Fascinating weekly parshah posts
Many of us are familiar with the inspiring narrative of Avraham in Ur Kasdim. When Terach learned that his idols were smashed by his son, Avraham, the irate father approached King Nimrod to complain about his “wayward” son. Summoned in front of the king, Avraham clung to his belief in the One True Hashem, despite the peril this entailed. Subsequently, he was cast into the flames of [...]
In praise of the mitzvah of milah, the Mishnah in Nedarim (3:11) makes the following statement: “Rebbi said: The greatness of circumcision is demonstrated by the fact that despite the countless number of mitzvos Avraham Avinu had already fulfilled, he was not considered “complete” until he was circumcised; as the possuk says (when introducing the commandment of circumcision in this week’s parshah): ‘Walk before Me, and you shall be complete,’ (Bereishis 17:1).” Let us keep in [...]
Many people are familiar with the oft-quoted statement of R’ Tarphon (Avos 2:15): “R’ Tarphon says: The day is short, but the workload is great...” What may come as somewhat of a surprise to some people is that this was not always the case. In fact, as we shall soon see, for a good chunk of history, the exact opposite was true. The Easy Life When perusing the [...]
Generally speaking, predatory animals are very insensitive creatures, to say the least. Take a wolf, for example. It will pounce upon a young deer and begin to make a meal out of it. The poor wretch may be writhing and moaning in pain, but the wolf is unfazed. He callously goes about his flesh-eating business, impervious to the cries of its prey. As we shall see, this [...]
The focus of this time period is, of course, the endeavor of teshuvah (repentance). While an important form of Divine service at any point during the year, during the period between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur – known as “Aseres Yemei Teshuvah (The Ten Days of Repentance)” – this effort is particularly pertinent and the atmosphere quite conducive. It obviously behooves any earnest servant of Hashem to utilize the opportunity [...]
In one of the dramatic passages from the Yamim Nora’im liturgy, we recite: כִּי תַעֲבִיר מֶמְשֶׁלֶת זָדוֹן מִן הָאָרֶץ – “When You shall remove the dominion of evil from the earth.” What is this “Memsheles Zadon” to which the prayer refers? Last week, we cited R’ Yeruchem Olshin’s explanation that it alludes to the Heavenly accusers, Celestial representatives of the nations of the earth. At this time, they join forces against Yisrael, aiming to persuade [...]
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