Yisro 5779

Yisro

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REEL PROJECTION

In this week’s Parsha, Yisro, HaShem gives us His Torah. Let us take a moment to appreciate this gift and what it means to us. The Midrash teaches us that before creating the world, HaShem first created the Torah and then ‘He gazed in the Torah and created the world.’ The use of the word gaze seems to be more than simply looking at the Torah. What was the function of His gazing at the Torah and how does that create the world? Rabbi Akiva Tatz draws a parallel from old fashioned movies to explain this Midrash.

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Yisro 5777

Yisro

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SHULAMIS – THE FABRIC OF KLAL YISRAEL

In this week’s Parsha, Yisro, we arrive at Mount Sinai. The Torah points out that our arrival at Mount Sinai was distinctly different than all our other encampments. At every other encampment throughout our 40 year journey in the desert there was some degree of quarreling among our people. However when we encamped at Mount Sinai there was perfect unity. The reason for this was because at Mount Sinai HaShem revealed His entire greatness to us, to the extent that it was possible for us to comprehend, for the purpose of giving us His Torah.

Our Sages explain that HaShem’s Presence can be revealed to the people only when they are in state of perfection – Shleimus. This state of perfection can only exist when there is absolute unity.

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B’shalach 5780

Beshalach

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QUALITY OF LIFE; OUR CHOICE

In this week’s Parsha, Beshalach, the Torah portrays the value of one moment of life. HaShem has taken His people from Egypt and has punished the Egyptians with the Ten Plagues. These Plagues were the greatest demonstration of HaShem’s continuing maintenance and involvement in His world. However, He was not finished, there was still more to accomplish.

HaShem tells Moshe “I will harden Pharaoh’s heart and he will run after you and I will become glorified through Pharaoh and Egypt will know that I am HaShem.” The stated purpose of having Pharaoh follow us into the Red Sea was two-fold. The first was to make HaShem glorified and the second was that the Egyptians should know that HaShem is the Almighty.

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B’shalach 5779

Beshalach

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THE ROAD CONTINUES

In this week’s Parsha, B’shalach, we finally exit Egypt and our journey to become HaShem’s people begins. To go from a nation of slaves to HaShem’s chosen people who will carry His Name throughout history throughout the world in every region through every ism we must be prepared and strengthened. Among the greatest restrictions that bind man from doing what he wants, are the confines that he makes up in his mind. Take for example, the boss who expects his employee to snitch on a co-worker. The employee does not want to snitch but they feel bound to do so; how then stand up to their boss?

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Va’era 5783

Vaeira

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BASE TEN

HaShem brought His world into existence through the utterance of ten statements. These include “Let there be light’, ‘Let there be rakia’ and so on. The purpose of the creation of this world was to give Man the opportunity to serve HaShem by keeping and protecting the observance of His Torah.

If the purpose of creation was the keeping and protecting of the Torah, once Yaakov and his family became a nation why didn’t HaShem give us the Torah. Why did we have to go through the Egyptian exile and the subsequent exodus?

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Va’era 5780

Vaeira

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BECAUSE MAN IS MADE IN THE IMAGE OF HASHEM

In this week’s Parsha, Vaeira, just before Moshe and Aaron successfully take their people from Egypt, the Torah gives us their genealogical back-ground. It actually gives a very comprehensive family tree which includes the first two tribes of Reuven and Shimon as well as Moshe’s cousins and second cousins. What is the purpose of this tree? If it is important to know Moshe’s background should we not have been told in last week’s Parsha when Moshe and Aaron first appear on the pages of Torah?

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Va’era 5779

Vaeira

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THE TWO ENGINEERS

This week’s Parsha, Vaeira, opens with HaShem expressing His disappointment to Moshe; ‘the Avos, Avraham, Yitzchok and Yaakov had a much lower level of prophecy and their trust in Me was complete, and you whose level of prophecy is much higher, your trust in Me is incomplete.’ Although this statement sheds a positive light on the Patriarchs as their level of trust was complete and unquestioning, nevertheless, it is disturbing that their level of prophecy was of a lower level than Moshe’s.

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Shemos 5780

Shmos

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BOOT CAMP

With this week’s Parsha, Shemos, the Egyptian exile begins and will last 210 years. In the final 86 years of this period, the slavery intensifies. This horrid experience was the prelude to our becoming HaShem’s chosen people. How do we understand this? Should HaShem’s chosen people not have great beginnings instead of horrid degrading slavery? What was the purpose of slavery and how did it prepare us for our destiny?

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Vayechi 5783

Vayechi

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THIRST MAKES THE WATER SWEET

In this week’s Parsha, as Yaakov draws close to parting from this world, he calls his 12 sons to gather around him as he wishes to in-form them of the date when his people will achieve their ultimate mission. Before Yaakov has the chance to reveal when that point in time will come, he loses his ruach haKodesh and never tells them. For some reason HaShem wanted that this date should remain a secret.

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Vayechi 5780

Vayechi

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SILENT PURITY CAN BE HEARD FROM AFAR

Excerpted from a talk from Rabbi Aharon Lopiansky

In this week’s Parsha, Vayechi, Yaakov gathers his 12 sons around him as he gives them their respective blessings. Each blessing reflects their unique qualities and responsibilities. In last week’s Parsha the Midrash identifies Yehudah and Yosef as the two kings of our people. Naturally, their qualities of kingship are reflected in the blessings that Yaakov bestowed upon them. Let us take note of the remarkable distinction between the blessings they received. Regarding Yehudah, Yaakov says that “Your brothers shall submit to you… your father’s sons shall bow to you.” This certainly draws a picture of a sovereign that is accepted by his people. Regarding Yosef however, Yaakov says “A charming son is Yosef, the girls climbed heights to gaze. His brother embittered him and became antagonists…From there he shepherded the stone of Israel.”

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