Rayanot

In our Parsha, G-d showed himself to Moshe at the burning bush and chose him to be the leader of the Jewish people. He would be the one to galvanize and inspire them with the message of redemption and he would be the one to confront Pharaoh demanding that he free the Jews from their slavery. But G-d’s choosing of Moshe as the leader is puzzling. Ahron (Moshe’s older brother) seemed to be a much better and more natural choice for many reasons. 1.        He was the older of the two and in Jewish law this would’ve given him the “rights” (so to speak) to the “throne”. 2.         Ahron was already considered the leader of the Jews. On the verse: “ but he (Moshe) said, "I beseech You, O Lord, send now [Your message] with whom You would send ", Rashi comments: “ With whom You are accustomed to sending, and this is Aaron. ” It is evident from here that up to this point Ahron had been acting as G-d’s messenger; why not j...

The sin of the golden calf is one of the lowest points in the history of our nation. The Jews then committed three sins that are considered by Jewish law to be the most serious of offenses: idol worship, adultery and murder.  Exodus 32: 6, “On the next day they arose early, offered up burnt offerings, and brought peace offerings, and the people sat down to eat and to drink, and they got up to make merry.” Rashi comments on the words - “to make merry”: “ In this, there is [also] a connotation of sexual immorality and bloodshed… (Midrash Tanchuma 20).” Where was the Jewish leadership at the time? Where were the leaders whose responsibility it was to keep their people on the straight and narrow path?  Granted it happened in the absence of Moses, as he was on the mountain receiving the Torah from G-d. But surely there were other elders and leaders who could’ve done something to prevent the sin, where were they? At the end of Parshat Mishpatim, we find that Mos...

In Parshas Vayishlach we read of the shocking and brutal kidnapping and rape of Dinah – daughter of ya’akov, by Shchem – son of Chamor. The response by Dinah’s brothers (particularly Shimon and Levi) was fierce and convincing. They proceeded to trick the males of the city into circumcising themselves and then attacked and killed out the entire city. It is not the purpose of this essay to explore whether or not their actions were justified; this has already been dealt with at length by many notable commentators. What I do wish to explore here is their emotional reaction to their sister’ rape, which I believe was not only justified but actually reflects on their greatness of character. A person’s actions are highly reflective of the way they feel “inside”. If Shimon and Levi were driven to such drastic and fierce actions, one can only imagine the type of disgust, rage and disdain they felt at what had just transpired. They were affected so deeply by what Shchem did to their ...

Our Parsha begins: “And G-d spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai saying.” The Torah then goes on to enumerate in great detail all of the laws of shemittah and Yovel. The sages comment on this juxtaposition of Mount Sinai to shemiitah, that just as shemittah was taught to Moses on Mount Sinai with all of its details, so too all the other Mitzvot were taught to Moses on Mount Sinai with all their details. The name of the parsha therefore is Behar (Sinai) for 2 reasons: A. It is the first word of the parsha (after “and G-d spoke”) B. All the Mitzvot (in the parsha) were taught on Mount Sinai. There is a well known Midrash regarding why G-d chose Mount Sinai over all the many other mountains, upon which to give us the Torah. Mount Sinai was the lowest of all the mountains and so G-d chose it to teach us a lesson in humility. If you want to be a vessel for the Torah you must feel yourself to be lowly and humble. This however begs the question: If G-d wants to teach us a lesson in humili...

Parshat Teztaveh begins with a discussion about the preparing and kindling of the Menorah. It then moves on to describing the different priestly garments worn by the Kohanim while serving in the temple and concludes with the construction of the incense altar and the laws of the daily incense offerings. What is the connection between these three ideas? What is the common thread that ties them together into one Parsha? Find out at: http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/2866811/jewish/Light-Clothing-and-Incense.htm