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 […]
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Guarding the Sacrifice, Guarding the Name
The Torah commands the kohanim to carefully guard the sanctity of the korbanot and sets deatiled rules for consuming and disposing of sacrificial meat. As these laws are introduced, the Torah links improper engagement with the korbanot to desecration of God’s name: וְיִנָּֽזְרוּ֙ מִקָּדְשֵׁ֣י בְנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל וְלֹ֥א יְחַלְּל֖וּ אֶת־שֵׁ֣ם קָדְשִׁ֑י – they shall separate from that […]
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Children’s Projects, Tazria-Metzora
Chugim Wittenberg centre Kids activities in carpentry in Shiloach
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Shomron: the City that Pretended to be Yerushalayim
This week’s Haftorah retells the dramatic story of Aram’s siege of Shomron during the reign of King Yehoram. Yerhoram, son of Achav, was a wicked king of Malchut Yisrael. As Aram tightened its grip around the capital, the people experienced devastating famine. Elisha HaNavi reassured Yehoram that salvation would arrive in an instant: food prices […]
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From Fear to Firepower: Israel Just Rewrote the Rules
There was a time—not long ago—when Israel hesitated. A single Hezbollah tent in the Shaba Farms area became a national dilemma. Weeks of deliberation, warnings, diplomatic signaling. The question wasn’t just operational—it was psychological. What would Hezbollah do? What would the UN say? How would Europe react? Would Washington approve? That hesitation wasn’t about capability. […]
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Dayeinu: When “Enough” Isn’t Enough
Of all the favorite songs recited over seder night, Dayeinu is perhaps the most beloved. With each stanza, we recount another Divine kindness of Yetziat Mitzrayim and beyond, declaring each time דיינו – this alone would have been enough. Beautiful. But as many commentators note, the song is quite puzzling. A mentor of mine compared […]
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An Eternal Fire in a Destroyed World
Without the Beit HaMikdash, the parshiyot of Sefer Vayikra feel distant and irrelevant. But Chazal hint that the avodah in the Mikdash is immortal and constant. Rashi notes that the language of tzav – used in the opening command of our parshah – demands alacrity for all generations. The mitzvah of the korban olah never […]
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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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