Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal

  • Remember the Second Fiddle

    פרשת תצוה / י’ באדר א’ תשפ”ב

    This is the only Parsha from the beginning of Exodus until the end of the Torah, in which Moshe’s name is not mentioned. There are two reasons for this. Today we explore those reasons.

  • No One is Above Doing Right

    פרשת תצוה / ט’ באדר א’ תשפ”ב

    The first thing in the Kohen Gadol’s (The High Priest) job is to clean the Menorah. Why couldn’t he delegate this dirty job to a lesser? The answer is that no one is above doing the right thing. Your position does not exclude from your duty to God and man.

  • Do It With Feeling

    פרשת תצוה / ח’ באדר א’ תשפ”ב

    The way that the Kohanim, (priest), presented themselves had to do with making the Mishkan, (Tabernacle), special to the average Jew coming to bring his Korban, (sacrifice). By making it an event we are avoiding making it mundane or common.

  • It’s Not About You

    פרשת תצוה / ז’ באדר א’ תשפ”ב

    The clothing of the kohanim (Priests) was simple and uniform. This is to teach them that they are merely servants to God and the people. That they are interchangeable. They are to be humble in their office.

  • Have a Heart

    פרשת תצוה / ו’ באדר א’ תשפ”ב

    The breastplate sits on the High Priest heart to remind him to feel the pain of those who are suffering as well as the joy of those who succeed in life.

  • Be The Fire in the Menorah

    פרשת תרומה / ג’ באדר א’ תשפ”ב

    When Moses is shown the prototype of the Menorah for the Tabernacle, he notices that it is engulfed in flame. This is to teach us to approach being Jewish with a lust, not to be robots.

  • Approach Life with Happiness

    פרשת תרומה / ב’ באדר ’ תשפ”ב

    As we enter the month of Adar, we should remember that no matter what problems that we have the best way to approach them is with happiness. That is the best way to avoid depression.

  • Where is Holiness?

    פרשת תרומה / כ”ט בשבט תשפ”ב

    In this week’s parsha God commands that we build a tabernacle for the purpose that He should dwell among us. We can understand this when we combine the previous commands from last week. We bring God into the world through Godly behavior.

  • Do Not Rely on Karma

    פרשת משפטים / כ”ו בשבט תשפ”ב

    The commandment for the court to execute a murderer for his crime shows that the Torah does not rely on karma but on us to do the right thing. Also, that doctors are commanded to cure the sick regardless of what they think of them teaches this concept.

  • Do Not Pervert Justice

    פרשת משפטים / כ”ה בשבט תשפ”ב

    The Torah states that when administering justice we have to be equal to all. We cannot follow the current public opinion. Also, it goes out of its way to remind us that we should not think about the economic status of the one on trial. Neither poverty nor wealth is an excuse.