Sinai and Moriah: a Mysterious Connection
If we haven’t already gotten the message of these weekly divrei Torah, Jerusalem is pretty much the center of everything in Judaism. Which is why many commentators wonder why the Torah was given on Har Sinai instead of Har HaMoriyah (aka, the temple mount). While there are many beautiful answers provided to this question, the […]
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A Tale of Three Domes
Allow me to describe one of my favorite berachot to recite. When traveling to the Kotel HaMaravi from Sha’ar Tzion, I personally thrill when witnessing the three beautiful domes that rise above the landscape of the Jewish quarter, domes that have been rebuilt and restored since the reclaiming of Jerusalem in 1967. I recite the […]
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The Faithful City and Her Faithful Children
At the close of its exegesis of Sefer VaYikra, the Midrash Rabba discusses the incredible spiritual capabilities granted to one who faithfully fulfills his vows. Rebbe Yaakov contends that one who fulfills his vows is guaranteed to have his tefillot heard. As a proof text, he invokes Tehillim 65:2-3, where Dovid HaMelekh describes the God […]
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Rebbe Shimon at the Entrance to Jerusalem
The Gemara Makkot (19b) has a lengthy discussion regarding the laws of ma’aser sheni. Farmers would separate this tithe, an obligation in four out of six years of the shemittah cycle, and bring the produce to Jerusalem to be eaten. The produce possessed a sanctified status akin to meat of sacrifices and could only be […]
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As Allies Turn Away, A New Light Shines in Tzion
As a Jew who recently made aliyah from America thinking that he understood the country he was leaving, I am astounded. The White House’s political betrayal of Israel reveals a disturbing reality in which Israel cannot depend on anyone. Whether the current policies will correct themselves in the near future, or whether they (G-d forbid) […]
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Rebbe Eliezer: A Burning Love for Jerusalem
The Shabbatot on which we read the Torah portions of Achrei Mot and Kedoshim present a strange anomaly in the typical haftorah cycle (the haftarah is a portion of scripture that is read after the weekly parsha in the synagogue on Shabbat). Normally, when two parshiyot are read together, the haftarah for the second Torah […]
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The True Source of Kedushah
Since the turn of the century, social have been perplexed by the younger generations that are currently reaching adulthood. There are many disparaging accusations flung at Millennials and the generations that follow them, but many are surprisingly not true. Studies have found Millennials are actually not lazy, but quite industrious (perhaps too much so, with […]
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A Pathetic Shadow
The Gemara Sotah (14a) famously asks why Moshe Rabbeinu so desperately desired to enter Eretz Yisrael: Rebbi Samlai taught: Why did Moshe Rabbeinu desire to enter Eretz Yisrael? Did he need to eat from its produce, or did he need to satisfy himself from its goodness? Rather, this is what Moshe said, “Many mitzvot were […]
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A Golden Opportunity
The students of the great Amoraic sage Rav once asked him if they are permitted to travel to his beit medrash before dawn and return to their homes after nightfall (Pesachim 8a). Given the slight danger in traveling under darkness, it would normally be unadvisable to do so. To answer this query, the Gemara quotes […]
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Soul of the Holy City
Last week, we described the miraculous capacity of Eretz Yisrael and Yerushalayim to accommodate throngs of Jews beyond normal physical constraints. How can a physical space hold more than its natural capabilities? The Maharal (to Gittin 57a) explains that it is, in fact, impossible for a physical vessel to upend the natural order and contain […]
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