The Choicest Portion

As the first mitzvah of kiddush hachodesh is communicated to Moshe and Aharon, the verse puts deliberate emphasis on the location of this “conversation”. “Hashem said to Moshe and to Aharon in the land of Egypt saying (Shemot 12:1)” Chazal are perturbed by the emphasis on Eretz Mitzrayim. In the Midrash Tanchuma (parsha 5), they […]

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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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Strangers At Home

This Monday we will be celebrating the 54th birthday of renewed Jewish sovereignty over the Old City of Yerushalayim. We have much to be thankful for. Yerushalayim of today is teeming with Jews and Jewish life in a way that has not existed since the days of the second Beit HaMikdash. Not for the last […]

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