VAYEIARA
More Than Hospitality
We are living through a crisis of meaning. What people need more than anything today is a sense of value—to feel important and needed. We live in a world where most people are not searching for food. Existence itself is taken for granted: water flows from the tap, and medicine provides solutions to most health problems. The struggle for existence today is about the question of meaning: who needs me? What can I contribute? The main concern is not what to live from, but what to live for.
Our forefather Avraham understood this already four thousand years ago, and he invested in it—no less than he did in providing physical kindness.
LECH LECHA
What’s in a name?
We’ve all heard the stories about baby-naming. Name after a grandparent?
The meaning of names is an important topic. We all give names to our children for long life, and today we wish to discuss: what is a good name? And how does one even choose a name?
We must therefore carefully examine the secret and meaning of names, and we will do so by looking at a major question in the Torah portion of Lech Lecha: How did the addition of just one letter to the names of Avram and Sarai change their destiny, enabling them to give birth to Yitzchak? How could it be that an elderly couple, who had been childless for over eighty years, who saw in the stars that they would never have children and had completely despaired of the possibility- were suddenly “reborn” through the seemingly technical step of adding the letter "hei" to their names?
NOACH
What With The Water?
The Flood is a strange story; Let us consider two fundamental questions about the story.
First: Why destroy civilization through water?! Why would Hashem choose to bury existence by means of rain? We’re used to thinking of rain as a blessing, so why use a tool of blessing for curse?
Second: why save Noach through an ark? Would it not have been simpler to transfer him to Eretz Yisrael, where- according to some opinions - the flood did not reach, or to lift him to the heavens for the duration of the flood?
Why The Drama?
What’s Kol Nidrei all about?
Kol Nidrei is the most well-known prayer. It has become a symbol of Jewish identity and fills the synagogue seats even with people who do not set foot there the entire year. But the phenomenon is puzzling: what is the connection between its stirring melody and its content? What is it in it that awakens the soul?
“Kol Nidrei” is nothing more than a legal formula of annulment of vows. We declare that the commitments we took upon ourselves in the past and in the future, and have forgotten, shall be null and void.; but what in it stirs the heart to repentance?
Rosh Hashana
The way to open the gates of Heaven is to do the right action at the right time. When we turn to Hashem at the time when the gates are open and perform the precise deed that draws down the energy we need, it is possible to bring about miracles and salvations that change lives.
Our sages revealed to us a wondrous secret: Rosh Hashanah is the head of the year, and on it Hashem determines the fate of us all for good and for blessing. We must observe special “signs” that symbolize the good we seek, in order to draw down the right flow at the right time.
Today we want to clarify the secret of the Rosh Hashanah signs: How does it work? What is the shortcut by which an apple promises a sweet year?
TAVO
Seeing the Miracles Everyday
The Land of Israel is the home and palace in which the Holy One, blessed be He, dwells. And a home is a place that is renewed at every moment. It does not endure by inertia or by memory, but rather comes into being anew together with the person who himself is renewed each morning. A person changes every day, and life is different each hour, and true love bursts forth from the personality of the present day.
The task now is to repay in kind in the spiritual sense and to add anew each day. And at the threshold of a new year, we must ask how we grow today, and not stop at what we accomplished yesterday or last year.
In the final part of the lesson we will speak of this: that “the Land of Israel” is an inspiration for the proper way of life everywhere, even outside the Land. The demand upon the Jew is to bring the Land of Israel with him, and to create around him an atmosphere of the Land of Israel; to direct his steps in every place in the world as though he were now in Jerusalem.
TEITZEI
With Faith We Will Prevail
We explore the themes of faith, resilience, and the significance of Psalm 27 during the month of Elul.
The ongoing struggles faced by individuals and nations, drawing parallels between personal challenges and larger conflicts. Through the story of Sapir Cohen, who found strength in Psalm 27 during her captivity, the discussion emphasizes the power of faith in God. The conversation also delves into the 13 attributes of mercy, King David's trust in G-d during crises, and the importance of maintaining a positive outlook as one prepares for the High Holidays.
SHOFTIM
You Be the Judge
No, really, you are the judge
The month of Elul begins and we are all filled with desire for change, but we are also tired of past “Eluls” that led nowhere. We are exhausted from attempts to improve that did not succeed and from problems that have grown old with us.
To succeed in truly effecting change, we must examine the ways in which we act and ask whether we are using the right tools, or whether we are wasting energy when it is already too late. Some make the error of fighting a rearguard battle after the complications and problems have already broken out and gone into action, instead of preventing them from rising in the first place. The goal of today’s lesson is to examine the initial trigger that creates the complications, and when that trigger is prevented - most of the problems do not arise at all.
RE'EH
Seeing Life's Choices
As Moshe gives his last will and testament to the Jews before entering the dessert. He tells them SEE the choices you have, blessings and curses.
How can the blessings and curses run along to one another , while they are two opposing ideas and ways of life?
What was Moshe giving the Jewish people?
EIKEV
Secret of the Number Forty
We will explore the secret and power of the number forty, and we will do this by examining one of the great idea in the Torah: Moses's ascent to heaven three times, where each time he ascends for forty days and lives there as a hybrid creature - half human and half angel.
The obvious question is: why did it take so long? Why did the G-d, perform such an enormous miracle that required Moses to breathe like a human being, but live like an angel without food or sleep for forty days?"
This appears to be the beginning of a theological or mystical discussion about the significance of the number 40 in Jewish tradition, specifically focusing on Moses' three 40-day periods on Mount Sinai when he received the Torah. This sets up an inquiry into why this particular duration was necessary and what spiritual significance it might hold.
VAESCHANAN
Having Your Prayers Answered
The 15th of Av is a unique holiday, that the Mishna refers to it as one the greatest holidays for the Jews. What is so special about this day?
Why was is this day that Moshe pleads with G-d 515 times to enter the land of Israel?
Were Moshe's prayers unanswered?
What can we learn form all of this.
DEVARIM - NINE DAYS
Making It Happen
What else could possibly happen for us to see Moshiach’s arrival? We are standing at the end of a year of wonders, in which, alongside the deep pain, we touched the heavens day after day. In the last twelve months alone, many of our greatest arch-enemies have been eliminated or neutralized, many in an astonishingly wondrous fashion.
The feeling was that G-d was shining His face upon us and that we were closer to redemption than ever before.
But Moshiach didn’t come, and we feel like we are on a rollercoaster, being flung and slammed wildly. Soldiers are still dying in Gaza, antisemitism is still rampaging across the world…so what is happening?
If it hasn’t come until now—what needs to happen for it to finally arrive?
DEVARIM - NINE DAYS
Making It Happen
What else could possibly happen for us to see Moshiach’s arrival? We are standing at the end of a year of wonders, in which, alongside the deep pain, we touched the heavens day after day. In the last twelve months alone, many of our greatest arch-enemies have been eliminated or neutralized, many in an astonishingly wondrous fashion.
The feeling was that G-d was shining His face upon us and that we were closer to redemption than ever before.
But Moshiach didn’t come, and we feel like we are on a rollercoaster, being flung and slammed wildly. Soldiers are still dying in Gaza, antisemitism is still rampaging across the world…so what is happening?
If it hasn’t come until now—what needs to happen for it to finally arrive?
This upcoming Shabbos presents a unique event: a meeting between the weekly Torah Parsha and the date of the day itself; we will read in the Torah about the very day on which the Parsha is being read. This Shabbos will be Rosh Chodesh Av, and in the Parsha we will read about the death of Aharon, which occurred “in the fifth month, on the first of the month”—on Rosh Chodesh Av.
This rare alignment invites us to explore the enigma of Aharon’s yahrzeit: What merit did Aharon have to be the only person in the entire Tanakh—throughout thousands of years of history—whose date of death is explicitly stated in the Torah?
The Tanakh does not record the death dates of any of humanity’s great figures - not Avraham nor Sarah, not Yoseph nor David. Now although we do know many of their yahrtziets by inference or calculations, but the Torah itself does not mention them - besides for one exception: Aharon’s death.
This exception becomes even more intriguing when we consider where the Torah chooses to mention the date of Aharon’s death: in our portion, even though it has no relevance to the portion’s content.
PINCHUS
The saying goes “Life is what happens to us while we’re busy making other plans.”
Reality presents us with challenging situations that tear us between the life we want and the life we receive.
We find ourselves in a dispute with Divine Providence over what could have been different.
However, life becomes joyful when we manage to ride the wave and accept what is happening— when we let go of what we wanted and go with what we've been given.
The secret to happiness lies in the ability to understand that the main decisions are made by destiny.
They are determined in a way that is beyond human understanding, and therefore it is impossible to judge life using our own sense of logic or reason.
To understand this deeply, we want to explore an important question: Why was the division of the land of Israel done by lottery?
After all, the decision was backed by the Urim and Thummim—wasn’t that enough?
Especially since a lottery often suggests weakness or a lack of ability to decide. Lotteries are used in democratic systems where every vote counts, and no single authority can arbitrarily decide.
But a king, who is the sole voice, does not hold lotteries or consultations—he gives commands.
So where is the honor of the Holy One, Blessed be He, who seemingly needed to convince through a lottery?
BALAK
Chasing that Prophecy
It’s not crazy to say that perhaps we are approaching the ‘end of times’. The loose ends of history are tying together, and the entire picture is becoming clear. It is no coincidence that the recent military operation from Israel was named borrowing language from Bilaam’s prophecy: “like a lion rises,” thereby demonstrating the depth of that man’s vision.
Bilaam is the first to speak about the real thing: “Come, I will advise you what this people will do to your people at the end of days.” Bilaam speaks of the future redemption in greater detail than any other person, far more than even Moshe Rabbeinu. The Rambam rules that Bilaam’s prophecy is the halachic source that obligates belief in the coming of Moshiach.
CHUKAS
Why So Harsh?
In the Torah Reading of Chukat, Moshe and Aron are punished that they will not enter the land Israel. Their sin, hitting the rock to give water to the Jewish people.
Why so harsh, everyone else can do Teshuvah, repentance, why were Moshe and Aharon not afforded the same opportunity?
Why was G-d insistent that Moshe not enter the land of Israel?
KORACH
From Cyrus To Trump
New days have arrived; in ways unlike ever before, the most powerful nation in the world aligns itself with the Jewish nation, even taking up arms for her sake.
Sure, the US and Israel have always enjoyed a very strong bond and close alliance, but something unprecedented just took place.
When the reactor in Iraq was bombed, America firmly opposed it and imposed sanctions. When the reactor in Syria was bombed, it stood aside. But these current days mark a completely new spirit:
the largest Christian nation in the world is enlisting itself, even risking its own safety, on behalf of Israel.
This new situation carries profound implications; halachic, messianic, and personal. These are wondrous days, in which the ancient prayer takes on new meaning: “May all the inhabitants of the earth recognize and know… that every knee shall bow to You.”
This demands a shift in how we approach our inner spiritual work: we must strive to treat and transform the evil within, not merely to suppress it through force.
SHLACH
The Mystery of Challah
Why are Challah Bakes all the rage? Somehow from all the many mitzvos, this simple mitzvah seems to have captured the imagination of women (and beyond) in every community.
Challah bakes in honor of someone, in memory of another, for the war, the hostages, before Rosh Hashana, and on… but what is Hafrashas Challah and why is it so special?
Challah is a declaration of faith that everything comes from Hashem.
The act of giving the first portion of the dough to Hashem, even before the homemaker takes any for herself, is the essence of the recognition that nature deceives. The natural system is merely a machine executing instructions received from above, and therefore the acknowledgment must first and foremost be given to Hashem.
BAHALOTECHA
Developing a Positivity Bias
How can people stand before the most uplifting events in history and cry over trivialities?
How is it possible to cross the sea and receive bread from heaven, to receive the Torah at Mount Sinai and witness the Divine Presence resting upon the Tabernacle—and complain that there’s no garlic and onions to spice the fish?
Because the mind plays tricks on us. The brain lies and creates a distorted picture of reality. Psychologists call this the “negativity bias.” The brain gives much more weight to negative events than to positive ones and highlights only those. Research says it takes five positive events to balance out one negative one.