Shmini: Why 8?
Nadav and Avihu offered their unauthorized fire with an amazing heart full of love of Hashem. What was so terribly wrong that they were both killed instantly? What is the critical message for our own mitzvah observance?
Rabbi Pinchas Winston
Rabbi Pinchas Winston
The Secret of Israeli Independence Day
Is there any significance that Israeli Independence Day is on 5-Iyar? YES, says the Vilna Gaon! This date is closely tied to Mashiach and the Final Redemption. Let's not pass up this golden opportunity to pray especially hard for both!
Va’etchanan: You Can’t Plead Everyone
What is the big deal about Moshe not being permitted to enter Eretz Yisrael? Being kept away indicates a broken relationship between the Jew and Hashem.
Vayakhel: A Shabbos Gathering
If so, then beginning with the mitzvah to build the Mishkan just after returning from G-d with atonement for the golden calf would have hammered...
Vayakhel: The Need for Unity
Everyone's eyebrows go up over the emphasis on Moshe's gathering of the people to hear G-d's command, asking, "Why is this night different from all others?"
Ki Tisa: No More Holy Cows, Please!
The sin of the golden calf remains to be a blemish on the "score card" of the Jewish nation that won't go away. Indeed, as Rashi points out...
Ki Tisa: What a Choice!
It is so bizarre! A golden calf? Who needed it? There are so many symbols of reckless fun. Why would the organizers decide to make something as strange as this?
Tetzaveh: A Smile for Baalei Teshuva
Any Chozer b'Teshuva will tell you that something always remains behind. Often they are unconscious memories that surface when an event triggers the memory...
Terumah: Adar 180
The wicked Haman and Achashverosh wanted to convince the Jews that Hashem had abandoned them, but the month of Adar brought a 180...
Mishpatim: Table With A (Torah) View
After the Torah was given, those who received it pass it on to the next generation of Jews. Therefore, the first issue is "chinuch" - Torah education.
Yitro: The Case for Unity
Now, how do we know that was the case? Because, as Rashi points out, there was sublime "achdus" at the time the Torah was given, meaning that every Jew was…
Beshalach: Elevate the Mundane
Oh, the drama of it all. There were the Jewish people, fleeing the mightiest empire in the world at that time into… into what? Into a deadly desert with only…