Killing Amaleiq
As the wise king wrote, “For everything there is a time, and a season for every goal under heaven.” The “time for war” was when Canaan was simply a battleground for warring barbaric tribes,...
Category: Mussar
Why So Many Laws of Berakhos?
When learning about berakhos, whether the halakhos or the latter third of the mesechta, I like to emphasize the following point… The vast majority of berakhos are derabbanan. So, why so many different berakhos,...
Toward a Torah Definition of “Ethics”
A short thought, maybe “just” a conversation starter… There is a paradoxical obligation: it is prohibited to conform in all ways only to the letter of the law. One must stay well within it...
Learning and Teaching
I The pasuq (Devarim 28:61, parashas Ki Savo) reads, if we would translate it naively (ignoring the point we’re about to see in Rashi): גַּ֤ם כׇּל־חֳלִי֙ וְכׇל־מַכָּ֔ה אֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א כָת֔וּב בְּסֵ֖פֶר הַתּוֹרָ֣ה הַזֹּ֑את יַעְלֵ֤ם...
Yeru+Shalem
The first time we encounter Yerushalayim (Bereishis 14:18), it is under the rule of Malki-Tzedeq, a “kohein leKeil elyon — a priest of the most high G-d”, under the name “Shaleim”. The other half...
Anav Mikol Adam: reactions
My previous post engendered a couple of responses and a follow-up thought of my own that I would like to share. A quick reminder: In that post, I suggested that maybe “וְהָאִ֥ישׁ מֹשֶׁ֖ה עָנָ֣ו...
Anav Mikol Adam
A quick thought on something from the parashah (Behaalosekha), based on how one translates the words in the title. Bamidbar 12:3. The context is that Miriam and Aharon just complained about Moshe’s neglected wife,...
The Three Most Central Mitzvos – May 13th
The Three Most Central Mitzvos of the Torah:A Pre-Shavuos Shiur On Thursday 2 Sivan, (May 13th, 2021) gave a shiur in preparation for Shavuos. A short discussion of what Shavuos and the Torah are all...
Pieces of Sapphire
In this week’s parasha (Shemos 34:1), when Hashem tells Moshe to carve the second luchos, He says “פסל לך – carve for yourself”. The gemara comments on the apparently superfluous “לך – for yourself”...
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