יום חמישי, ו׳ תשרי תשפ״זThursday, September 17, 2026
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The Torah says about Sarah and Rivka that they were lovely (yefat mar'eh) but that Rachel, in addition to being lovely, was also beautiful (yefat toar). So, the only one of the Matriarchs that exactly matches the description of eishet yefat toar is Rachel.
Gold in Torah doesn’t just stand for just wealth, it’s also trust. And trust begins with math. With integrity. With the quiet promise that value won’t be manipulated for profit.
Ma’oz’s soul brought you together. He was your matchmaker. You studied in the same school for twelve years without ever having a real conversation. And yet, here you are – connected because of this Jewish hero, and through your shared love of Torah. This is not only Benji and Eliana’s private story. We are all part of something much greater.
On a spiritual level the rebbe is greater than the father, therefore his property is returned first. But with regard to the transgression itself, obviously that it is more egregious to hit or curse one’s own parent than the rebbe, and therefore the punishment is harsher.
Equally important is resisting the urge to retaliate. A sharp remark often provokes an even sharper response, and the tone can quickly descend into bitterness.
HaKadosh Baruch Hu does communicate “indirectly” with Am Yisrael, showing His pleasure/displeasure with us, by heaping abundance on us or withholding abundance/rain.
One of the hardest feelings, especially now, is uncertainty. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring, and so many people search for answers that can guarantee the future.
Once a month, on days meant to be marked by personal introspection, Hashem challenges us to recognize and value the quiet enablers in our midst.
The architecture of Shoftim invites reflection not just on governance, but on restraint. It cautions against excess and sanctifies balance. It insists that power must be regulated by humility, and that leadership demands a commitment to the law: not a manipulation of it.
The mitzvot of Parshat Shoftim are relevant to the governance and political practices of an Israelite (or Israeli) society ruled by law. The king is interchangeable with the elders, as we find in the present passages (Devarim 21:1-9), and stands in for the collective of Israel at large.
Although one may protest that he would never take a bribe the Mishna in Avos (2:4) states, “Do not believe in yourself until the day you die.”
It is not enough to read about it, even see pictures of it – in a book, in a video. Only when you are physically there and see it with your own eyes does it have the required effect.
What is the blessing that G-d bestows on us for keeping the mitzvot? It is that “tishme’u,” you will be able in the future to continue performing the mitzvot. There is a future to keeping mitzvot.
The Talmud (Shabbos 151b) expounds that anyone who has compassion on Hashem’s creatures will receive compassion from Hashem, and one who does not have compassion will not receive compassion from Heaven...
Other depictions of the redemption tend to emphasize the glory of G-d that derives from His redeeming His people at a time and in a manner which suits Him. But human beings, even those who are desperate and endangered, ideally don’t want to be given something they have not earned.
Being Jewish is not being a religion of holy people. It is a religion of ordinary people aspiring to holiness through sacred acts in daily life.
All her life, from early childhood, Grandma has been meticulous in living a fully observant Jewish life. Her devotion to mitzvot was such that at age 99, when the U.K. was in full lockdown during Covid, she cleaned and kashered her home for Pesach entirely on her own – just months before her 100th birthday.
The Aish Kodesh taught his community, in the abyss of dehumanization and annihilation, that they had been given an opportunity to elicit Hashem’s power to redeem the world and fulfill His promises to our forefathers.
Covenant grows up here. It moves from bedtime prayers to morning spreadsheets. From mezuzahs on doorposts to mercy in hospital rooms. Not because we are commanded, but because we remember.
There was no danger of becoming arrogant in the desert. There were no self-made men there. It was clear to all that manna rained down from heaven, that water was provided in merit of Miriam, that clothes lasted forever and one’s feet did not swell in the heat (8:4).
The Chazon Ish answered him that Torah is not wisdom; it’s a neshama, a soul.
By not revealing the reward for (most of) the positive mitzvot, HaKadosh Baruch Hu prevented a situation where we would excessively observe only some mitzvot at the expense of others.
Eliyahu shared his own pain. I’m Elyakim’s father, he said. He was a security guard at the Nova festival. He saved lives and was killed doing so. And you, Nachman, you survived. Tell me, why did you survive? Nachman had no answer.
Adhering to a prohibition like sha’atnez which has kept the Jews alive, but makes as little sense to the layman as the chemical-formula of a life-saving medication, earns the respect of the nations because it is a secret formula that neither they nor us could ever have invented.
The baal habayis could not understand why he merited a visit from R’ Avraham and his son. He waited for the Rav to eat from the delicacies that had been prepared, but R’ Avraham just sat and didn’t do anything.
Moshe gave the Shema knowing he would not cross the Jordan. He prepared his people not with possessions, but with patterns. That is the quiet brilliance of leadership: offering rhythm in place of proximity.
If one were to ask: was it worth experiencing a Holocaust which decimated one third of our people in order to attain a State of Israel? – not only would an affirmative answer be blasphemous, but so is the question.
Notwithstanding Moshe’s defense, the common theme running through these incidents is ingratitude. They had so much to be thankful for. Yet they chose to complain.
If Tzion is to be redeemed, will her captives not be freed as well?
I was taught to make a Kiddush Hashem no matter where I stand; in a parking lot among our own, or as the only Jew in town. Space doesn’t define sanctity. Behavior does. Especially when no one’s watching. Especially when they are.
How was Yonasan allowed to rebuke his own father, Shaul?
How contemporary the Gemara rings when it says the destruction of Yerushalayim puzzled and perplexed the sages, prophets, and angels! It shouldn’t cause us any wonder that we are unable to explain the atrocities of the Holocaust when even prophets and angels were confounded by the similar disasters of yesteryear.
Our justice and our morality are the truth. I’m learning Torah now – chassidut, parashat hashavua. How did I not know about this treasure until now? You shouldn’t have to lose a child, or turn 57, to begin asking who you are and why you’re here.
G-d instructs Moshe that before he dies he must wage war against the people of Midian for having enticed the leaders of Israel to behave immorally with the Midianite women. This event led to the plague that killed 24,000 Jews (Bamidbar 25:9).
In every home I’ve lived in, one thing has remained constant, a quiet covenant. It’s a reminder of Hashem’s presence, much like a mezuzah, though not one in form.
The fact that there are 42 journeys is not incidental, it corresponds to the name of HaKadosh Baruch Hu that has 42 letters.
The person who sinned and has now repented had to fight harder to conquer his Evil Inclination than the righteous individual.
Another way to get close to the Shechinah is by visiting the sick. As Rashi teaches us in Parshas Vayechi, The Shechinah always resides by the head of a choleh, an ill person.
When someone makes shalom between rival parties, what does that mean?
Going out before the people and going in before them is one type of leadership. It is the leadership of the humble public servant who bends before the needs of his people.
Not every gut impulse is a moral directive. When we confuse conscience with certainty, we risk mistaking personal anger for sacred missions.
Rabbbeinu Bachye finds it problematic to accept the literal interpretation that Hashem somehow erred, requiring our intercession on His behalf. He explains that the real purpose of this mitzvah of the Chatat on Rosh Chodesh is to give hope to those who have gone astray but wish to return to the faithful service of Hashem.
Striking the right balance between Torah and one’s livelihood is a tricky business. Especially since making a living is a mitzvah in itself.
We live such public and exposed lives today, yet in this week’s parsha we are reminded to seek the blessing of privacy.
In Parshat Balak, Bilaam never saw the people he was meant to curse. He viewed them from a distance; abstractly, impersonally. His words came not from relationship, but rather from obligation, from politics, from agenda. And yet they could have reshaped a people’s destiny.
Balak realized that Midyan and Moav, the erstwhile enemies, would have to make a truce and gang up as allies against Israel. But since G-d was on Israel’s side, there was no way he could prevent the Jews from ultimately taking over the land.
Balak was evil – he did not want to elevate himself to the level of Am Yisrael, he wanted to reduce Am Yisrael down to his level, or even lower.
His father told him: You decide which yeshiva you want to go to. Don’t tell me your decision. When the day comes to leave to yeshiva, take your suitcase, go to the yeshiva, and I don’t want to know where you are going.
Idolatry is insidious and it sneaks into the hearts of the unwary by way of small compromises and prohibited acts that appear insignificant at first.
It is impossible to reach an agreement with Amalek, because the only thing that will satisfy them is our obliteration and…G-d's name in the world can never be complete until Amalek is obliterated.
Because if it is corruption we are worried about, there is no greater corruption and source of impurity than the presence of death itself.
The attitude that one knows that you’ve got my back isn’t born overnight. It’s achieved with a persistent series of small acts and gestures where husband and wife demonstrate that you are first in my book.
When one makes peace in his home, the Torah considers it as if he established peace among the entire Jewish Nation.
Destruction and death come to those who do not serve G-d out joy but out of fear alone.
I’m not sure whether people fully grasp the magnitude of the miracle. Just the day before, the floors of the building that was hit had been cleared. Entire departments had been relocated to reinforced areas.
Someone who understands reality on such a level also begins to see that all of humanity is really bound together as a cohesive whole.
The theological questions from October 7 appear to be answering themselves in a way we can more readily understand.
[Democracy] is contingent on both sides respecting each other and not crossing red lines. When that breaks down, democracy ceases to function and it degenerates into illegitimate anarchy.
Advice is like snow—the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind. – Samuel Taylor Coleridge
A humble person does not take credit for his power, his riches, or his intelligence, because he knows it is all from Hashem.
I believe that Hashem is sending these unfortunate people to us as a gift to enhance and strengthen our prayers.
It is no coincidence that Israel courageously attacked Iran in the week the Torah portion tells us: “When you are at war in your land against an aggressor who attacks you, you shall sound short blasts on the trumpets, that you may be remembered before your God and be delivered from your enemies.”
The Rogatchover Gaon emphasizes specifically that Eretz Yisrael is only acquired through tribulation (Brachot 5), noting how inappropriate it is for someone to expect to gain the fruits of the labor of another – especially when somebody has to go to war to defend the land and somebody else expects to just sit at home and benefit from this.
Many marriages have been ruined by the well-meaning but poor advice of friends.
The aveirah of the meraglim was their own lack of faith, and their determination to weaken the faith of the Jewish nation.
When the spies returned with a bunch of grapes so big it could only be carried by ten people and one fig which could hardly be carried by one person, instead of praising the land which grew such produce, they became concerned that the price of such opulence was too expensive and that they would not be able to afford to pay for it with mitzvot.
Think about this for a moment. They were just about to enter Eretz Yisrael and Eldad and Meidad's prophecy revealed that Moshe would die and Yehoshua would lead Bnei Yisrael into the land flowing with milk and honey. Did this phase Moshe? Not in the least.
Some 200 years ago, Rebbe Nachman of Breslov wrote a statement that I find amazing: The time will come when being an upright and simple person will be as revolutionary as being the Baal Shem Tov.
If a person ploughs his field when it is time to plow, sows his seeds when it is time to sow, reaps his produce when it is time to reap , thrashes his grain when it is time to thrash and winnows the grain when it is time to winnow, when will he have time to learn Torah? (Berachos 35b).
We cannot totally control our sustenance – not the food we eat, nor the money we earn.
This is Judaism’s unique gift: the slow accumulation of wisdom through repeated encounters with Torah. Not through theoretical lectures, but through real life examples.
Every time we discover a new Torah deMoshe MiSinai, an unprovenanced edict associated colloquially with Moshe, we are reaffirming our connection to that primary source of all Torah and to Moshe who passed it on to us.
Home is not where you live, but where they understand you.— Christian Morgenstern
He leaped off the jeep, shouting that he’d take the next one.
Know Hashem in all your ways – serious or inconsequential – for every ounce of success comes from Hashem.
As we are taught, Ein tzaddik ba’aretz asher yaaseh tov v’lo yecheta – There is no righteous person in this world who does good and doesn’t sin, there is certainly what to worry about.
Wealth can also lead one astray: Wealth hoarded by its owner is to his detriment (Koheles 5:12). Avshalom was blessed with beautiful hair (Sotah 11a) and Shimshon was blessed with strength, but these attributes led them astray.
Parshat Naso, as you know, is the longest single parsha in the Torah. In most years, Naso follows Shavuot, which is appropriate – once we receive the Torah, the next thing is to dive straight in and begin reading the longest parsha in the Torah. There are 176 pesukim in Parshat Naso. An interesting […]
With regard to the Birkas Kohanim, the Zohar comments that actions performed in this earthly world inspire astounding conduct in Heaven. When the Kohanim spread their fingers to bless the Jewish people, it rouses the Divine Presence to dwell upon His people.
Israel is blessed in the merit of the three fathers, also in whose merit the Torah was given.
Our response now must be as it like at Har Sinai, to turn to one another with a sense of oneness, love, and unity and to wish each other chazak
Like in an election, the division of the land among the twelve tribes had to be supervised by officials who made sure that there would be no fraud involved in allocating the land.
Pesach and Shavuot...represent the liberation of the body and the liberation of the mind, respectively.
The road to hell is paved with good intentions.— Proverb (widely attributed to Saint Bernard of Clairvaux)
How do Torah scholars make more peace in the world?
R’ Elazar states that all agree, though, that on the holiday of Shavuos, we are obligated to eat and drink because it is the day on which the Torah was given. R’ Shimshon Nachmani, the renowned Zera Shimshon, notes that this conclusion seems paradoxical. We would think that the day commemorating the giving of the Torah would be dedicated solely to spirituality, to Torah study.
The total weight of the shulchan with the lechem hapanim was over 551 pounds.
Indeed the laws of Shemittah were meant to be given at Har Sinai because the original plan was that we would enter the land of Israel a short while later, not forty years later.
Unlike the entry of the Israelites into the Promised Land, the return to Zion in modern times has been a natural event within the confines of nature.
One possible explanation that Rashi finds in the Midrash is that all of the general principles were received at Har Sinai; however, many of the specifics were taught by Moshe in the land of Moav immediately before the crossing of the Yarden.
Faith is not certainty. It is the courage to live with uncertainty.— Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Torah does not have a set place. It can be found anywhere. It should be found everywhere.
When a person appears before the Heavenly Court, he is asked whether he properly fulfilled the mitzvah of you shall strengthen him.
Detach yourself from the illusions of this world and focus on the true realities of the world and Who determines them…. Today you do not take care of yourselves, I take care of you.
As we exist in the world and interact with it, we receive input and understand our surroundings by means of the data we collect, chiefly by way of our senses. But because we also have the ability to communicate with one another, we learn much useful information about the world from each another.
When Yosef related his dreams to his brothers and to his father, his brothers became jealous of him. Not his father. His father shamar es ha’davar, kept it in mind and looked forward to the time when Yosef’s dreams would come true (Rashi to Bereishis 37:11).
Joy in Judaism is not hedonic; it is redemptive, cathartic, and spiritual.— Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik
Rebbe Akiva. He is the Jewish hero par excellence, which means that, on some level, his life story encapsulates the values and ideals of the Jewish people. And yet, perhaps not coincidentally, he lived in the shadow of death.
Based on one’s Torah stature in the community [one] must conduct himself beyond the measure of the law.
September 11, 2026 
