Do Not Revere the Mikdash, but He Who Commanded It
Before describing the collection process for the Mishkan’s construction, Moshe strangely interjects with a repetition of the mitzvah of Shabbat. He gathers the entire nation together and reminds them, without mentioning a single word about the Mishkan, that it is strictly prohibited to perform melacha on the holy seventh day, שבת שבתון לה’ (Shemot 35:1-3). […]
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May His Bones be Ground!
As any experienced Keriyat HaMegilah attendee knows, Klal Yisrael possesses a very prominent and popular minhag to “blot out” Haman’s name by making noise after his name is recited. This practice is idiosyncratic; when are Jews ever encouraged to interrupt normal shul proceedings with halachically unquantified and uncontrolled commotion? Not surprisingly, there have been several […]
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Incense of the Divine’s Bride
After concluding a lengthy explication of the mishkan’s vessels and structure, the Torah describes the priestly vestments and Aharon’s inaugural sacrifices. Significantly, the Torah deliberately waits till the end of our parsha to describe one last vessel, the golden mizbeach, on which the ketoret was burned twice a day. This strange placement for the command […]
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Asher Ya’asun: Capturing the Spirit of the Law
In most yeshivot, the second chapter of Bava Metzia is the chosen start for a young student’s adventure into Talmud. This perek describes the mitzvot of returning lost objects, as well as helping to load/unload the burdens of animals. There are several instances in which one is not obligated to perform these commandments. For example, […]
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Rejoicing in Reunion While Weeping Over Destruction
After Yosef reveals his identity to the brothers, the Torah describes the emotional reunion between Yosef and Binyamin. They share the same mother, Rachel, and Binyamin was very young when his older brotherdisappeared. One can only imagine the intensity of emotion when they embraced after 22 years of separation. “And he fell on his brother […]
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The City of Spiritual Ambition
There is something strange about the way that all Jews celebrate Chanukah. Almost all Jews progressively add one candle a night, lighting one candle on the first day, two on the second day, etc. But according to the Gemara (Shabbos 21a), the mitzvah of lighting candles on Chanukah can be fulfilled by simply lighting one […]
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Yedid Hashem: Binyamin’s Unique Zechut
The conflict between Yosef and his brothers is a jarring and painful chapter in our history. In many ways, we still suffer from the consequences of mechirat Yosef to this day. Rav Elchanan Wasserman tz’l is known to have suggested that the bloodied-coat deception employed by the brothers was a spiritual antecedent for the vicious […]
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Speak to the Heart of Jerusalem
After Yaakov settles outside the city of Shechem, his daughter Dinah is kidnapped and violated by Shechem. The pesukim provide a detailed description of Shechem’s infatuation with Dinah. The Midrash Rabba (80:7) identifies four distinct words used by the Torah to describe his obsession with the daughter of Yaakov. ותדבק נפשו בדינה, his soul cleaved […]
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Eretz Yisrael Folds Under Jerusalem
As Yaakov Avinu experiences his dream of the supernal ladder, God promises him that the land upon which he lies will belong to Yaakov and his descendants. The Gemara Chullin notes that this covenant does not initially sound so encouraging. After all, Yaakov was technically lying on a mere four cubits of earth. While we […]
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The Enlightened Sky Till Chevron
The Mishna in Yoma (3:1) describes the process of bringing the korban Tamid in the Beit HaMikdash every morning. Being that the Tamid shel Shachar must be brought specifically after daybreak, the kohanim were exceedingly careful to check that the dawn had in fact arrived. Rebbe Matya ben Shmuel relates that the kohen hamemuna (in […]
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