Returning Shortly
“…A man whose wife strayed and was unfaithful to him…” – Bamidbar 5:12 אִישׁ אִישׁ כִּי תִשְׂטֶה אִשְׁתּוֹ וּמָעֲלָה בוֹ מָעַל – במדבר ה, יב A sotah is a married woman suspected of adultery, whom the Torah prohibits from being with her husband until she proves her innocence. The term sotah means, “a woman who strays,” and comes from the […]
Numbers that Matter
“…Take the sum of all the congregation of the children of Israel…” – Bamidbar 1:2 שְׂאוּ אֶת רֹאשׁ כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל – במדבר א, ב In the first thirteen months after their exodus from Egypt, the Jewish people were counted three times (see Shemos 12:37; Ibid. 30:12-16; and Bamidbar, chapters 1-3). Rashi explains the significance of all this counting: “Because […]
Give Me Your Tired
“…And if you should say, “What will we eat in the seventh year? We will not sow, and we will not gather in our produce!” I will command My blessing for you in the sixth year, and it will yield produce for three years…” – Vayikra 25:20-21 וְכִי תֹאמְרוּ מַה נֹּאכַל בַּשָּׁנָה הַשְּׁבִיעִת הֵן לֹא נִזְרָע וְלֹא נֶאֱסֹף אֶת תְּבוּאָתֵנוּ: […]
Self Sacrifice with a Capital S
“…I shall be sanctified amidst the children of Israel…” – Vayikra 22:32 וְנִקְדַּשְׁתִּי בְּתוֹךְ בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל – ויקרא כב, לב The Torah’s directive to cause G-d to be sanctified teaches us the obligation of mesirus nefesh, meaning, that in certain situations we must sacrifice even our lives in order not to disobey G-d’s commands. For when a Jew exhibits his […]
Warn and Shine
“…Speak to the kohanim, the sons of Aharon, and say to them: Let none [of you] defile himself for a dead person…” – Vayikra 21:1 אֱמֹר אֶל הַכֹּהֲנִים בְּנֵי אַהֲרֹן וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם לְנֶפֶשׁ לֹא יִטַּמָּא – ויקרא כא, א The words “Speak to the kohanim…and say to them” seem repetitive. Having instructed Moshe to “speak to the kohanim” about the […]
Love in Two Dimensions
“…You should love your fellow as yourself…” – Vayikra 19:18 וְאָהַבְתָּ לְרֵעֲךָ כָּמוֹךָ – ויקרא יט, יח There are two well-known sayings of the Sages regarding the mitzvah to love your fellow Jew. Rabbi Akiva said, “You shall love your fellow as yourself” — This is a fundamental principle of the Torah” (Sifra, Vayikra 19:18). Meaning, that this mitzvah is the […]
The Power of Judging Favorably
“…You shall judge your fellow with righteousness…” – Vayikra 19:15 בְּצֶדֶק תִּשְׁפֹּט עֲמִיתֶךָ – ויקרא יט, טו This verse commands us to judge people justly and righteously. In addition, Rashi suggests that this verse can be interpreted (not in the legal sense, but) as instructing us, “Judge your friend toward the scale of merit,” meaning, to judge other people favorably. Generally, […]
Kiruv 101
“…Speak to the entire congregation of Bnei Yisrael, and say to them, ‘You shall be holy, for I, Hashem your G-d, am holy’…” – Vayikra 19:2 דַּבֵּר אֶל כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְאָמַרְתָּ אֲלֵהֶם קְדשִׁים תִּהְיוּ כִּי קָדוֹשׁ אֲנִי ה’ אֱלֹקֵיכֶם – ויקרא יט, ב Rashi notes that G-d instructed Moshe to teach this passage to “the entire congregation of […]
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