Author: Shlomo Bar-Ayal

  • The Key to Jewish Exceptionalism

    פרשת עקב / י”ז באב תשפ”ב

    In the second paragraph of the Shma we see that if we want to be like all other nations, we will suffer the fate of those nations. If we want to be exceptional, we have to teach our youth why we should be exceptional.

  • A Society of Individuals

    פרשת ואתחנן / ט”ו באב תשפ”ב

    It is interesting that the word used for you in the Ten Commandments is in the singular. The Torah is pointing out that society is made up of individuals and if an individual is bad then it is bad for society, & if the individual is good then it is good for society. It is in our hands.

  • A God-Fearing Society

    פרשת ואתחנן – י”ד באב תשפ”ב

    Moses stresses that what we consider civil laws are really religiously basted law. That if the basis of law in a society is not God then the laws will break down and the results will be a dictatorship or anarchy, as we see from the difference in the results of the American and French Revolutions.

  • What is Idolatry?

    פרשת ואתחנן / י”ג באב תשפ”ב

    The first three Commandments are tied together. They warn that God is the supreme being and anything else is idolatry. A that even religion can become an idol.

  • Covetness is the Root of Evil

    פרשת ואתחנן / י”ב באב תשפ”ב

    The 10th Commandment is against covetness. This is important because there are always people who have more than we do. We get jealous of them. Why do they have what they have & we do not. We do not see what they had to do to get where they are.

  • The Second Version of the Ten Commandments

    פרשת ואתנן – י”א באב תשפ”ב

    The version of the 10 Commandments recited this week is slightly different from the original version. In this week’s version we have the word “keep” rather than “remember”. If we do not keep that Sabbath then there is nothing to remember. If we do not remember then there is nothing to keep.

  • Why The Temple was Destroyed

    פרשת דברים / ח’ באב תשפ”ב

    The Talmud states that the Temple was destroyed because the Jews kept the letter of the law. This is understood that they were more worried about the minutia of the law and forgot about the spirit that the law was to imbue.

  • The 10 Martyrs & the Sale of Joseph

    פרשת דברים / ז’ באב תשפ”ב

    On the 9thof Av we recall the story of the 10 rabbis murdered by the Romans. The reason that the Romans give for why they murdered the 10 rabbis is the sale of Joseph by the brothers. What is interesting is that this was a sin of man against fellow man, not against God.

  • The Reason for the 9th of Av

    פרשת דברים / ו’ באב תשפ”ב

    When we look at the literature of the 9th of Av, we notice that the Romans and Babylonians are barely mentioned. The real reason for the disaster is placed on the bad moral and ethical behavior of the Jews.

  • Believe in God & Yourself

    פרשת דברים / ה’ באב תשפ”ב

    The sin of the spies is recounted in this week’s portion. The real sin that they committed was twofold. The lacked faith in God being able to help them in conquering the Land of Israel and they lacked faith in themselves.