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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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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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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Rebbe Chanina and the City of the Deer
Before formerly inaugurating Aharon and his sons as kohanim, Hashem instructs Moshe Rabbeinu to gather all of Klal Yisrael to the opening of the Ohel Moed. Moshe dutifully does so, allowing all of Bnei Yisrael to witness the proceedings inside the courtyard of the Mishkan. Rebbe Elazar, the great student of Rebbe Akiva, notes that […]
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VeNahaphoch Hu
The entire story of Megillat Esther takes place in Shushan, the capital city of the Persian empire, located in modern day Iran. No explicit reference is made to Eretz Yisrael, other than the megillah noting Mordechai’s exile from Yerushalayim years before. Haman’s rabid hatred of the Jewish people seems to be directed at the Jews […]
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PURIM at time of War against AMALEK – from Haman to Hamas!
It’s that beautiful time of the year, the month of Adar, with extra happiness-simcha, and the festival of Purim, with its Megilla reading, the Seuda-with extra wine and of course the “giving” of mishloach manot and gifts to the poor. (matanot la’evyonim) But this year – 2024 – we also have THE WAR in the background and our […]
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Ramadan, Rafah, and the Centrality of Jerusalem
Ramadan approaches. It looms over everything Israel and the IDF are trying to accomplish against the Amalek of our generation – both in Gaza and Lebanon. The fear of an out of control war, triggered by the IDF’s invasion of Rafah, the last Hamas stronghold seems to be an almost pychological-spiritual roadblock holding us back […]
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Joy of All the Earth
Every Monday, we recite a stirring ode about the beautiful city of Yerushalayim from Tehillim chapter 48. The Bnei Korah describe Jerusalem as the יפה נוף משוש כל הארץ, fairest of sites, joy of all the earth. Based off this verse, Rebbe Yochanan (in Midrash Rabbah Pekudei 52:5) describes a peculiar phenomenon that took place […]
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