יום שישי, כ״ה תמוז תשפ״וFriday, July 10, 2026
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Noah was commanded to empty the ark of its inhabitants, but why was he commanded?
Why does the Torah use the Name that connotes Divine mercy rather than Divine judgement when telling of the Creator's decision to destroy humankind? Could there be more to this story?
In Sodom the Hamas was so pervasive and in Mitzrayim the grip of slavery so unbreakable to the extent that nobody who lived in these societies had any hope for a better future.
But the Jews who are loyal to his Torah are compared to chol hayam, the sand of the sea that fells the waves and protects the land from their invasion.
We should beseech Hashem that the elderly and the sick children shouldn’t be woken up in the night to run to bomb shelters and sealed rooms.
How could it be that the animals did not attack Noach and his family, or kill each other? They comprised all different rungs in the food chain.
Our acts of chesed, our personal sacrifice and selfless dedication to others, our tzedakah, are all powerful advocates in Heaven on behalf of the defense of Eretz Yisrael.
It seems natural to him that the Torah would begin with the creation of the world. After all, the foundation of our beliefs and the basis for our election by the Creator for the purpose of carrying out His commandments is predicated upon the stories in the Torah that precede the Exodus.
HaShem's Divine Oneness and the harmonious unity of existence within Him is the deterministic blueprint of all human history that will be revealed to mankind through the story of Israel.
Adam HaRishon was so exalted that the angels wanted to sing his praises as they did for Hashem, yet he fell very low into sin and changed the course of humanity forever. Nevertheless, Hashem forgave Adam.
Now we know that the key to success is change. By changing, by bettering ourselves, we will reach our highest goals. And we also know what gives us the ability to change.
The lesson to us is as follows: It is critical and crucial for us to realize that each and every person is a constellation! Every single person is a galaxy! Every person is a universe!
The Torah is not merely some disjointed ritual precepts but rather the Divine Ideal from before existence placed into this reality for the sake of elevating our world beyond its current limitations.
While it is true that a tzaddik can stumble and sin, when he does falter he immediately picks himself up and repents.
The pasuk completely blows us away with the statement that the enemy will come Ka-asher yideh hanesher – Like the eagle sweeps, a perfect description of the sudden attack of two widespread huge airliners.
Some of his most important contributions to Jewish mysticism are in the form of diagrams that were particularly unsuited to widespread transmission by the technology of his era.
Just as the essence of Shavuot is completely different from the essence of Pesach, so too the essence of Shemini Atzeret is completely different from the essence of Sukkot.
It's the story of two girls in Auschwitz who wanted to fast on Yom Kippur (even though according to halacha or Jewish law they were not, of course, required to do so).
It is especially at the time of harvest, when we celebrate the abundance of our crops, that the Torah instructs us to leave our secure homes and go into the succah. The succah commemorates the Clouds of Glory, and alludes to the Divine Providence that enveloped the Jewish Nation in the Midbar.
We must know that the Gemara teaches us, Yitzro shel adam misgaber alav b’chol yom v’im ein HaKodosh Baruch Hu ozro, eino yachol lo – A person’s inclination prevails upon him every day and if Hashem wouldn’t help him, he wouldn’t be able to prevail.
One who fully comprehends higher truth understands that there are many valid approaches to achieving such awareness, and he loves and respects his fellow who shares this vision but who might have a different individual perspective.
Stories and thoughts for Sukkot.
What does this have to do Yom Kippur?
Human history – like any great piece of literature – presents a story that is not only inspiring and dramatic on the surface but also allegorically rich with hidden meaning and deep moral lessons.
Although it is difficult to imagine, it seems that Dovid HaMelech – the exalted individual, leader of the Jewish nation, fearless warrior of Hashem – was afraid that he had possibly accrued so many sins that he could no longer repent.
Many of us, after making an honest and blunt cheshbon hanefesh, a personal reevaluation of our behavior during the past year, might be filled with despair and despondency at our chances for a good judgment.
All of this would be true even if it were not so that a general education is required for gaining an appreciation of G-d’s wisdom, philosophy, ethics, and laws.
The heavens have been programmed by G-d to supply rain. Instructing them not to do so is against their nature. It is only harsh and insistent words that will convince the heavens to go against their own nature.
Rav Kook examines the opening concepts of the parsha: The heavens should listen, the earth will hear, teachings fall like rain and sayings soak in as the dew. He explains that in our world, we find things in a pure state of nature and we also see them altered by the intervention of men.
Hashem wants us to visit Him every day, to have a loving daily connection with Him and to ask Him for what we need. A relationship that even when we have what we need, we continue to visit the palace.
Moshe relates that people are now coming into the store to talk about the sign, but not to seek an apology.
When we ask Hashem on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur for renewed life and menuchas hanefesh, a contentment of spirit, our petition is much more effective and successful if we give Hashem a strong reason to grant our request.
Even at a time of such great danger, he forgot his own pain and suffering and only desired to be involved in a heavenly pursuit. It is that devotion that stirred the mercy of Heaven, saving him and all the passengers from certain death.
I just want to ask a simple question. 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.
On Rosh Hashana we blow the shofar, recite distinctive prayers, and perform Tashlich to recognize the Creator of the Universe as the source of all mercy and forgiveness.
Hakhel was not performed on the Shemittah year, but rather in the year that followed.
More than merely fostering personal piety among Jews, tshuva that begins with a reawakening of Hebrew identity will lead Israel to express kedusha in every sphere of national life.
This night proved that Judaism does not belong only to grandma, but also to her grandchildren.
Repentance is not the cause of tension in our lives; it is the soothing balm.
Although he had been raised in Pharaoh’s palace and had never in his life actually seen Eretz Yisrael, Moshe was held accountable for allowing himself to be referred to by others as “an Egyptian man.”
God pardons like a mother, who kisses the offense into everlasting forgiveness. -Henry Ward Beecher
It’s only the yeitzer hara that fools us and makes us think that we have so many better things to do.
An individual who seeks to be a baal teshuva, to return to Hashem, must recognize that he needs Hashem for every single nuance of his life.
Hashem performs a miracle of accounting because if He did not, none of us would survive the coming year.
Imagine a seventy-year-old man who is bringing Bikurim for 57th time...
The two friends have been studying together every day for 42 years and are completing the Talmud for the sixth time.
During our exile – and indeed our exile goes back to the original exile from the Garden of Eden – the forces of corruption that hold us back from realizing our true potential and separate us from our Creator suffuse the world of our experience.
Woe to that nation whose literature is cut short by the intrusion of force. This is not merely interference with freedom of the press but the sealing up of a nation's heart, the excision of its memory. -Alexandr Solzhenitsyn
When we make the mental calculation of whether we can improve, we tend to think only about our ability. Then, we might correctly assess that it’s beyond our ability.
When one contemplates all the misfortunes in our sedra, it is a cause for trepidation, yet the Torah states clearly that these adversities are because you did not serve Hashem, your G-d, amid gladness and goodness of heart, when everything was abundant (Devarim 28:47).
The performance of our Torah's ritual precepts must be contextualized & experienced within the larger meta-narrative of Israel's story & mission.
Actually, happiness is not necessarily the correct English translation for the word simcha.
Just as there are grieving parents and siblings after someone is killed, in this case there are grieving children – those who will start the school year without their beloved preschool teacher.
Israel’s Torah is not some man-made 'religion' but actually the Divine Ideal implanted into our world for the purpose of uplifting all Creation through sanctifying every area of human existence.
This is not a celebration and in no way does this indicate that what has happened is something good or desired.
On the one hand, the sentence is to be publicized, but on the other hand the publicity should be tempered.
Beautiful light is born of darkness, so the faith that springs from conflict is often the strongest and the best. -R. Turnbull
One consequence of the final redemption is that the nature of things themselves will be altered – their ability to receive and to reflect holiness will be enhanced.
Every good Jew should start their day with the declaration of, Modeh ani lifonecha... This praise deliberately omits Hashem’s Name so that we can proclaim it even before we wash negel vasser and our hands are yet still tomei.
His sole relief and comfort is his spiritual growth – the realization that he must develop his neshama to be able to perceive others in a better light.
When a person leaves pe'ah in the corner of his field, he does so knowingly and even willingly, wanting to give to the poor as Hashem commanded. But it is impossible that this mitzvah can be performed 100 percent altruistically.
"The hand of the witnesses shall be upon him first to put him to death, and the hand of the entire people afterward, and you shall destroy the evil from your midst" (Devarim 17:7) Why are the witnesses the ones who carry out the punishment against the criminal whom they testified against? Imagine witnesses who […]
A Hebrew leader must embody the aspirations of his people to the extent that he becomes a microcosm of the entire nation of Israel and his personal identity is absorbed into that of the national collective.
Have you ever thought about the hobby of the guy who cleans your street? Or his dreams? The city of Akko – as reported by journalist Yair Kraus – has put up new signs which make its sanitation workers into stars.
When Israel fled Egypt, our redemption was not complete and neither was the destruction of the evil that had enslaved us.
This inability to understand others with whom we disagree underlies the polarization in Israel today
A powerful agent is the right word. Whenever we come upon one of those intensely right words... the resulting effect is physical as well as spiritual, and electrically prompt. -Mark Twain
It’s a great feeling to know that we’ve strived to reach this prized closeness to Hashem and spiritual protection.
The Talmud continues that if someone lengthens the word echad in his recitation of Shema, his days and years will be lengthened.
One would think that the Shulchan, a symbol of royalty and material wealth, is there to serve the Menorah, the light of the Torah. However, this is not what the Torah tells us.
The essence of Ahavat Yisrael is the willingness to take responsibility for Israel’s future. It is being prepared to sacrifice everything for the defense of the Jewish people and liberation of the homeland.
All of us can identify with one or more of the following scenarios: next to our bed, a pile of books that we began but didn't finish; a computer screen full of open web page tabs scrunched together at the top of the screen...
The gift of money that one usually associates with the word blessing (Rashi, Bamidbar 6:24) could in reality be a curse. Osher shamur leba’alav lera’aso, - wealth can be detrimental to its owner (Koheles 5:12).
We must do our business faithfully, without trouble or disquiet, recalling our mind to God mildly, and with tranquility, as often as we find it wandering from him. -Brother Lawrence
If you might wonder what the body of the star represents, Rav Yisroel Salanter famously said when you are busy appointing Hashem above, below, and in the four directions, don’t forget to appoint him boss over yourself as well.
In every exile, we are separated from our proper state of concurrence with Hashem, from our own true essence, and we are prevented from performing the tasks and observing the rituals that define our peoplehood.
This is the way Hashem wants us to serve Him, not just according to the letter of the law, but beyond that, out of love, and not only because we are obligated and commanded to.
Our sages argue that Menashe ultimately did earn a share in the World to Come because he repented for 33 years of his life and entreated Hashem. Hashem made a special secret pact in Heaven for him to be admitted.
Who has not been in an uncomfortable situation where everyone seems to know everyone else except for you?
The first to fulfill the mitzvah of Birkat HaMazon, according to our Sages, was Avraham Avinu.
When facing our enemies, it's often necessary to don a ruthlessness seemingly at odds with our inner nature. The 'hands of Esav' can sometimes be utilized to achieve the goals of 'Yaakov's voice.'
The Talmud asks: The people of the city were righteous – why were they punished? Rav Yosef says it was because they did not mourn the destruction of the Temple. In the Talmud Yerushalmi (Taanis 4:5), Rav Yose adds that the people lit lights, indicating unseemly festivities.
What if you find it difficult to forgive someone? Let’s say for example, someone caused you to lose an exciting job opportunity, or perhaps they wrecked your chances at a good shidduch. How could you sincerely forgive someone who hurt you in such a terrible way?
When Israel is redeemed from exile, Ramchal explains, the Divine Presence (Shechina) that was exiled with us rises up to be reunited with her counterpart above the physical universe.
Ironically, our elevated holiness leaves us vulnerable to Avoda Zara.
Memory is the cabinet of the imagination, the treasury of reason, the registry of conscience, and, the council chamber of thought. -Giambattista Basile
As characters participating in one of history’s most incredible chapters, we focus our efforts on the specific challenges facing our generation.
Rav Shach asks: Why did Moshe Rabbeinu wish to remain in the world like an animal or a bird? He answers that every living being has a specific mission in life through which the honor of Hashem is increased and spread.
The purpose of performing even the most basic mitzvot is in order that they should not be forgotten when we return to Eretz Yisrael.
After the many stages of return from exile and rectification of our spiritual and intellectual state, which we will hopefully encounter in the coming weeks, the last step is to repair the physical body.
It seems that Hashem could have lived in harmony with us and could have looked away from our indiscretions towards Him. He simply could not bear to ‘stick around’ and watch when His children weren’t getting along one with another...
Today’s political left and right share certain policies, but they inhabit a milieu of pain and conflict which forms a very substantive basis for feelings of hatred.
How might Moshe looked back upon his life? Ironically, the man unsurpassed in so many ways may actually have seen himself as a failure. Yet that is certainly the impression one gets from reading through most of this book.
It is fascinating to consider that, though He looks at us always, He does not seem too often to intervene, He does not punish or reward us in obvious ways.
An individual may bring a Mincha offering, but it may not be offered in partnership, yet it's a communal offering.
Our sages warn us of the possibility that great Torah scholars can lead Israel away from serving HaShem.
Here is some practical advice regarding our current period of mourning as we approach Tisha B'Av.
July 10, 2026 
