In this week’s parsha, Parshas Emor, we are commanded regarding the timely mitzvah of Sefiras ha’Omer. B’zman she’Beis HaMikdash haya kaym (in Temple times) on 16 Nissan, the day after the commencement of Chag ha’Matzos, the barley offering was offered in the Temple. This barley...
This week we read the double sedra of Achrei Mos-Kedoshim. Included are the mitzvos and halachos regarding the avodah of the Kohen Gadol on Yom Kippur, forbidden physical relationships, the sanctity of Eretz Yisrael, and the myriad of mitzvos bein adam la’chavairo (mitzvos that govern...
This week we read the double sedra of Tazria-Metzora. The sedra begins in Tazria with the eight pasukim dedicated to the tumas ha’yoledes (spiritual impurity of a woman post childbirth). Following this is a lengthy, detailed and intricate exploration of the spiritual malady of tzara’as,...
Chag ha’Pesach 5783 is upon us. Zman cheiroseinu, the time of our freedom; Chag ha’Aviv - the festival of Spring; and Chag ha’Matzos - the festival of matzah. On leil ha’Seder, we sit around the table with family and guests, simultaneously reliving the slavery and...
This week’s sedra, Vayikra, opens up the third book of Torah. With the opening of Sefer Vayikra, we enter a world of mitzvos far removed from our lives today. Korbanos (animal sacrifices), avodas ha’Mishkan (the service of the Kohanim in the Tabernacle), tumah and ta’harah...
In this week’s double parshios, Vaykhel-Pekudei, the Mishkan is built under the direction of the master craftsmen, Betzalel ben Uri ben Chur from the tribe of Yehuda, and Ohaliav ben Achisamach from the tribe of Dan. After all the plans, instructions and blueprints have been laid...
In this week’s parsha, Parshas Ki Sisa, the Bnei Yisrael commit the egregious sin of the Eigel Ha’zahav, the sin of the Golden Calf. With Moshe absent for forty days and forty nights post Revelation at Sinai, the people panic as they miscalculate the moment of...
This Shabbos we will read Parshas Tetzaveh. The sedra speaks of the bigdei kehunah (the priestly vestments), further details regarding the Mishkan, as well as the mizbayach ha’zahav (golden altar). A second sefer Torah will also be taken out from the aron kodesh, and from this...
In this week’s parsha, Parshas Terumah, we are introduced to the Mishkan, the (portable) Sanctuary that the nation built in the desert. The keilim (vessels) of the Mishkan included the copper laver for the kohanim’s washing of hands and feet before service, the copper altar...
In this week’s sedra, Mishpatim, we are introduced to many, many mitzvos that govern the daily life of a Jew and Jewish society. In the aftermath of Matan Torah, and the great Revelation at Sinai, the Torah now teaches us how to live in the...