eternal Hidden Master of the worlds! You are He whose Unity is infinite and absolute, and therefore indivisible. You are He [the First Cause], transcendent beyond all that is […]
Don’t Make Yourself at Home….
“….And he went down to Egypt and sojourned there with a small number of people ….” (Devarim 26:5) וַיֵּרֶד מִצְרַיְמָה וַיָּגָר שָׁם בִּמְתֵי מְעָט – דברים כו, ה And he went down to Egypt – forced by Divine decree. —Passover Hagaddah If Yaakov’s descent to Egypt was by Divine instruction, why did Yaakov feel forced? Could it be that Yaakov, […]
Holy Matrimony – Parashat Ki Teitzei
“……..When a man takes a wife… “(Devarim 24:1) כי יקח איש אשה ובעלה והיה – דברים כד, א Once the Torah was given, the Jews were commanded that when a man desires to marry a woman, he must acquire her as a wife in the presence of witnesses and only after this does she become his wife. This is stated in […]
Jews and Dues
“….You may offer interest to a gentile, but to your brother you shall not offer interest….” (Devarim 23:21) לנכרי תשיך ולאחיך לא תשיך – דברים כג, כא Offering – and taking – interest from “your brother” is prohibited; from people at large, by contrast, it is permitted. It is a positive mitzvah to lend money to a gentile at interest, […]
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