“…A continuous fire shall burn upon the altar; it shall not be extinguished…” – Vayikra 6:6 אֵשׁ תָּמִיד תּוּקַד עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לֹא תִכְבֶּה – ויקרא ו, ו In addition to the obligation stated explicitly in this verse, namely, to maintain a constant fire on the Outer Mizbeiach, the Talmud sees in this verse an allusion to yet another “continuous fire” […]

“…A constant fire shall burn upon the altar; it shall not be extinguished…” – Vayikra 6:6 אֵשׁ תָּמִיד תּוּקַד עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ לֹא תִכְבֶּה – ויקרא ו, ו The Torah commands us to constantly burn a fire on the Outer Mizbei’ach, the altar that stood in the courtyard of the Temple, and to never extinguish it. Moreover, as taught in the […]

“…He shall then take off his garments and put on other garments, and he shall remove the ashes to outside the camp…” – Vayikra 6:4 וּפָשַׁט אֶת בְּגָדָיו וְלָבַשׁ בְּגָדִים אֲחֵרִים וְהוֹצִיא אֶת הַדֶּשֶׁן אֶל מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה – ויקרא ו, ד The task of clearing the ashes from the Altar was not an actual part of the service in the […]

“…He shall then take off his garments and put on other garments, and he shall remove the ashes to outside the camp…” – Vayikra 6:4 וּפָשַׁט אֶת בְּגָדָיו וְלָבַשׁ בְּגָדִים אֲחֵרִים וְהוֹצִיא אֶת הַדֶּשֶׁן אֶל מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה – ויקרא ו, ד One of the tasks in the Mishkan was to clear the ashes from atop the Altar and dispose of […]

“…Limits and permits..” זֹאת תּוֹרַת הָעֹלָה הִוא הָעֹלָה עַל מוֹקְדָה עַל הַמִּזְבֵּחַ כָּל הַלַּיְלָה עַד הַבֹּקֶר – שמות ו, ב After a sacrifice in the Temple is slaughtered and some of its blood sprinkled on the Altar, the kohanim burn the choice fats of the animal (and in some instances, all its fats and limbs) on the Altar. Though all […]

“…All fat is to G-d…” – Vayikra 3:16 כָּל חֵלֶב לַה – ויקרא ג, טז When an animal is offered as a sacrifice, its premium fats—the choicest parts of its flesh—are burned on the Altar. The Rambam (Issurei Mizbeiach 7:11) interprets this as a universal principle as well: “The same applies to everything done for the sake of G-d—it must […]

Every month has a special blessing and a special power that we can tap into and enjoy this G-dly blessing. In this video Rabbi Anava is explaining about the month of Nissan Duration of class: 42:16              

“…And if one offers an offering of a Mincha…” – Vayikra 2:1 וְנֶפֶשׁ כִּי תַקְרִיב קָרְבַּן מִנְחָה – ויקרא ב, א The word mincha alone means “a grain-offering,” rendering superfluous the word קרבן, offering, which precedes it in this verse. The Midrash explains that this additional word comes to teach us of another group of offerings that may be donated and […]

“…Why do schoolchildren begin their learning with Toras Kohanim (the Book of Vayikra) and not with Beraishis? Since the children are pure and the sacrifices are pure, let the pure come and deal with the pure…” – Vayikra Rabbah 7:3 מפני מה מתחילין לתינוקות בתורת כהנים, ואין מתחילין בבראשית? אלא שהתינוקות טהורין והקרבנות טהורין, יבואו טהורין ויתעסקו בטהורין – ויקרא […]

“…A man who shall bring from you an offering to G-d…” – Vayikra 1:2 אָדָם כִּי יַקְרִיב מִכֶּם קָרְבָּן לַה’ – ויקרא א, ב The significance that the Torah attributes to animal sacrifice is mystifying. Why would the physical slaughter and burning of an animal be our primary form of Divine worship (see Avos 1:2 and Yerushalmi, Taanis 4:1)? Would […]

“…These are the accounts of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of the Testimony, as they were overseen by Moshe…” – Shemos 38:21 אֵלֶּה פְקוּדֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן מִשְׁכַּן הָעֵדֻת אֲשֶׁר פֻּקַּד עַל פִּי משֶׁה – שמות לח, כא The total weight of all the gold, silver, and copper that was donated for the Mishkan is recorded in Parshas Pikudei.  No mention is made, […]

“…All the women whose hearts uplifted them with wisdom spun the goat hair…” – Shemot 35:26 וְכָל הַנָּשִׁים אֲשֶׁר נָשָׂא לִבָּן אֹתָנָה בְּחָכְמָה טָווּ אֶת הָעִזִּים – שמות לה, כו This is particularly remarkable considering that Bnei Yisrael had not been instructed to process the goat hair at all before donating it to the Mishkan. The manner in which the […]

“…And g-d said to Moshe: “hew for yourself two stone tablets like the first ones…” – Shemos 35:1 וַיֹּאמֶר ה’ אֶל משֶׁה פְּסָל לְךָ שְׁנֵי לֻחֹת אֲבָנִים כָּרִאשֹׁנִים – שמות לה, א The Midrash (Shemos Rabbah 46:1) relates that Moshe was distressed over having broken the Luchos, until G-d said to him, “Do not be pained over the first tablets, which […]

“…And now, if you forgive their sin… but if not, erase me now from your book that you have written…” – Shemot 32:32 ‫וְעַתָּה אִם תִּשָּׂא חַטָּאתָם וְאִם אַיִן מְחֵנִי נָא מִסִּפְרְךָ אֲשֶׁר כָּתָבְתָּ – שמות לב, לב   When Bnei Yisrael rebelled against the Torah’s most basic principle and worshipped the Golden Calf, G-d threatened to wipe Bnei Yisrael out […]

“…And now, if You forgive their sin… —But if not, erase me now from Your book, which You have written…’ – Shemot 32:32 וְעַתָּה אִם תִּשָּׂא חַטָּאתָם וְאִם אַיִן מְחֵנִי נָא מִסִּפְרְךָ אֲשֶׁר כָּתָבְתָּ – שמות לב, לב “The Shechinah (Divine Presence) spoke through Moshe’s throat,” say our Sages (see Zohar vol. 3, p. 232a). This means that Moshe’s identity […]

“…When he had finished speaking with him on mount sinai, he gave Moshe the two tablets of the testimony…” – Shemos 31:18 וַיִּתֵּן אֶל משֶׁה כְּכַלֹּתוֹ לְדַבֵּר אִתּוֹ בְּהַר סִינַי שְׁנֵי לֻחֹת הָעֵדֻת – שמות לא, יח Rashi notes that the Torah here spells the word Luchos, tablets, as לֻחֹת—without the letter “ו” that emphasizes the plural, according to which the word […]

“…Aharon and his sons shall wash their hands and feet from it…” – Shemot 30:19 וְרָחֲצוּ אַהֲרֹן וּבָנָיו מִמֶּנּוּ אֶת יְדֵיהֶם וְאֶת רַגְלֵיהֶם – שמות ל, יט Before beginning their daily service, the kohanim serving in the Mishkan would wash their hands and feet. Emulating the kohanim, we, too, wash our hands every morning upon awakening to sanctify ourselves for […]

“…And you shall command Bnei Yisrael…” – Shemot 27:20 וְאַתָּה תְּצַוֶּה אֶת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל – שמות כז, כ From the account of Moshe’s birth in the beginning of the Book of Shemos until his monologue in the Book of Devarim, Moshe is mentioned by name in every weekly Torah portion with the exception of Parshas Tetzaveh. The notable absence of […]

“….The poles of the ark shall be in the rings; they shall not be removed from it….” – Shemot 25:15 בְּטַבְּעֹת הָאָרֹן יִהְיוּ הַבַּדִּים לֹא יָסֻרוּ מִמֶּנּוּ – שמות כה, טו The prohibition of removing the poles from the Aron, the Holy Ark, is explained in the Sefer Hachinuch (Mitzvah 96) as a means of ensuring that the Aron is always ready […]

“…And this is the contribution that you shall take from them …and acacia wood…” – Shemot 25:3 וְזֹאת הַתְּרוּמָה אֲשֶׁר תִּקְחוּ מֵאִתָּם . . וַעֲצֵי שִׁטִּים – שמות כה, ג-ה How did Bnei Yisrael have acacia wood in the desert? Some commentaries suggest that acacia wood may have been available for purchase from gentile merchants they encountered in the desert, […]