The Joy of Surrender
The Joy of Surrender The Mishna in Masechet Bikkurim describes the elaborate and joyous process of bringing the First Fruits to Yerushalayim (particularly in chapter 3). The farmers would deliberately gather in local cities before embarking on their journey to the Beit HaMikdash, creating great processions of Bikkurim-bearers and glorifying Hashem’s name as throngs of […]
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A Moment of Wrath, An Eternity of Mercy
A Moment of Wrath, An Eternity of Mercy In this week’s haftorah, Yeshayahu continues to console us with promises of redemption and Divine love (Yeshayahu 54). He again calls out in the name of Hashem to the barren Yerushalayim, telling her to rejoice and sing over her restoration. In the midst of these promises of […]
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The Slumber of Yerushalayim
The Slumber of YerushalayimIn this week’s stirring haftorah (Yeshayahu 51-52), the Navi repeatedly calls upon Yerushalayim to awaken: הִתְעוֹרְרִ֣י הִֽתְעוֹרְרִ֗י ק֚וּמִי יְר֣וּשָׁלִַ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר שָׁתִ֛ית מִיַּ֥ד יְקֹוָ֖ק אֶת־כּ֣וֹס חֲמָת֑וֹ… Awaken, awaken, arise, Yerushalayim, for you have drunk from the hand of Hashem the cup of His wrath… עוּרִ֥י עוּרִ֛י לִבְשִׁ֥י עֻזֵּ֖ךְ צִיּ֑וֹן לִבְשִׁ֣י בִּגְדֵ֣י תִפְאַרְתֵּ֗ךְ יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ […]
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Seeking the Place He Chooses
Seeking the Place He Chooses When describing the need to bring our korbanot to the resting place of the Shechinah – the place ultimately revealed as Yerushalayim and Har HaMoriyah – the Torah commands us to seek out His Presence and come there: (ה) כִּ֠י אִֽם־אֶל־הַמָּק֞וֹם אֲשֶׁר־יִבְחַ֨ר יְקֹוָ֤ק אֱלֹֽהֵיכֶם֙ מִכָּל־שִׁבְטֵיכֶ֔ם לָשׂ֥וּם אֶת־שְׁמ֖וֹ שָׁ֑ם לְשִׁכְנ֥וֹ תִדְרְשׁ֖וּ […]
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Rav Menachem Ziemba: a Soul of Yerushalayim in the Warsaw Ghetto
Rav Menachem Ziemba: a Soul of Yerushalayim in the Warsaw Ghetto In commemoration of Tisha B’Av, our day of national mourning, I wanted to discuss the life of a spiritual titan who perished in the fires of the Nazi inferno during WWII. As we will see, this great tzaddik from Warsaw – and the powerful […]
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The Guards Who Didn’t Guard
The Guards Who Didn’t Guard After Korach’s failed rebellion and the devastating plague that followed, the Jewish people despairingly declare that they are all destined to perish. It seemed that the Mishkan’s sanctity and the exclusive role of the kohanim in serving there would cause too many Jews to die if they failed to respect […]
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From Tzion to Bat Tzion: the Expanding Boundaries of Redemption
This week’s haftorah opens with the navi Zechariah (2:14) calling out to the Bat Tzion – daughter of Tzion – declaring that she should “sing and be glad.” The navi promises that Hashem will again dwell amongst this daughter of Tzion and choose Yerushalayim as His portion. As we have noted in the past, Tanach […]
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Rising Through Sacrifice: the Story of the Churva and Yom Yerushalayim
Arguably one of the most beautiful and symbolic structures in the world, the Churva Synagogue stands prominently in the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Yerushalayim. The shul was initially built by the followers of Rebbe Yehudah HaChasid in the early eighteenth century, only to be destroyed by Arab creditors. It was rebuilt again […]
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Ariel Awakens: the Mikdash and the Lion of God
Throughout Tanach and Chazal, one finds constant references to lions, which serve as metaphors for power, royalty, and ascendance. Throughout Chumash, the Torah repeatedly compares individuals and tribes to the lion. In Yaakov’s blessings, it is clear that the lion symbolizes Shevet Yehudah and the malchut that will eventually emerge from him. In the prophecies […]
Explore moreParashat Vayikra:The Pauper with Flour Rivals the Bull
As Sefer Vayikra begins, the Mikdash becomes the dominant center of almost every mitzvah introduced by the Torah. Our parshah begins by introducing the various types of animals that can be brought as a korban olah. A Jew could bring a bull, goat, or sheep entirely on to the mizbeach as a fire offering to […]
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