יום חמישי, כ״א אלול תשפ״וThursday, September 3, 2026
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The sum of the whole is greater than the sum of the parts
People of deep conviction and burning passion are often swept away by the force of their ideals. Drawn to lofty principles and grand visions, they can lose sight of the day-to-day emotions of those around them.
When Yehuda approaches Yosef, he touches his garment, and this is said to be a manner in which individuals may connect with Hashem when they are not at the level of achieving proper communion.
Even when Yosef believed he was right, he considered the possibility that perhaps he had done something wrong that warranted his excommunication.
Since the objective of marital unity brings the coveted blessing of the Shechina, the yeitzer hara tries mightily to block one’s marital harmony. We therefore must strive vigorously to maintain the magic of our oneness at all times.
After Yosef reveals himself to them and they get over their initial shock, the Midrash says – they wanted to kill him! Kill him? Just a few hours earlier they were intent on rescuing Yosef, and willing to pay any price to do so. Now that he is standing in front of them, they want to kill him?
There’s short term and long term, and we must always take the long term into account.
We know Yosef never forgot his father. Even though he no longer lived next to him, his father was an ever-present influence wherever he went and whatever he did.
The Targum Yonasan Ben Uziel explains that the dream of the Royal Butler actually alluded to the redemption of the Jewish people. This being so, Yosef understood that the redemption could only come about if he, Yosef, would be released from prison.
The reward for fulfilling the mitzvah of Ner Chanukah properly is great indeed. It is something we strive for every day. It is, comprehensively speaking, the goal of all our toil.
Where grains abound, so does baking knowledge and Egypt was also the first baking superpower. Much of our modern baking science is derived from the ancient Egyptians.
There have been many events expressing unity and support that have taken place in the Jewish world in recent days, but many of them have not been reported in the press. It seems that only a rowdy demonstration, a fight on Twitter, or a sharp exchange in the Knesset are considered newsworthy.
When we are faced with adversity and challenges that are difficult for us to bear, it is a mitzvah to accept His judgment with grace and dignity.
It is surprising that the names are not in chronological order, for first Moshe Rabbeinu was saved from the sword of Pharoah and only then was he a fugitive in Midyan. So why did he give the name Gershom first?
Yosef was being taken away from his father’s house, sold as a slave to be taken down to Egypt, from which place no slave ever escaped. Yet Hashem grants him this great kindness that he should not be assaulted by the offensive odors of tar and petroleum? This would be comparable to indulging a person going to prison by giving him a ride there in a limousine.
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?
To understand why we don't see people like these anymore, it is worth pointing out that Rosenzweig and especially Weil could be described as “Renaissance men.”
Indeed, this enemy gives Yaakov an enormous blessing. He bestows upon him a new and much more powerful name: ‘No longer will it be said that your name is just Yaakov, but also Yisrael.’ And this is our name until today.
Rachel’s influence was to unify Israel, to remind us to welcome and accept one another just as she was a mother to all Yaakov’s sons and her sons never treated any of the other brothers with disdain or disrespect.
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.
It is clear that Yaakov felt that danger of assimilating his brother's ways was the more dangerous of the two possibilities.
In truth, Yaakov wanted to know the essence of the Satan, so that he could be better equipped to fight evil. He wanted to understand the Satan’s power that enabled him to ensnare people and bring them down.
This is the story of Yoash, the father of Gidon.
If Sandberg symbolizes what is happening now to our brethren in the Diaspora, we are on the right path. This phenomenon has already been given a name: The Jews of October 8, the Jews who woke up the day after.
Ya’akov is the patriarch that reached the pinnacle of the early Biblical period by combining the strengths of both his father and grandfather and raising all thirteen of his children to follow in his footsteps.
Leah and Rachel are competitors for Yaakov’s affection, but their devotion and kindness to one another is unabated.
The lesson here is very clear. Everything in life is for the good; if not now, tomorrow, and if not tomorrow then the next day.
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.
Esav mocked the privilege of the firstborn - the Korbanot.
Unbelief starves the soul; faith finds food in famine. -Richard Cecil
From the time of Avraham we are told that the Jewish people are aliens on this planet. We don’t belong here. Our very birth was miraculous and our survival remains a phenomenon.
If Eisav received the blessing there was the possibility that Torah could be propagated in the future, and he would beget descendants who were Torah scholars.
When you want to get the most bang-for-your-buck, you try to go to someone who is a specialist in what you need. When it comes to prayer, Yitzchak is the specialist for, while Avraham is the Amud HaChesed, the pillar of kindness, and Yaakov is the Amud HaTorah, the pillar of Torah, Yitzchak is the Amud HaAvodah, the pillar of Divine service, which is prayer.
Rivka’s righteousness in spite of her origins is noteworthy, but the Sages also point out that when it was necessary to pray for Hashem to open her womb, the Torah tells us that Hashem was moved by the prayers of Yitzchak.
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.
PM Netanyahu, Ministers and MKs talk about Parshat Chayei Sara and Hebron.
We should perform Mitzvot B'simcha, with alacrity.
I could well imagine that I might have lived in former centuries and there encountered questions I was not yet able to answer; that I had been born again because I had not fulfilled the task given to me. -Carl Jung
There are apocryphal sources that describe a period of separation between Adam and Chava during which time they took other partners. Avraham and Sarah, on the other hand never deviate from their commitment to one another, even when it becomes evident that Sarah cannot conceive children and in spite of the great value Avraham places in producing offspring.
True chesed is the ability to intuit when another person is in need and to be sensitive to his deprivation.
The Gemara tells us that if one should encounter the pillar of salt which Lot’s wife turned into, he should make two blessings: Baruch Dayan HaEmes, Blessed is the true Judge [Who punished Lot’s wife], and Baruch Zocheir tzaddikim, Blessed is He who remembers the righteous.
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.
Hashem knew Avraham will pass on to the next generations - to keep the way of God.
I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it's the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It's probably the most important thing in a person. -Audrey Hepburn
It is at this time that the kindness of Hashem becomes evident, for Hashem will repay him many times over for all his generous acts of tzedakah in the past, corresponding to his singular deed of selflessness now.
Rav tells us that whoever goes to visit the sick, Nitzol m’dino shel Gehennom, will be saved from the punishment of Gehennom.
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.
Rav Shagar points out certain thematic similarities between the trial of Avraham and that of Iyov. But Avraham excels and demonstrates his qualities by virtue of the outcome of his test while Iyov is criticized by Chazal for his responses.
Hashem chose this precise juncture to teach us the importance of respecting a wife. This is to teach us that even in trying times, when under extreme stress, we must hold dear to the responsibility to cherish and treat with great care our soul mate.
Despite all the awesome miracles that Og observed as the world was destroyed during the flood, and later at the time of the Dor Haflagah, he nevertheless remained a villain.
The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name. -Confucius
Hashem’s greatest desire is to bestow His kindness upon us and to rejoice in our success.
The former kind of humor that simply makes one laugh, without denigrating anyone or anything is OK and more than that, it is encouraged.
There seems to be an emphasis on preparation in the parsha of Migdal Bavel.
The Chofetz Chaim, zt”l, zy”a, remarked that the partnership between Sheker and Pachata is still thriving thousands of years later in our time so that any activity built upon falsehood, any business deal formulated through lies, is doomed to eventually end in loss and damages since it is handed over to Pachata who ensures its doom and ruination.
Reaching out to bring others close to Hashem, and to pray for them, is an integral component of the mitzvah of loving one’s fellow Jew.
For the Tower of Bavel, the punishment of scattering them and confusing their languages was, in fact, a punishment befitting the crime.
Why did G-d decide to bring a flood? Why not an earthquake, a tornado, a solar flare?
When Hashem finally redeems His people from all our afflictions, crushing our enemies and “their high places” beneath us, then we will encounter the final unfolding and unfurling of His Name over all of creation.
Many people wait to review the parsha on Shabbos, and this is their undoing! Shabbos is at the end of the week and, if one gets busy or is too tired (a common occurrence), the week is over and its already time for Parshas Noach. Therefore, start making inroads on Sunday.
After the Nazis failed to murder them, Hezbollah tried to do so, but they won’t succeed either, wrote Yaron.
This commemoration is considered so vital that, while for most mitzvos it is sufficient simply to have in mind that one is doing the command of Hashem, this is not good enough when it comes to the precept of Sukkah.
Is it true then that one elevates oneself to the level of the most righteous simply by sacrificing one’s life for the sanctification of the Name?
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.
During the High Holidays we pray, Instill Your awe on all Your doings, and Your terror upon all You have created… and all of them shall be bound together to perform Your will wholeheartedly. When these prayers are answered, the entire world will, indeed, be able to dwell together, in peace, in the sukkah of the Jewish people.
The Vilna Gaon speaks at length of the kedusha of the malachim in his commentary on the siddur. He explains that the malachim don’t wait for Israel to finish our kedusha below out of respect for us but because they have no right to attest to the glory of Hashem until they hear our mouths doing it – as they have no awareness of any other possible state of affairs.
Though many of us remain focused on Israel’s current war, the more general polarization in Israeli society and throughout much of the world that preceded it and continues to serve as its backdrop should be an even greater concern.
On this great day of Yom Kippur, the Heavenly prosecutors stand before Hashem as well, holding the black list of the Jewish people’s transgressions which they intend to reveal before Hashem. But then they hear the Jewish nation detailing those very sins themselves. When the prosecutors hear this, they feel superfluous and abandon their mission.
Is there a mitzvah to eat the night before Yom Kippur? If it is merely in preparation for the fasting, it is questionable whether the night before is that helpful.
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.
We as individuals and as a nation understand something is wrong and we are driven to fix it, even if we have no idea how to go about it properly. But it is precisely through this process, this “casting about” for something that will salve the pain of uncertainty and inspire us with a sense of purpose, that we connect through our teshuva with our higher purpose.
We must continue to dream big: The magnitude of the evil perpetrated against us on October 7 was shocking. It turns out, that we can also be surprised by the good.
A person, to his chagrin, realizes that he doesn’t say Modeh Ani in the morning. Regular teshuva is to regret this and to strengthen himself to be more careful in the future. A perfect teshuva is when he realizes that the reason why he forgets it in the first place is because he’s not thinking enough about Hashem.
The only obstacle that could impede the efficacy of this prayer is when it is not said from the heart, but rather in a perfunctory manner. It will not be beneficial then.
How do we decide when confronted with a conflict?
Israel will be the source of light, Jews from around the world will return to the Land, and the humiliation and hatred Israel once suffered will be replaced with universal admiration.
We're going to talk about something that is probably one of the most practical pieces of advice for today. We're talking about handing over leadership.
There is no more meaningful relationship than the relationship of someone who teaches Torah with their students. And yet, no student is the same as their teacher.
Once you replace negative thoughts with positive ones, you'll start having positive results. -Willie Nelson
It means that although the individual may not have successfully completed his teshuva process, every thought of regret that he has experienced helps to lighten his punishment and gives him additional merits.
Rav Kook sees the impulse to do teshuva and the initiative taken in pursuit of it to be the exemplar of human nature as a spiritual being.
All of us petition Hashem for another year of life, for ourselves and our loved ones. But we don’t simply ask for another year of life. We ask for a better year with better health, with better shalom bais, with better parnassa. Better, better, better.
If the Jews undertook to be responsible for each other and sincerely repented for their previous sins, why were they afraid that they would not survive in the future.
Living in Israel and following the Torah will enable happiness.
The mitzvot enable us to take the most basic things of all: our bodies, our possessions, our most physical parts, and to sanctify them.
How many great miracles have we experienced over the past months? Soldiers have shared so many stories of salvation. We have also experienced much larger miracles. The unprecedented defense against hundreds of missiles and drones fired simultaneously by Iran and her proxies in April and the successful neutralization of thousands of Hezbollah missiles in August are just two of the many.
Heaven means to be one with God -Confucius
While Moshe saw all the Jews as one whole, it was the ones in front of him who served as the representatives for all those who had lived and would live in the future.
The act of engaging in teshuva, which is so essential to our achievement of our moral and spiritual goals as humans and as members of the community of Israel, is also very challenging for us in practice.
The Rambam writes in the laws of teshuva that it is customary for the Jewish people to give extra tzedakah during these days. The Mishnah Berurah writes that doing as many mitzvot as we can will tip the scales in our favor on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
A large percentage of us regrettably neglect the fifth commandment; honoring our parents. Due to the frenetic pace of modern life, this obligation is often woefully shunted to the side.
What is a Jew? A person in a covenant of love with G-d. We should therefore enjoy and pursue our covenant of love, just as we enjoy and pursue the person we love the most in the world.
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.
It is no little wisdom for a man to keep himself in silence and in good peace when evil words are spoken to him, and to turn his heart to God and not to be troubled with man's judgment. -Thomas Kempis
Rav Kook speaks evocatively of a world full of harmony. Everything has been created with a purpose and situated in such a way that it stands in perfect balance with everything else.
Many commentators wonder why not proffering bread and water is considered such a great crime
Our sages tell us that one of the most effective ways for man to gain Heaven’s favorable judgment is to grant merit to the community, by helping, contributing, and empathizing with those who are in need.
September 4, 2026 
