Sarah’s life was far from uneventful or without suffering. Her years were colored by the painful longing for a child and then the joy of Yitzchak’s miraculous birth. The first half of her life she lived outside the Land of Israel; she moved there at the age of 65. She was twice taken captive by powerful kings who desired to marry […]

It was not only because Avraham humbly described himself using the metaphor of “dust and ashes” that his descendants merited mitzvos that involve dust and ashes. Rather, these two mitzvos in particular, the red heifer and the Sotah water, reflect the heritage of Avraham as expressed in his words, “I am but dust and ashes”. With these words, Avraham effectively […]

In the midst of conversing with G-d, Avraham sees three men approaching and runs to welcome them to his home. The Gemara (Shabbos 127a) learns from Avraham’s behavior that hospitality to guests is greater than receiving the Shechina, the Divine Presence. The question is, however, having no example or precedent from which to learn, how did Avraham know that it […]

Avraham hosted three angels in the midst of being visited by G-d, from which we learn that hospitality surpasses receiving the Divine Presence. Yet, considering that Avraham’s guests were angels, who had no need for the food and drink he offered, did Avraham in fact fulfill the mitzvah of hachnasat orchim with this act of hospitality? In hindsight, the cause for which […]

According to Rashi’s explanation, G-d caused that day to be unnaturally hot in order to spare Avraham the burden of entertaining visitors, but the absence of guests was ultimately a source of anguish for Avraham. Does that mean that G-d’s plan went awry? Was G-d’s interference with the weather patterns a waste? It must be that although the plan was […]

We call the last day of the festival Simchat Torah, because we rejoice and eat a festive meal to honor the completion of the Torah (Rem”a, Orach Chaim 669:1) וקורין יום טוב האחרון שמחת תורה, לפי ששמחין ועושין בו סעודת משתה לגמרה של תורה – רמ”א אורח חיים תרס”ט, א The second Luchot were given to Moshe on Yom Kippur, after […]

יונה בן אמיתי מעולי רגלים היה ונכנס לשמחת בית השואבה ושרת עליו רוח הקודש ללמדך שאין רוח הקדש שורה אלא על לב שמח – תלמוד ירושלמי, סוכה ה:א The Talmud states that Yonah’s prophecy was inspired by the joy of Simchas Beis Hasho’eva that he witnessed as anoleh regel. What is the significance of the fact that Yonah was an oleh regel, […]

“….He who has not witnessed the rejoicing at the water drawing, has witnessed NO real rejoicing in his entire life……” (Mishna, Sukkah 5:1) ״אמרו, כל מי שלא ראה שמחת בית השואבה, לא ראה שמחה מימיו. – משנה, סוכה ה,א The Talmud (Sukkah 48b) quotes the prophetic words of Yeshayahu (12:3),  ושאבתם מים בששון ממעיני הישועה – And you will draw water […]

“…The festival of Sukkot you shall make for yourself for seven days…” – Devarim 16:13 חַג הַסֻּכֹּת תַּעֲשֶׂה לְךָ שִׁבְעַת יָמִים – דברים טז, יג Several unique mitzvot are associated with the holiday of Sukkot, yet among them, the Torah calls the holiday Sukkot, naming it specifically for the obligation to dwell in a Sukkah for the duration of these seven days. This […]

“….You shall make yourself the festival of Sukkot for seven days…..” – Devarim 16:13 ״…..חג סוכות תעשה לך שבעת ימים….״ – דברים טז,יג Several unique mitzvos are observed during the holiday of Sukkos. Yet, the holiday is called Sukkos, named specifically for the obligation to dwell in a Sukkah during these seven days, and not for any other of this […]

“…..In Sukkahs you shall dwell for seven days…..”- Vayikra 23:42 The Torah commands, “For all seven days, leave your permanent dwelling and dwell in a temporary dwelling” – Talmud: Sukkah 2A ״…..בסוכות תשבו שבעת ימים, אמרה תורה כל שבעת הימים צא מדירת קבע ושב בדירת עראי” – מסכת סוכה ב,ב In a certain sense, the mitzvah of Sukkah has the distinction […]

“… This is the rule: Anything that is susceptible to Tum’ah, ritual impurity, or does not grow from the ground, may not be used for S’chach. But whatever is not susceptible to Tum’ah and grows from the grown may be used as Schach…” (Mishna, Sukkah 1:4) ״….זה הכלל, כל שהוא מקבל טומאה ואין גדולו מן הארץ, אין מסככין בו. וכל […]

“….If you go out to war against your enemies, and G-d, your G-d, will deliver him into your hands, and you will take his captives….” (Devarim 21:10) כִּי תֵצֵא לַמִּלְחָמָה עַל אֹיְבֶיךָ וּנְתָנוֹ ה’ אֱלֹקֶיךָ בְּיָדֶךָ וְשָׁבִיתָ שִׁבְיוֹ – דברים כא, י The wars addressed in this verse are not only those fought on the physical battlefield. The number one […]

“….When you build a new house you shall make a guardrail for your roof, so as not to cause blood in your house when the faller will fall from it….” (Devarim 22:8)    כי תבנה בית חדש ועשית מעקה לגגך ולא תשים דמים בביתך כי יפל הנפל ממנו  – דברים כב, ח   This verse speaks of building a home not […]

“…When you build a new house you shall make a guardrail for your roof, so as not to cause blood in your house; for he who falls will fall from it…..” (Devarim 22:8) כי תבנה בית חדש ועשית מעקה לגגך ולא תשים דמים בביתך כי יפל הנפל ממנו – דברים כב, ח “House” – This includes also the rooftop of […]

כִּי הָאָדָם עֵץ הַשָּׂדֶה – דברים כ, יט “…Is the tree of the field a man…” (Devarim 20:19) Translated literally, this verse is asking a rhetorical question: is the tree a human being? Why then should a tree be wantonly destroyed even when waging a war against the inhabitants of the city? We find, however, that the Talmud interprets this […]

“You shall set up judges and law enforcement officials for yourself in all your cities…” – Devarim 16:18 שפטים ושטרים תתן לך בכל שעריך – דברים טז, יח In every city where Jews live, the Torah instructs us to set up court systems comprising judges who determine the law, and officials who enforce the judges’ rulings. In the prophecies regarding […]

You may eat from them, but you shall not cut them down. Is the man a tree of the field? (Devarim 20:19) “The man a tree of the field” …If a Torah scholar is upright, you should benefit from him (alone – Tosfos) and not cut off from him. —Talmud, Taanis 7a The Talmud interprets this verse as reference to […]

שׂוֹם תָּשִׂים עָלֶיךָ מֶלֶךְ – דברים יז, טו “…..You shall appoint a king over you….” (Devarim 17:15) When a king is appointed, he is anointed with oil. —Rambam, Hilchos Melachim 1:7 When stating the mitzvah to appoint a king, the Torah does not mention the process of anointing the king with oil. Furthermore, Yehoshua is considered to have the Halachic […]

“…Who has counted the dust of Yaakov?…” – Bamidbar 23:10 מִי מָנָה עֲפַר יַעֲקֹב – במדבר כג, י Bilaam’s plot to curse the Jewish people was foiled when G-d forced him to bless and praise them instead. Describing the Jewish people’s endearment to G-d, Bilaam said, “Who can count the dust of Yaakov?” According to one interpretation brought by Rashi, […]