We often think that G-d wants us on a very high spiritual level, but the truth is that G-d wants us exactly where we are, so we will be able to serve him on the level that we are holding and refine ourself from there and grow from there Duration of class: 48:27              

“…And he will initiate atonement for himself and for his household….” – Vayikra 16:6 וְכִפֶּר בַּעֲדוֹ וּבְעַד בֵּיתוֹ – ויקרא טז, ו One of the integral components of the Kohen Gadol’s service on Yom Kippur was the bull offering, the blood of which he sprinkled in the Kodesh Hakadashim, the Holy of Holies, to atone “for himself and for his household.” […]

“…When you come to the land of canaan… and i will place a lesion of Tzora’as upon a house in the land of your possession…” – Vayikra 14:34 כִּי תָבֹאוּ אֶל אֶרֶץ כְּנַעַן . . וְנָתַתִּי נֶגַע צָרַעַת בְּבֵית אֶרֶץ אֲחֻזַּתְכֶם – ויקרא יד, לד When tzora’as appeared on a person’s skin, its initial and most obvious effect was the impurity […]

“…He must immerse all his flesh in water – Vayikra 15:16 וְרָחַץ בַּמַּיִם אֶת כָּל בְּשָׂרוֹ – ויקרא טו, טז The Torah’s laws concerning ritual impurities and their means of purification are in the category of chukim, divine decrees that transcend any reason or understanding. Nevertheless, writes the Rambam, there is an important lesson in character development hinted by one of […]

“…This shall be the law of the Metzora, on the day of his purification…” – Vayikra 14:2 זֹאת תִּהְיֶה תּוֹרַת הַמְּצֹרָע בְּיוֹם טָהֳרָתוֹ – ויקרא יד, ב The Talmud (Sanhedrin 98a) records a conversation between Eliyahu Hanavi and R’ Yehoshua ben Levi regarding the whereabouts of Moshiach. Eliyahu tells R’ Yehoshua that Moshiach can be found at the entrance to […]

“…All the days the lesion is upon him… he shall dwell in isolation; his dwelling is outside the camp…” Vayika 13:46 כָּל יְמֵי אֲשֶׁר הַנֶּגַע בּוֹ . . בָּדָד יֵשֵׁב מִחוּץ לַמַּחֲנֶה מוֹשָׁבוֹ – ויקרא יג, מו The impurity of a metzora, a person afflicted with tzora’as,is unusually severe in that a metzora’s mere entry into a home conveys impurity […]

“…It is a lesion of Tzora’as; when the kohen sees it, he shall pronounce him unclean…” – Vayikra 13:3 נֶגַע צָרַעַת הוּא וְרָאָהוּ הַכֹּהֵן וְטִמֵּא אֹתוֹ – ויקרא יג, ג A person afflicted with tzora’as can only be deemed pure or impure by a kohen. “If the kohen present does not know how to assess the skin discolorations [to determine […]

“…And it was on the eighth day… And Moshe said, “This is what G-d has commanded that you do, and the glory of G-d will appear to you…” – Vayikra 9:1-6 וַיְהִי בַּיּוֹם הַשְּׁמִינִי . . וַיֹּאמֶר משֶׁה זֶה הַדָּבָר אֲשֶׁר צִוָּה ה’ תַּעֲשׂוּ וְיֵרָא אֲלֵיכֶם כְּבוֹד ה’ – ויקרא ט, א-ו The Zohar compares Moshe and Aharon to shushvinin, […]

“…The owl, the shalach, and the little owl…” – Vayikra 11:17   וְאֶת הַכּוֹס וְאֶת הַשָּׁלָךְ וְאֶת הַיַּנְשׁוּף – ויקרא יא, יז   Rashi comments regarding the identity of the shalach bird, “Our rabbis explained that it draws up fish from the sea.” This reflects the name shalach, similar to the Hebrew word for drawing out, sholeh, indicating that the […]

“…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 Haggadah […]

Shabbos HaGadol was the beginning of the Redemption and the miracles (Shulchan Aruch Harav, Orach Chaim 430:4) בשבת הגדול היתה התחלת הגאולה והנסים – שלחן ערוך אדה”ז סת”ל סק”ד A number of miraculous events are attributed to the Shabbos that preceded the exodus from Egypt, earning the Shabbos before Pesach the title Shabbos Hagadol, the Great Shabbos. Yet the Alter […]

In this weeks Parasha we read about the sacrifices that were given on the altar and all the rules that have to do with those commandments. Since we still don’t have the holy temple and can not offer sacrifices, what is the sacrifice we have to give in our generation?   Duration of class: 1:30:02           […]

22″…These are the accounts of the Mishkan, the Mishkan of the testimony…” – Shemot 38:21 אֵלֶּה פְקוּדֵי הַמִּשְׁכָּן מִשְׁכַּן הָעֵדֻת – שמות לח, כא What is the “testimony” to which the Torah refers when calling the Mishkan, “The Mishkan of the Testimony”? Rashi explains that the Divine Presence resting in the Mishkan was itself the testimony: “It served as testimony for the […]

Many think that the Torah view women to be less important, the truth is the complete opposite. Find out in this class about it   Duration of class: 57:27              

“…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 Moshe’s life was defined by two passions: his passion for the Torah and his passion for Bnei Yisrael. On the one hand, Moshe […]

“…Therefore, they called these days Purim, named for the pur…” – Esther 9:26 עַל כֵּן קָרְאוּ לַיָּמִים הָאֵלֶּה פוּרִים עַל שֵׁם הַפּוּר – אסתר ט, כו The Jewish nation faced a threat of annihilation. Mordechai, their leader, occupied a prominent position in the government (see Esther 2:19, “Mordechai sat at the king’s gate”), and the beautiful and beloved queen of […]

“….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 the kingdom long before the Purim miracle, as is indicated by the repeated expression in the Megilah, “Mordechai was sitting at the king’s gate” (2:19, 2:21 et al). If the […]

“…And there Yisrael encamped opposite the mountain…” – Shemos 19:2 וַיִּחַן שָׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל נֶגֶד הָהָר  – שמות יט, ב Bnei Yisrael’s encampment opposite Mount Sinai is described by the Torah using the singular verb form וַיִּחַן, meaning, “and he encamped.” Rashi explains that the singular form used here denotes that Bnei Yisrael camped at Sinai “as one man, with one […]

“….If a bull gores…” – Shemot 21:28 וְכִי יִגַּח שׁוֹר – כא, כח The Torah demonstrates one’s liability for the damages caused by his animals with a case of someone’s bull goring killing a person or causing damage to someone’s property. In truth, however, these same laws also apply if any other animal or bird did the damage. But, as […]

“….And G-d said to Moshe, “Why do you cry out to Me? Speak to the B’nei Yisrael and have them journey forth….” – Shemot 14:15 וַיֹּאמֶר ה’ אֶל משֶׁה מַה תִּצְעַק אֵלָי דַּבֵּר אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיִסָּעוּ – שמות יד, טו The Jewish people were surrounded by peril in all directions, and their leader Moshe called out to G-d in […]