פרשת מצורע / ג’ בניסן תשפ”ב
The main event in the celebration of Passover is the eating of the Pascal Sacrifice. This is a lamb and it is impossible to completely eat it unless you are with a group. The problem is that there can be nothing leftover. Thus the Torah is forcing us to form communities in order to carry out this celebration.
פרשת מצורע / ב’ בניסן תשפ”ב
What happens when you only have ten during davening and one leaves in the middle? We had such a situation and the solution within Jewish Law is that we continue as if we have a minyan to the next major stopping point.
פרשת תזריע / כ”ט באדר ב’ תשפ”ב
In the Jewish year Nisan is the 1st month & Tishri is the 7th. But the “Jewish New Year” is in Tishri. The truth is that Nisan is month when the Jewish people came into being and Tishri is the anniversary of the Creation of the world.
פרשת תזריע / כ”ח באדר ב’ תשפ”ב
This week’s Parsha starts with the commandments concerning childbirth. It stresses the necessity of giving a Jewish baby boy a Brit Milah. At the Brit Milah we traditionally say that he is small now, soon he will be big and should be big in Torah and good deeds.
פרשת תזריע / כ”ז באדר ב’ תשפ”ב
In Parshat HaHodesh the first thing that the Torah states is the Korban Pesach (The Pascal Sacrifice). This was to get the Jews to look at Egyptian society as not only foreign but as dangerous to their spiritual well being as a nation.
פרשת תזריע / כ”ה באדר ב’ תשפ”ב
This Shabbat is also Parshat HaHodesh. We celebrate the month of Nisan as the first month of the Jewish year. This is the beginning of our freedom and taking our fate into our own hands.
פרשת שמיני / כ”א באדר ב’ תשפ”ב
The fact that a priest working in the Tabernacle was forbidden to drink before starting his service means to tell us that we should not take our ritual lightly. They are an example to the people coming to the Tabernacle and should behave as such.
פרשת שמיני / י”ח באדר ב’ תשפ”ב
Aaron’s sons assumed that they would inherit their father’s position as priests of the nation. They took certain liberties in their actions. That is said to be one of the reasons that they were consume by a “strange fire”. According to the Torah, you have to earn your position. It is not just handed to you.
פרשת שמיני / י”ז באדר ב’ תשפ”ב
Why does the Torah spend time teaching us about keeping kosher in the middle of describing the ritual of the service in the Tabernacle? This is to teach us that service to God is not a spectator sport. You have to be in it to win it.
פרשת צו / י”ב באדא ב’ תשפ”ב
At the critical moment when Mordechai begs Esther to approach the king, she demurs. Mordechai reminds her that she is also under the decree. That if we need to do the right thing no matter how uncomfortable it makes us feel.