Parshat HaShavua
Parshat HaShavua
We are pleased to feature a different Religious Zionist rabbi each week from around the country to share a Dvar Torah.
“Parshat Mas’ei” by Rabbi Moshe D. Lichtman
BESIDES ALL ELSE, IT’S A MITZVAH For the past 300 (or so) pages, we have discussed many aspects of the special qualities of Eretz Yisrael. Quoting Scriptures, Midrashim, Gemarot, Rishonim and Acharonim, we have demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt that a Jew’s...
“Parshat Matot” by Rabbi Moshe D. Lichtman
LET’S GET OUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT The Children of Reuven and the Children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock... They said to Moshe and Elazar... Let this land be given to your servants as a possession; do not bring us across the Jordan. (32:1-5) Moshe...
Parshat Pinchas: “WOMEN AND THE LAND OF ISRAEL” by Rabbi Moshe D. Lichtman
This week’s parashah contains the story of B’not Tzlofchad, those courageous and idealistic women who cherished the Land of Israel and demanded a portion in it. The first verse states, – The daughters of Tzlofchad, son of Chefer, son of Gil’ad, son of Machir, son of...
Eretz Yisrael in the Parsha: Parshat Balak by Rabbi Moshe D. Lichtman
BALAK TEMPORARY TENTS OR PERMANENT DWELLINGS מה טובו אוהליך יעקב משכנותיך ישראל (במדבר כד:ה) How goodly are your tents, O Ya’akov, your dwelling places, O Yisrael (24:5). What exactly are “the tents of Ya’akov” and “the dwelling places (משכנות) of Yisrael”? ...
Parshat Chukkat by Rabbi Michael Davies
Parshat Chukat opens with a discussion of the interesting and detailed laws of the Parah Adumah, the Red Heifer. One of the many peculiar elements of this text, one that can easily be overlooked, is the language of acquiring this unique animal – ViYikchu Eilecha, and...
Eretz Yisrael in the Parsha: Parshat Chukkat by Rabbi Moshe D. Lichtman
PUT YOUR FAITH IN THE GOD OF THE LAND This week’s parashah contains the episode of Mei Merivah (The Waters of Strife), in which Moshe and Aharon are told that they will not enter the Land of Israel. Many interpretations have been given to explain what exactly they...
Parshat Korach: “What Animates us All” by Rabbi Chaim Poupko
Rabbi Poupko is the Associate Rabbi of Congregation Ahavath Torah in Englewood, NJ and the President of the Rabbinical Council of Bergen County. To the casual observer, religion fosters some of the deepest divisions in society. Some of the most significant conflicts...
Eretz Yisrael in the Parsha: Parshat Korach by Rabbi Moshe D. Lichtman
KORACH EYES ONLY FOR YOU They [Datan and Aviram] said, “We shall not go up! Is it a small thing that you have brought us up from a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert, that you make yourself a prince over us? Furthermore, you did not bring us...
“Parshat Shelach” by Rabbi Moshe D. Lichtman
Rabbi Moshe Lichtman is a respected author and scholar living in Beit Shemesh who has written extensively about the centrality of the Land of Israel. Each week we plan to include a selection from his Sefer “Eretz Yisrael in the Torah.” SLANDERING THE LAND We all know...
“Parshat Shelach” by Rabbi Wesley Kalmar
Rabbi Kalmar is the rabbi of Anshe Sfard Kehilat Torah in Milwaukee, WI. The theme of the parsha of Shelach is the meraglim, the spies. God and Moshe send the spies out to check out the land of Israel. They go, they spy, and they return. They tell the people what...