YOU ARE CONNECTED! JUST HOLD ON
Verses of 26: 17-18 of our Parsha are difficult to translate because of the strange usage of the causative verb. Rav Hirsch translates them as follows. “Regarding HaShem, you have brought about the fact that people say HaShem is your G.D. He is the G.D of the Jewish people. And regarding you, HaShem has brought about the fact that people say the Jewish people are the people belonging to Him.”
Category Archives: Devarim
Ki Savo 5781
MY CONVERSATION
In this week’s Haftorah we read the prophecy of Yeshayahu (Isaiah) in which he talks to Yerushalayim in the name of HaShem “Lift up your eyes, look around and see that everyone is coming to you. Your sons are coming from distant lands and your daughters will be raised at their side.”
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MA’ASER
Excerpted from a talk by Rabbi Ahron Lopiansky
In this week’s Parsha, Ki Savo, the Torah instructs us on viduy ma’asser. At the end of the three year tithing cycle we must make a proclamation that we tithed all the tithings in accordance with the prescribed laws. It is noteworthy that this proclamation is called viduy, which means a confession. The question is if we have done no wrong how can this be called a viduy? To what are we confessing?
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CHANGING PERSPECTIVE
This week we will read the fifth Haftorah of the prophet Yeshayahu consoling his people over their impending galus. They were told of all kinds of horrible punishments that were awaiting them in galus. From the Tochacha of the Torah and from the prophecies of Yishayhu and Yirmiyahu we knew that a very unpleasant journey lay ahead of us.
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THE RIPPLE EFFECT
Rosh Hashanah is the holiday when every member of our people plays a critical role in establishing HaShem as the Sovereign of the Universe. HaShem’s sovereignty is incomplete if there is but one member who fails to accept Him. To appreciate that every bar mitzvah boy carries such significance is an awesome notion in its own right. But consider the following.
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TESHUVAH; THE HOLISITC APPROACH
This week’s Parsha, Ki Seitzei, opens with the event when we shall go to war against our enemy. The commentaries explain that this verse alludes to the battle in which we struggle against our yetzer hara. As we approach Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur we engage in the teshuvah process, the process of returning to HaShem.
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DURABILITY
Excerpted from Rabbi Aaron Lopiansky’s talk.
As we have begun blowing the shofar every morning to prepare us for the great meeting with HaShem to take place on Rosh Hashanah, we would expect to find tips and direction in the Parsha on how to properly prepare ourselves. Naturally, our focus needs to be on bettering ourselves in matters that relate to our relationship with HaShem and with people.
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DON’T FORGET THE BABY
The period of the calendar in which we currently find ourselves is called the Seven Weeks of Consolation. For the seven weeks following Tisha b’Av the Haftorahs we read are from Yeshayahu (Isaiah) in which HaShem consoles His people over the destruction of the Bais Hamikdosh and the subsequent exile.
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EIKEV 5779
THERE IS MORE NUTRITION THAN MEETS THE EYE
In this week’s Parsha, Eikev, we are instructed to bless HaShem after our meal. The daily life of a Jew is filled with opportunities to make brachos. From brachos on mitzvos to brachos of gratitude for who we are and the senses with which we were endowed.
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EIKEV 5778
IT’S ALL IN THE DETAILS
This week’s Parsha, Eikev, opens with Moshe telling his nation that they should be careful with the mitzvos that people step on. If we shall observe those mitzvos then HaShem will preserve for us the covenant He made with our forefathers.
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