With the reading of Parshas Emor, the Torah presents the cycle of the Jewish calendar year (Vayikra 23). Beginning with Shabbos and continuing through Pesach, Shavuos, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Succos, the Torah outlines the sacred times that shape the rhythm of Jewish life. At...
With the reading of Parshas Kedoshim, the Torah presents one of the most well-known and foundational mitzvos in all of Torah - the commandment to love one’s fellow as oneself. The pasuk teaches: לֹֽא־תִקֹּ֤ם וְלֹֽא־תִטֹּר֙ אֶת־בְּנֵ֣י עַמֶּ֔ךָ וְאָֽהַבְתָּ֥ לְרֵֽעֲךָ֖ כָּמ֑וֹךָ אֲנִ֖י ה, You shall not take...
With the reading of the parshios of Tazria and Metzora, the Torah turns to the laws of tumah and taharah (ritual impurity and purity), beginning with the ritual impurity of a woman after childbirth, followed by the complex and intricate laws regarding the metzorah (one...
With the onset of Chag HaPesach, we relive the foundational moment of our nation’s birth - yetzias Mitzrayim, the Exodus from Egypt. We recount the miracles, the plagues, the splitting of the sea, and the transformation of a nation of slaves into a people redeemed...
With the reading of Parshas Tzav, the Torah continues to detail the avodah of the korbanos in the Mishkan, as well as the role of the kohanim who performed this sacred service. While the procedures of the offerings are elaborated upon, we are also reminded...
With the reading of Parshas Vayikra we begin Sefer Vayikra, the third book of the Torah. If Sefer Shemos chronicled the birth of the Jewish nation - from slavery to redemption, from Egypt to Sinai, and from Revelation to the building of the Mishkan -...
With the reading of Parshios Vayakhel-Pekudei, we conclude Sefer Shemos, the sefer that chronicles the birth of our nation and our journey from slavery to redemption. As we have noted in previous weeks, the final section of Sefer Shemos is devoted to the building of the...
Parshas Ki Tisa begins with the topic of Mishkan, a continuation of the preceding parshios of Terumah and Tetzaveh. From the beginning of Terumah (Shemos 25), through the opening chapters of Ki Tisa (Shemos 30:11-31:18), the beautiful plans for the Mishkan have been laid out for...
In Parshas Tetzaveh we learn of the induction of Aharon as kohen gadol and his sons as kohanim. The pasuk tells us: And you shall bring near to yourself your brother Aharon, and his sons with him, from among the children of Israel to be...
With Parshas Terumah, we begin the third and final section of Sefer Shemos, also known as Sefer Ha’Geula - the Book of Redemption. In essence, Shemos is divided into three main chalakim (sections): Shibud v’Yetzias Mitzrayim - the enslavement and Exodus from Egypt. This section is...