Devar Torah for Parshas Re’eh 5781
Another Chance to Choose Life At the very beginning of this week’s Torah reading (Parshat Re’eh), G-d asks us to pay attention to the following (Deuteronomy 11:27):
Devar Torah for Parshas Eikev 5781
Bread. I this week’s Torah reading (Parshat Eikev), we read a verse that is very well-known outside of the Torah community (Deuteronomy 8:3): “…Man does not live on bread alone…” When one says “Man does not live on bread alone” today (without the ellipses before and after), one is typically stating that bread alone is…
Devar Torah for Parshas Va’eschanan 5781
Believe In Yourself! Every Shabbos Jews read a small section of the Torah – The Five Books of Moses – followed by the Haftara – a small section from The Prophets. The rabbis usually selected a Haftara that was connected to the Torah reading in some fashion. But for the past three weeks, the Haftara…
Devar Torah for Parshas Devarim 5781
Soft Words This Shabbos we start the final book of the Five Books Of Moses, the Book of Deuteronomy, or in Hebrew Devarim, which means “words”. Most of this book is Moses speaking to the Children of Israel, giving them final instructions, and reproof for their sins over the past 40 years in the desert….
Devar Torah for Parshas Matos-Masei 5781
Your Word Is Powerful In this week’s parsha, we learn about oaths (Numbers 30:3): If a man makes a vow to the LORD or takes an oath imposing an obligation on himself, he shall not break his pledge; he must carry out all that has crossed his lips. You may have heard about fellow Jews…
Devar Torah for Parshas Pinchas 5781
Cosby in This Week’s News Cosby is in the new this week. But not just the secular news, in which Cosby was released from jail where he was serving time due to a sexual crime. Jews around the world will be reading about Cosby’s sexual crime in this week’s parsha, which is Parshas Pinchas. Who…
Devar Torah for Parshas Balak 5781
Standing Up For G-d At the very end of this week’s parsha, Balak, the gentile prophet Bilaam failed to curse the Jews, but came up with another plan: To seduce them. King Balak even volunteered his gentile daughter, who then successfully seduced Zimri, the leader of the tribe of Shimon. (FYI: The Code of Jewish…
Devar Torah for Parshas Chukas 5781
One-Upping the Gentiles In this week’s parsha, Chukas, we are introduced to the ultimate chok – a commandment that seems illogical to the human mind. The reverse of this would be the commandment to honor one’s parents. Even the gentiles understand and follow this commandment. Why? Each person has a mother and father who brought him…
Devar Torah for Parshas Korach 5781
Measure for Measure In this week’s parsha, Korach, Korach starts a rebellion against Moses. I want to bring out two points from his actions: You should first know that Korach was a holy man, and the only way to tell that something was amiss was to look at the people hanging around him – otherwise, he…
Devar Torah for Parshas Shelach Lecha 5781
Falling and Rising In this week’s parsha, Shelach Lecha, Moses sends 12 leaders – 12 great men – to scope out the future Land of Israel and bring back reports of the people currently living there. Instead, the 12 men came back with a poor opinion of the land (actually, two of the men did not join…