“…And they stood at the bottom of the mountain…” – Shemos 19:17 וַיִּתְיַצְּבוּ בְּתַחְתִּית הָהָר – שמות יט, יז The Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe, Rabbi Yosef Yitzchak Schneerson, of righteous memory, would bless people before the holiday of Shavuos, “to receive the Torah b’simchauv’pnimiyus, joyfully and internally.” At the Giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai, both of these qualities were […]

“…You shall not have other gods…” – Shemos 20:3 לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ אֱלֹקִים אֲחֵרִים – שמות כ, ג The Talmud (Shabbos 88b) relates that the angels protested G-d giving the Torah to Bnei Yisrael, insisting that G-d’s wisdom must not be shared with mortals of flesh and blood. In response, Moshe demonstrated that only humans could fulfill the Torah’s commands, […]

A key element of our relationship with our Creator is to “serve Him with all our heart.” The word serve in Hebrew is ‘Avodah’ which carries the sense of laborious work. But what kind of labor can the heart do to serve G‑d? The classic Jewish answer is that this is Tefillah (Prayer) a labor of awakening the hidden love […]

Amazing class by Rabbi Alon Anava about The Power of Modesty and the great spiritual levels a woman can reach by being modest.   Part 1     Part 2      

“…The kohen shall order that they clear out the house before the kohen comes to look at the lesion, so that everything in the house should not become unclean…” – Vayikra 14:36 וְצִוָּה הַכֹּהֵן וּפִנּוּ אֶת הַבַּיִת בְּטֶרֶם יָבֹא הַכֹּהֵן לִרְאוֹת אֶת הַנֶּגַע וְלֹא יִטְמָא כָּל אֲשֶׁר בַּבָּיִת – ויקרא יד, לו A house plagued with tzora’as remains pure and […]

“…But on the day that live flesh is seen in it, he shall become unclean…” – Vayikra 13:14 וּבְיוֹם הֵרָאוֹת בּוֹ בָּשָׂר חַי יִטְמָא – ויקרא יג, יד A person afflicted with tzora’as must be examined by a kohen to determine if his lesions indeed bear the signs of impurity. The Talmud notes that only certain days are valid for […]

“…If the Holy One, blessed be He, had not taken our fathers out of Egypt, then we, our children, and our children’s children would have remained enslaved to Pharaoh in Egypt…” – The Haggadah וְאִלּוּ לֹא הוֹצִיא הַקָּדוֹשׁ בָּרוּךְ הוּא אֶת אֲבוֹתֵינוּ מִמִּצְרָיִם, הֲרֵי אָנוּ וּבָנֵינוּ וּבְנֵי בָנֵינוּ מְשֻׁעְבָּדִים הָיִינוּ לְפַרְעֹה בְּמִצְרָיִם – הגדה של פסח We acknowledge in the […]

“…For the children of Israel are servants to Me; they are My servants, whom I took out of the land of Egypt…” – Vayikra 25:55 לי בני ישראל עבדים עבדי הם אשר הוצאתי אותם מארץ מצרים…- ויקרא כב,נה The Jewish people accepted G-d’s kingship at their own volition,, stating their readiness “to obey” – na’aseh, even before “hearing” and understanding […]

Where did we come from? Where are we going? Why are we hear? Have you asked yourself this questions lately? In this 3 part lecture, Rabbi Anava explains in general all these details.   This lecture is dedicated to the elevation of the soul of Emanuel Ben Chanoch Part 1     Part 2     Part 3     […]

“…And Moshe spoke to the entire community of Bnei Yisrael, saying: This is the word that G-d has commanded…” – Shemot 35:4 וַיֹּאמֶר משֶׁה אֶל כָּל עֲדַת בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל לֵאמֹר זֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה’ – שמות לה, ד The Torah’s wording is concise, even cryptic at times, such that an extra word or even letter is a cause for […]

“…And Mordechai told him all that had befallen him…” Esther 4:7 וַיַּגֶּד לוֹ מָרְדֳּכַי אֵת כָּל אֲשֶׁר קָרָהוּ – אסתר ד, ז Mordechai occupied an important position in Achashveirosh’s government (see Esther 2:19, “and Mordechai sat at the king’s gate.”) In addition, his cousin (or niece, see Targum,) was Achashveirosh’s queen. Presumably, even if Haman’s decree did come to pass […]

“….Speak to Bnei Yisrael and have a contribution taken for Me….” – Shemot 25:2 דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִקְחוּ לִי תְּרוּמָה – שמות כה, ב According to one opinion in the Zohar (vol. 2 p. 224a), G-d’s command that the Mishkan be built, as well as the collection of materials for its construction, took place immediately after the Giving of […]

“….I am Hashem, your G-d, Who took you out of the land of Egypt…” – Shemot 20:2 אָנֹכִי ה’ אֱלֹקֶיךָ אֲשֶׁר הוֹצֵאתִיךָ מֵאֶרֶץ מִצְרַיִם  – שמות כ, ב Our Sages teach that the Ten Commandments that the Jewish nation heard at Mt. Sinai represent the sum total of the entire Torah; all 613 mitzvos are incorporated within these ten. Taking […]

In this amazing class, Rabbi Alon Anava is discussing the problem we have of lack of Emuna (Faith) and B’tachon (Trust and confidence) in G-od. Where it originates from and how we can fix it and work on building our trust in G-od            

You shall tell your son on that day, saying, “It is for this sake that G-d acted on my behalf when I went out of Egypt.” – Shemot 13:8 וְהִגַּדְתָּ לְבִנְךָ בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא לֵאמֹר בַּעֲבוּר זֶה עָשָׂה יְהֹוָה לִי בְּצֵאתִי מִמִּצְרָיִם – שמות יג, ח The Torah tells us that in all generations one must relate to his children “that […]

Why did G-od give us SO many Mitzvot? why 613? isn’t a few Mitzvot enough?            

Amazing class by Rabbi Alon Anava about the virtues of reading Tehillim (Psalms of King David) and why it is so special reading Tehillim in a group. Also the connection of Tehillim to Rosh Chodesh and the connection of women reading Tehillim before Rosh Chodesh and much more.        

“….Moshe became frightened and said, “Indeed, the matter has become known.” Pharaoh heard of this incident, and he sought to slay Moshe; and Moshe fled from before Pharaoh…” – Shemot 2:14-15 ַיִּירָא משֶׁה וַיֹּאמַר אָכֵן נוֹדַע הַדָּבָר: וַיִּשְׁמַע פַּרְעֹה אֶת הַדָּבָר הַזֶּה וַיְבַקֵּשׁ לַהֲרֹג אֶת משֶׁה וַיִּבְרַח משֶׁה מִפְּנֵי פַרְעֹה… – שמות ב, יד-טו The Torah relates that Moshe became […]

 If an oppressive government is trying to abolish one or all of the Mitzvot, one must choose death rather than transgress whichever Mitzvah they are attempting to abolish, (even if the transgression is not related to idolatry, adultery or murder.) This would explain, why in the era of Chanukah, the Jews needed to sacrifice their lives when forced to do […]

Lighting the menorah was one of the many daily activities preformed in the Beis Hamikdash, the central avodah being the offering of sacrifices on the mizbeiach. Why was the menorah singled out, that Hashem’s miraculous intervention that gave us the holiday of Chanukah, specifically involved the Menorah and not the mizbeiach or any other part of the Beis Hamikdash? The […]