יום שלישי, כ״ו אלול תשפ״וTuesday, September 8, 2026
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One thing a person can do to ensure that he repents quickly after he sins is to think ahead.
We stand in the final moments of 5776, prepared to transition to 5777, perfect moments to offer our gift to God, honoring all we have gained over the past year and how we intend to apply that growth
To understand God's curses at the end of the Torah, we have to follow a trail all the way back, to Creation, and the Garden of Eden
There is a period of fact finding, a period of deliberation, and then the decision is read for all to hear. At that point, the judge, the jury, the defendant, and all in attendance know the ruling.
Why is it necessary for one to perform teshuvah over the performance of any other mitzvah?
Each mitzvah and each holiday is a guide and a map
The visitor does not hand over his basket of First Fruits; he first shares it with the Temple representative. This is not a ceremony of give and take but of sharing.
Studies show that not only do athletes who use them improve, but so do many other people whose activities require peak performance.
It seems from the Vilna Gaon and the Ra’avan that shomei’a k’oneh would not work for reciting the parshah of bikurim. But why not?
Ki Tavo is so difficult to read; how could Hashem be so cruel to us? Join us as we grapple with the incredibly difficult curses of this week's parsha
Many commentators sense a significance to the placement of the bikkurim declaration, at the beginning of this week’s pasha, right after the injunction to destroy Amalek. What is the connection?
Just as Noach established and created a certain merit for himself when being saved, so too Bnei Yisrael need to do the same in order to be redeemed.
So if on the previous Rosh Hashanah, Shimon had a decree of a year of life, then there is nothing Reuven or any other force in existence could do to change that.
Since each month is aligned with a particular shevet and constellation, we can inform ourselves of the qualities of the month through them.
The Torah explicitly says that a husband may divorce his wife if he so pleases. How can Rabbenu Gershom forbid this practice when the Torah seemingly permits it?
Though related to the 10 commandments, what is the larger message that this list of laws in parsha Ki Teitzei is coming to teach us?
Battling Amalek presents an important warning to any Jewish military leader that there is a need to maintain a basic respect for what it means to be human, even when dealing with mortal enemies.
When I first encountered this explanation, I took issue with it. For even if a shul’s courtyard does not possess kedushah, planting in it could still be prohibited.
At the same time, a king is expected to remain humble. The Torah isn’t afraid the great honor accorded to him will bring him to arrogance.
A person who gives charity dolefully or begrudgingly demonstrates that his faith is somewhat wanting and he has not fully fulfilled the mitzvah of giving charity.
The Dovev Meisharim (chelek 1, 18:3) quotes the Divrei Chaim who says that writing all four letters of the name simultaneously is considered writing the name out of order.
This week's portion, Re'ei, speaks of our need for a sense of place, how difficult it often is to find, and how we must protect others' sense of place.
By gradually increasing the workload, the body is called upon to respond. The work should never be easy.
Is the Torah to be read exactly as the Jews who received it would have, or, is it actually to be read in a contemporary way that can't possibly be the same as those who first received the Torah?
By Rachel Weiss
Deep contemplation, loyalty, ambition and intelligence define the traits of one born in Elul, the month symbolized by Virgo, a sign of purity.
A leader must be aware of and responsible for all details on the ship - big or small.
While the sincerity of the little fellow might be touching, he is missing the point.
They bentched nonetheless, though, because they were given a specific mitzvah to thank Hashem for the mon.
Is it possible God afflicted the nation of Israel through the past 40 years of the desert, withholding food and water from them...on purpose? How can we have a relationship with a God like that?
How could I possibly handle all these different emotions on top of the complexities of life? Easy,,,by dancing.
A musical perspective on Parshat Ekev...
Throughout the perek, the navi describes the greatness of Hashem Yisbarach and His tender loving care and concern for His people, Klal Yisrael.
When a man mounts a horse, the man may weigh 150 pounds, the horse more than 2,000. Yet the man commands the horse to ride, gallop, turn, and stop.
The halacha is that even if a person has already fulfilled a mitzvah he can still be motzi another who has not yet fulfilled it.
In this week's parsha, Moses speaks, a lot - but it all seems so boring, and disconnected. The Torah is a book - and every sentence of that book fits together, like pieces in a puzzle. But how does that work, in this parsha? What is this parsha actually about? Video: This video is from […]
Why, did Moses break out in song when he set aside Cities of Refuge for killers? It is curious this stimulated song, when the Shema, the retelling of Revelation and the 10 Statements did not?
Understanding why these Ten Statements were chosen-as opposed to others omitted-could well lead us to a greater grasp of the essence of this venerable text.
If one approaches the issue with an open mind, the truth is incontrovertible. The world screams out that it was created.
The message of Moses' speech before the Children of Israel entered the Promised land are still applicable and inspiring to us, today. Join us as we tackle the mystery of Moses' speech.
If a person will not be fasting on Sunday for whatever reason, he should say havdalah on a cup prior to eating.
This strange equivalence between Hashem (the omnipotent King of kings) and a mere mortal monarch seems to imply that human beings are never really their own masters. They are always either the servants of Hashem or of Pharaoh.
An obstacle to understanding Devarim is thinking of it as a book. Devarim literally means “[spoken] words” and should therefore be primarily considered in its 'orality'
Although the nation was excited about entering the Promised Land, first and foremost they were glad to be out of the clutches of their nefarious oppressors.
These 3 weeks require us to remember the great events and those on the fringe of memory. Caring for the distant and the forgotten--people and memories--will bring the redemption and rebuilding of our Nation,
Any judgment becomes a balance – how much rachamim and how much din?
The sefer Harirai Kedem suggests a different understanding of the machlokes.
The Torah is not just a list of laws and stories, So, how does the travel log in parshat Masei teach us some sort of timeless lesson?
Why did Moshe include part of Menashe together with Gad and Reuven in the Transjordanian settlement?
By Rachel Weiss
He implored the talmid to come up with a way he could return the money without implicating himself.
In politics as in business, the ability to deliver matters.
Being examined by a doctor was causing his patients to be nervous, and that was contributing to the rise in their blood pressure.
In last week's parsha, it looks like the people finally began to trust in God. But now, suddenly, idolatry? What happened? How did the people fail so quickly?
Pinchas fulfilled the halacha of kana’im pogim bo whereby a kana’i (zealot) is granted permission to kill people performing specific aveiros.
The fact it was specifically Midianite and Moabite women involved with Jewish men {Moshe and men involved with Ba'al Peor) shows that an existential bond existed between these nations and Israel.
It is only G-d’s Hand in guarding our continued existence and our dedication to Torah that has allowed us to endure.
For the first time in a while, the main characters of the parsha--Bilaam and Balak-- are NOT the people of Israel.
Our worst enemy convinces us that we can only be led from the top, rather than recognize that a real leader lifts up each individual so that he can stand with him in the heavens
How is it possible that anyone could see Pinchas as anything other than a hero?
Bilaam not only doesn't appear to be great, he seems to be base as well as foolish (outsmarted by his own donkey!). So how can the midrash claim he was really at least as great a prophet as Moshe?
Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking. -Kahlil Gibran
This week, we get even more complaining from Israel - this time, about the lack of water. How can they continue to complain after everything God had done for them? Join us as we explore the baffling story of Israel’s complaints. Video: This video is from Rabbi David Block and Immanuel Shalev.
So even if their parnassah was dependent on their listening, how would they be motivated by something so mundane as earning their daily bread?
The Zohar says that only someone who dies of natural causes was killed by the malach hamaves. People who are killed by others were not killed by the malach hamaves.
It is well known that each month is aligned with one of the tribes of Israel, with Tammuz being aligned with Reuven. What is Reuven all about?
The essence of Torah is to guide us in mastering a life of back and forth, inside and out, up and down; a life riding on the hinges for those seeking to find their voice, courage and inner greatness.
Moshe was ideally suited to the role of an intermediary between God’s immanent presence and Israel but not so well suited to leadership in front of a hidden God
G-d is the only “force” that is completely sovereign and independent. The rest of creation, however, requires a dynamic giver-taker relationship.
Korach wasn’t approaching Moshe to seek the truth; his sole intention was to mock and discredit Moshe.
The Vilna Gaon argues that that there is even more reason to permit doing pidyon haben via a shliach since pidyon haben is essentially repaying a debt.
The communication gap here is really two-sided. It certainly starts with Korach and his group, but it subsequently infects Moshe as well.
We’ve seen Israel complain over and over, but never before have they tried to undermine and dispose of their leaders. Join us as we make sense of Korach’s shocking complaints, this week on the Parsha Experiment. This video is from Rabbi David Block and Immanuel Shalev. Want More? Join our growing community: https://goo.gl/xv0UbG Help […]
I definitely don't want even those who hurt me to be swallowed up by the earth, but I do wish a different place for them, just enough displacement for them to able to objectively look at themselves.
How could the spies have doubted God? How could they have sinned so egregiously?
There were far too many consequences of their rejection of "super" vision, and they understood the price of choosing to not see, epitomized by the spies "not seeing" their destiny in Israel.
Clearly, they were lacking in bitachon. Their faith in Hashem was deficient. But they weren’t guilty of speaking lashon hara.
If that is the case, though – if a mechallel Shabbos is toned because he is like one who is ovdei avodah zarah – why, Rav Akiva Eiger asks, is a person who desecrates Shabbos in private stoned?
The incident of the spies was a completely new and problematic transgression, it was not toward the rarified wilderness, but rather toward the earthly existence promised in the Land of Israel.
No matter how bleak things seem to be, Hashem never give up on us.
We are bound by G-d’s laws when we are in yeshiva, at home, in the synagogue, in the office, at a social event, or on vacation.
To gain power or distract the population from their suffering, a monarch would look for a place to put the blame.
But even after one follows all of the rules and performs the mitzvah correctly, the essential part is that we adhered to Hashem’s command and performed His will.
How can we understand, and relate, to the Children of Israel, a seemingly ungrateful, chutzpadik nation as it crosses the desert?
Moses acted properly in his role of prophet. He failed in his role as a husband; he did not see Tziporah's suffering, her black cloud.
If Moshe was the greatest man that ever lived, his silent partner Tzipporah deserves much of the credit for it.
The Malbim explains that when G-d asked Moshe what was in his hand he was testing him. He was essentially asking Moshe to define how he viewed his role as leader.
So on both sides of the spectrum, the yetzer hara either should be unable to convince the person it is permitted – or it shouldn’t need to do any convincing.
Why don’t we require the nazir to start his term again and why doesn’t the regular person who enters the Mikdash receive a punishment?
In Parshat Naso, we are introduced to what seems like a hodgepodge of miscellaneous laws. Why is the Torah bringing these up together?
Enjoyment of God’s world always comes with some innate meaning – something which is lacking in the case of abstinence, the case of the Nazir.
“That is you – had you lived up to your potential, had you become what you were destined to be.”
For those of you who are familiar with the Arizal’s modus operandi of matching each of the months with one of the twelve tribes, I am sure Sivan has got you perplexed.
Women are exempt only from the first general obligation to learn Torah, not the second, more specific one.
Bamidbar should open with the stories of the desert, right? Evidently not. Why?
The Torah recognizes the phenomenon of leadership and brings it to our attention subtly in the Book of Bemidbar, through the way it lists the names of the different tribes.
The terrorists were told that they would be given a plane to take them to an Arab country.
Man has two competing sides to him, each one crying out to fulfill it needs, each one demanding its fill.
By Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Depending on their spiritual condition, human beings will either be satisfied with what they have, or will not. This is the determining factor whether or not it is a year of 'plenty.'
I would like to point out that this part of the tochacha has been visited upon us today, and it is important that we realize it.
September 4, 2026 
