ME OR WE – THAT IS THE QUESTION by Rabbi Moshe D. Lichtman
(וירשת אותם וישבת בארצם (יב:כט ,כי יכרית ה’ אלוקיך את הגויים אשר אתה בא שמה לרשת אותם מפניך When the Lord your God will cut down the nations, which you come to drive them out from before you, you shall drive them out and dwell in their Land (12:29). The Midrash Sifrei...
STRAIGHT TALK: “Pray with One Eye on the Bulletins” By Rabbi Yoni Lavie, Manager, “Chaverim Makshivim” Website
There is no doubt that this phenomenon comes as a great surprise. Who would have believed just a few years ago that a weekly bulletin of Torah insights about the Torah portion would within a mere decade become one of the most annoying elements in the religious sector?...
WHEN THE CHILDREN OPEN THEIR HEARTS: “Is it an Angel or a Man?” By Meirav Maggeni, Author of Content and Stories in Chemed, the Religious School System
I took a deep breath, and I counted: One... two... three... That’s it, we go into the hall. I am so excited that I find it hard to breathe. I am at the center of things, it is my Bar Mitzva. The band strikes up a lively tune in my honor. Many guests have...
THE ROOTS OF FAITH: “Basic Tenets of Jewish Philosophy Holy and Secular in the Redemption of Yisrael” By Rabbi Oury Cherki, Machon Meir, Rabbi of Beit Yehuda Congregation, Jerusalem
The national rejuvenation of the Yisrael, which was expressed in a practical manner by the existence of the Zionist movement and the State of Israel, encompasses many different levels, which can be divided into two categories: bringing the secular to life and bringing...
ZIONIST CHASSIDISM: “An Optical Illusion” By Rabbi Rafi Ostroff, Head of the Religious Council of Gush Etzion
A Passage without a Clear Meaning Rebbe Yaacov of Husiatyn begins his commentary on the Torah portion of Korach with the following: When we study the story of the dispute with Korach and his followers, we stand full of wonder and without any understanding....
POINT OF VIEW: “Goodbye – Until we Meet Again” By Rabbi Yisrael Rozen, Dean of the Zomet Institute
What should I Write about This Time? At the end of almost every Shabbat, I sit down in front of the keyboard and ask myself, “What should I write about today?” I find that I stare at the computer screen for long periods of time, sometimes even two or three...
AS SHABBAT APPROACHES: “I did not Take One Donkey from Them” By Rabbi Mordechai Greenberg, Rosh Yeshiva, Kerem B’Yavne
Datan and Aviram accused Moshe of some very serious faults, such as not keeping his promise to bring the people to a land of milk and honey. An even worse accusation was that he took on himself to become “a ruler over us.” [Bamidbar 16:13]. From Moshe’s reply, we can...
HOLY AND SECULAR: “Not Forgotten” By Rabbi Amichai Gordin, Yeshivat Har Etzion
The time had come for the evening studies in the yeshiva. It was the first evening session of the week between the Torah portions of Beha’alotecha and Shelach. This week separates between the journey when G-d rises up and His enemies are dispersed from him (see...
NATURE AND THE TORAH PORTION: “Five Species of Grain” By Dr. Moshe Raanan, the Jerusalem College for Women
“Give an offering of bread from your dough, as teruma – like the teruma of the granary, that is how you shall offer it” [Bamidbar 15:20]. Setting aside “challah” is one of the mitzvot connected to the “five species of grain” defined as a special group. This...
A PARSHA INSIGHT: “Threads of Hope” By Rabbi Asaf Harnoy, Rabbi of “Aderet Eliyahu” Community, Gilo, Jerusalem
This week’s Torah portion starts at one end with the story of the sin of the scouts and ends at the other end with the mitzva of tzitzit. Many great and wise men discussed the special link between these two seemingly unrelated topics. For example, some saw the mitzva...