Not On Bread Alone

The Soul of Israel: Owning the Land with Favor

Mourning Malfunction

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Yaakov knew even before Yosef was sold that he and his family would go down to Egypt. If not, why would he buy a future burial plot for Yosef – the first thing he did before settling in Eretz Yisrael?

Do We Create Our Own Enemies?

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Let us assume for a moment that the Avot knew for certain what the repercussions of rejecting Timna would be and that they were faced with a dilemma. If they accept her as a convert, it would conflict with the halacha, because she had an agenda.

Blindsided

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

If you think Lavan was an arch-villain swindler, he had nothing on the serpent. The serpent was the inventor of swindling, using wiles and deception to trick Chava into eating from the Tree of Knowledge.

Money In The Right Hands

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

If the rest of the world is to survive, you cannot bequeath the blessing of wealth to evil people. Only if you place it in the custodianship of Am Yisrael, will the rest of the world prosper – because of Am Yisrael.

Proof Of Ownership

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

The field of Efron had a bad reputation; it was said to be haunted. Anyone happening to wander into the field reported encountering a demon wielding a sword. As viable real estate it was worthless.

Roped In

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Who said anything about tying Yitzchak up? Hashem certainly didn’t tell Avraham to tie Yitzchak up, He told him to offer Yitzchak as an olah.

Divine Sense Of Humor

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

The former kind of humor that simply makes one laugh, without denigrating anyone or anything is OK and more than that, it is encouraged.

Evil Personified

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Why did G-d decide to bring a flood? Why not an earthquake, a tornado, a solar flare?

Joy

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

We all know the verse "Serve Hashem in joy" (Tehillim 100:2), which seems to indicate that there is a positive commandment to serve G-d in joy. However, if you search Sefer HaChinuch, which lists and discusses all 613 mitzvot, for this specific mitzvah, you will not find it.

All For One And One For All

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

This successful symbiotic cohesion between the “all,” the “one” and the “One” – the collective, the individual and G-d – was the real secret formula of the Ketoret.

The Power Of One

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

The concept of the Twelve Tribes and mutual responsibility is a “collective” concept, in which the individual appears to be secondary, however the opposite is the case.

Fat And Kicking: Rosh Hashana, Ha’azinu

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

When Moshe uses this phrase to rebuke Am Yisrael in parshat Ha'azinu, he states this as a fact, not as a conditional statement...Moshe is saying – it is for sure going to happen!

A Peace Offering – Parshat Re’ei

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Unlike all the other types of Korbanot that are offered to atone for a sin, the Shelamim is offered purely out of love for Hashem.

Honey

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Eretz Yisrael is blessed with seven species of food. One of the joys of living in Eretz Yisrael is having the privilege of eating these special foods.

Dancing In The Vineyard

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

The Sforno says that the essence of the sin of the golden calf was the dancing, without the dancing the sin would not have been so severe.

Expectation Of Redemption

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Many of us have lost it because we don’t see the true value of it. What would having the Beit HaMikdash add to my life that I don’t have already?

Pursuing Peace

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

The last time the Torah mentions Aharon actually saying anything of his own volition, is when Miriam speaks lashon hara against Moshe. Aharon’s words are a plea for Moshe to pray to G-d to heal their sister.

Differential Enemies

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

An Egyptian whose ancestors committed genocide against our people may be accepted as a convert after three generations, but a Moabite and Amonite – who never gave us bread and water, they may never be accepted?

Moshe’s Lost Book

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Parashat Balak is a very interesting parasha in that it relates an incident that none of Am Yisrael observed directly.

Red Lights And The Four Stages Of Exile

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

When Moshe saw two Jews (Datan and Aviram) fighting and tried to stop them, they went and informed to Pharaoh that he had killed an Egyptian guard. Moshe then said, Now I realize why Am Yisrael are in exile in Egypt – it is because they speak lashon hara.

The Fire Of Cats And Dogs

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Am Yisrael were desperately waiting for the Shechina to return after the sin of the Golden Calf. At the conclusion of the eight days...

The Origin Of The Bagel

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Why the different types of matzah and their symbolism? Each had to be offered for a different reason.

Picture It! – Parshat Vayikra

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Forget about five-year-old kids; most adults are not overly attracted to Sefer Vayikra, with all its gore.

Send In The Clowns

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Who were these clowns of Israel? What was their reason to mock Moshe? What exactly is it about this mocking that makes it unacceptable?

Building The Mishkan: Plan A And Plan B – Parshat Vayakhel

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

The sefer Ohel Yehoshua explains that in fact Hashem had two distinct plans for building the Mishkan. The original plan preceded the sin of the Golden Calf, after which a Plan B went into effect as a result of the Am Yisrael’s sin.

Kadosh, Kadosh, Kadosh – Parshat Ki Tisa

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

So, obviously, Hashem does not have a face and all the above descriptions are simply metaphors to simplify concepts to enable our human intellect to understand, even though the true reality is beyond our comprehension.

Urim Ve’Tumim: The Heavenly Code

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

There are different opinions on how the Kohen Gadol would receive the answer to the question. According to one opinion, the letters on the stones were illuminated forming the words of the answer. According to another, the letters stood out and became extruded.

Bendable Beams

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Why was it necessary to use specific wood from specific cedar trees? The other raw materials used in building the Mishkan were simply from the spoils that Am Yisrael took with them from Egypt – gold, silver, wool, linen, etc.

The Promise Of Health

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

According to both schools of thought, the Ramban and the Rambam, illness and disease are the result of an imbalance caused by eating and drinking the incorrect food and drink, which upsets the biochemical balance in the body and lowers the immune system.

Were There Three Matan Torahs?

Not On Bread Alone Eliezer Meir Saidel

Matan Torah on Har Sinai was the second time the Torah was given. It was the first time for Am Yisrael, but preceding this, Hashem gave the Torah to Adam HaRishon in Gan Eden – the Tree of Life, Eitz HaChayim.