יום שלישי, ה׳ אלול תשפ״וTuesday, August 18, 2026
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Providing a needy person with employment is considered the highest form of tzedakah because it preserves his self-dignity (Y.D. 249:6; Shach 249:7), replied Rabbi Dayan.
Double Trouble? “Two Handfuls” (Menachos 11b)
Ran went out to confront absolute evil. And it is the same evil we see today, asserting itself in Iran against its own people and elsewhere against anyone who stands for freedom and truth. We pray that this too will fall, that another hateful regime, another Jew-hating empire, will be thrown onto history’s scrap heap, just as others before it.
The plague of hail involved two opposing forces, water and fire. Under normal circumstances these forces cannot coexist peacefully, they are diametric opposites of each other. HaKadosh Baruch Hu miraculously made peace between them and unleashed them upon Egypt.
Experts declared: this should not have happened.
Geulah is not an escape; it is a return. It is the moment when a person remembers who they are and who they were meant to be.
Question: Seemingly the only place in our Torah where the matter of a birthday celebration is mentioned is regarding the birthday of Pharaoh. The only birthday celebration that we as Jews celebrate is a bar mitzvah – a young man’s 13th birthday. Is there greater significance to that day more than to any other? Yitzchak Gutman Via E-mail
But the people were overworked and under pressure and they had no time for seemingly empty promises... It was hard for them to believe in a vacuum. They needed to see some concrete results.
The danger of not listening is not limited to kings, tyrants, or political leaders intoxicated by success. It confronts all of us.
One of the key characteristics we see of Moshe that make him uniquely qualified for prophecy is his attention to detail in the face of the unusual.
In general, Klal Yisrael chooses its great people very differently than does the other nations. Rav Aharon Leib Shteinman, zt”l, zy”a, never ran for office. Rav Pam, zt”l, zy”a, never strutted his credentials. To the contrary, they ran from honor and it was that very humility that knighted them to be the leaders of our people.
A person who can feel the pain of others is more suited to be a leader. For that reason, Hashem first tested Moshe to verify that he had the sensitivity to be able to share in the distress of his brethren.
The idea is not necessarily to add cups at the Seder, nor to take the focus off the Exodus and that special night – but to flesh out the significance of what happened at Har Sinai.
When someone invests in any project, there is a sense of ownership and pride that creates a stronger bond. This is an important principle in chinuch as well, especially in our times where discipline is much less about punishment and more about motivation via “chains of love” (the famous words of the Chazon Ish, Y.D. 2:28).
The transition from Torah She’bichsav to Torah She’baal Peh introduced a number of fundamental shifts in our relationship with Torah. These include the introduction of machlokes and a mode of “hearing” as opposed to “seeing.”
It’s not exactly the advice you might have expected from a leading Torah personality. But the truth is that one immersed in Torah wisdom has a keen and deep understanding of human personality and motivation.
Shimon spoke up. The hammock was fine when we were on it until Dovid joined, he said. He pushed it over the limit – it’s his fault.
Intrinsic, Danger, or Dilution? “From That Allowed to Jews” (Menachos 5a)
The cry of Bnei Yisrael is the first act of geulah. No armies, no influence, and still the world turns. The cry pierces the heavens, awakens, and sets redemption in motion.
The 12 sons of Yaakov did not assimilate into the Egyptian culture. They did not change their Jewish names, shemam, they did not abandon their Hebrew language, leshonam and they did not discard their traditional attire, malbusham – which three Hebrew words form the acronym shalom, peace.
Although in the Torah some people were named directly by HaKadosh Baruch Hu (like Noach for example), in most cases it is the parents who give names to their children. How does a parent choose an appropriate name?
Question: Seemingly the only place in our Torah where the matter of a birthday celebration is mentioned is regarding the birthday of Pharaoh. The only birthday celebration that we as Jews celebrate is a bar mitzvah – a young man’s 13th birthday. Is there greater significance to that day more than to any other? Yitzchak Gutman Via Email
Whereas B’reishit is far from the average among the Five Books – size at one extreme and mitzvot at the other – Sh’mot is very close to average among the Chumashim.
Committing something to writing renders it static and finalized, and writing down the Oral Torah would limit its wisdom to finite fragments of individual statements, causing the shards of truth to remain shattered and broken.
Who could envision the massacre on a serene beach in Australia while lighting the Chanukah menorah? Who could contemplate the vicious mobs shouting to ‘globalize the intifada’, taking over shopping malls, college campuses and city sights? All this while jihadists in suits call out ‘there is only one solution’, for the extermination of our land and people.
The Torah (Vayikra 27:8) states that if a person pledges his erech (age-based value) to the Temple treasury but it is beyond his financial means, the Kohen evaluates how much he can pay, and the person pays only that sum, replied Rabbi Dayan.
A Light Unto the Nations “The Sound Thereof Traveled from One End…To the Other…” (Zevachim 116a)
Of course, Yosef wasn’t planning on Yehudah’s powerful speech bringing him to his knees and forcing him to reveal himself as their long-lost brother. Hence, he had to come up with a new plan.
I had the privilege of speaking on stage, and of speaking with these young people afterward. Their eyes shine as they talk about aliyah, about pro-Israel activism on campus, about a Jewish identity that is awakening.
Decades ago, in an eighth-grade classroom in Miami, Rabbi Sherwin Stauber taught the story of Ephraim and Menashe. Two boys sat in that room: One would become Rav Zev Leff of Moshav Matisyahu, the other Dr. David Luchins, my father-in-law. They listened to the same words, but each carried them forward in a distinct way.
Despite the travails of the past, Yaakov did not regret the hardships he experienced. They were all part of the mosaic called life without which he would never have reached this peaceful destination.
Question: Should the goblet used for havdalah be so filled that wine overflows? Additionally, is doing so not a violation of baal tashchit – deliberate wastefulness? George Nevens Via E-mail
On the surface of the Gemara, it seems that Zevulun was complaining that he did not have enough material wealth in his inheritance to provide a livelihood, as opposed to the other tribes, which required HaKadosh Baruch Hu to placate him by listing the natural resources in his inheritance.
Just as the country began to heal, the unthinkable arrived. October 7, 2023. A day that will be remembered as one of the darkest in Jewish history.
We see that in the end, by hook or by crook, so to speak, Og got his merit. Noach might have sensed this potential via Ruach HaKodesh and wanted to avoid it. By the way, this merit came even though, according to the aggadah, Og had an ulterior motive: He was hoping Avraham would die in battle and he could possess Sarah as a wife.
With Sefer Bereishit concluding with Yosef’s death at age 110, we find that the Book’s timeline spans the first 2,309 years of the world’s existence.
The first stage of history lasted from Creation until the time of Purim and Chanukah. This stage was highlighted by the miracles of yetzias Mitzrayim and Matan Torah and the presence of nevuah. During this period, Hashem’s revelation in this world was apparent and clear. The physical world was naturally seen as an expression of a spiritual reality, and it was easy to source the physical back to the spiritual.
For generations, this posture helped shape a steady religious orientation: we focus on the religious obligations of the here and now – Torah, mitzvot, and moral improvement – while the timing of Mashiach and the ultimate reading of history are left to Hakadosh Baruch Hu – Ha-shamayim shamayim la-Hashem, ve-ha’aretz natan li-vnei adam.
Every pasuk, every Mishna and every line of Gemara; every mitzvah, every chesed, and every word of tefillah – make us part of the royal family.
Question: Should the goblet used for Havdalah be so filled that wine overflows? Additionally, is doing so not a violation of baal tashchit – deliberate wastefulness? George Nevens Via E-mail
Religion often asks us to transcend surroundings and stand before Hashem in solitary submission.
Since Mikeitz is Shabbat Chanukah 90% of the time, Vayigash is the Shabbat right after Chanukah 90% of the time. But, since we read the first aliyah of Vayigash at Mincha on the Shabbat when we read Mikeitz, that means that the first part of Vayigash is actually read on Chanukah 90% of the time.
If a non-kosher substance falls into a pot, it is normally nullified by 60 times a permitted substance. If, at a later time, more non-kosher falls in, the nullification may use the entire mixture as a permitted substance to nullify the new material.
By Moshe Gantz and Joseph Miller
When tefillin are purchased from a reputable source and treated properly, most remain kosher for many years. In the experience of many sofrim, most invalidations come from pairs that were never properly made to begin with.
Question: If the concern is that hostile gentiles might persecute us, isn’t there the same worry if the menorah is placed indoors? After all, the candles will likely be seen through the window... How would one light in such a circumstance? Menachem Via E-mail
Do any years have more than one Three-Torah Shabbat? Yes. In Eretz Yisrael, Shabbat Simchat Torah and Shekalim falling on Rosh Chodesh – possible in only one year-type – occurs 4.33% of the time. But no for Chu”L.
Question: I am contemplating traveling to Israel. My flight will take place during Chanukah, which means that I may miss one night’s candle-lighting. What are my options? Yaakov J. Via E-mail
People move people; ideas alone rarely do. When we face difficult tests, we draw strength not from abstractions but from the flesh-and-blood figures who shaped us.
Yaakov, from birth, was perfect - a tzaddik, who until age 77 never left the walls of the yeshiva. Yaakov was a genetic tzaddik from birth and he remained so his entire life. Eisav was born challenged and he never managed to surpass his handicaps.
Looking at it differently, Shabbat Mevorchim is before Chanukah about 40% of the time and on Shabbat Chanukah (with one sedra or the other), 60% of the time.
There is a noticeable difference in the purpose and destinies of the Avot and the Imahot. The Avot are more "universal" and the Imahot are more focused specifically on "giving birth" to the Twelve Tribes, to Am Yisrael.
There are different methods of calculating numeric value. One such method is called AL-BAM, in which alef corresponds to lamed, bet to mem, gimel to nun, and so on. AL-BAM gematria is based on taking the first 11 letters of the alef-bet and matching them with the second set of 11 letters. The values that result are: Alef = 30, Bet = 40, Gimel = 50, Dalet = 60... Lamed = 1, Mem = 2, Nun = 3, Samach = 4... and so on.
Often someone hosts a guest out of a feeling of obligation to perform a mitzvah, or out of sympathy when they see someone without food or lodging. Therefore, during the meal the guest cannot be totally certain if their host is hosting them with pure joy or because it is out of a feeling of obligation.
A lack of derech eretz or moral clarity in children is frequently a reflection of what they witness, or fail to witness, in their parents.
All told, Vayeitzei is the third largest sedra (of 12) in Bereishit. Yet it has none of the 613 mitzvot.
Welcomed into Lavan’s household, he worked seven disciplined years in order to marry Rachel. The Torah describes these years as passing quickly because of his deep affection for her.
There were righteous men before Avraham, but Avraham was the first to establish a nation by passing his legacy to his descendants through his children.
We weren’t even out of Egypt yet when G-d made us partners with Him in the matter of kedushat z’man, the sanctity of time.
If HaKadosh Baruch Hu was so extreme in His response to this mockery, then it cannot be such a trivial thing and we need to further explore why such drastic steps were necessary.
Though man shares the responsibility to populate the world with all living beings, his responsibility is more significant because only he creates others in G-d’s image.
My heart raced as I stood before the original handwritten manuscripts of Rambam. The very ink strokes of one of our greatest minds lay before me. To imagine him bending over parchment nearly nine centuries ago, carefully inscribing words that would guide Jewish law and philosophy for generations, was overwhelming.
There are 5,846 pesukim in the Torah, and 54 sedras. The average number of pesukim per sedra is 108. Chayei Sara’s 105 pesukim puts it slightly below average, ranked at 32.
Why Avraham deferred the task of making bread to Sarah? If he was so meticulous and diligent in performing the mitzvah of welcoming guests and prepared the calf tongues in mustard sauce himself, why did he not also prepare the bread?
Yishmael did not turn into the righteous son he had the potential to become. He mocked Yitzchak and this resulted in Avraham, on Sarah’s behest, banishing Hagar and Yishmael from his house.
Chesed is both a way of showing our love for Hashem’s creations and also emulating His creation of the world as an act of chesed.
Before there was Torah Tidbits, there were Torah Tidbits. And one of the very first Torah Tidbits was entitled Angel Arithmetic. (Kind of appropriate for Torah by the Numbers.)
The Akeidah was the moment when Hashem declared the sanctity of human life. It affirmed that every person is His masterpiece – fashioned in His image and charged with elevating both self and society.
Undoubtedly being told to sacrifice Yitzchak was Avraham’s toughest trial and this is the reason we mention it multiple times in our daily tefillot.
The Torah was given by Hashem to Am Yisrael, the Jewish People. Whatever the rest of the world has learned or failed to learn from the Torah, the Torah is ours.
Chazal go even further by asserting that planting takes precedence even over welcoming Mashiach. They taught that a person who hears that Mashiach has arrived while he is planting should finish planting and only then go to greet Mashiach (ADR”N 2:31).
Avraham launched a religious revolution that still echoes through history. He introduced monotheism, shaping the religious imagination for millennia. Countless descendants, both genetic and spiritual, owe their beliefs and way of life to this movement.
There is no doubt, it is not even a question, that Noach was G-d-fearing. Noach was not part of the depravation of the world, he did not commit adultery, he did not steal, he did not worship idols, etc.
But as the days went by and the initial euphoria began to settle, another feeling began to rise within me – a quiet, haunting sadness.
The Jewish people’s relationship with Hashem also began with a korban – the Korban Pesach. Though the Jews were passive during the first nine makot, for Makat Bechorot and Yetziat Mitzraim to occur, they needed to sacrifice the Korban Pesach.
Towards the end of Parshat Bereishit, the Torah records the births of Noach’s three sons – Sheim, Cham, and Yefet – when he was 500 years old. That is much older than the parental ages recorded for the births in the first nine generations.
Hashem’s ownership over the land has halachic implications as well. It is how the Torah (Vay. 25:23) explains why the Yovel year keeps us from selling land permanently. The land is Hashem’s; we are merely subletters.
Why should we think that the nations of the world will be convinced when we prove our ownership through reference to the Torah? As it stands, so many people either do not believe in G-d or in His interest in the affairs of human beings. So why should they be compelled by this argument?
The Jewish people have had highs and lows, including moments when our future seemed bleak. Our focus on our children and raising them according to Torah values ensured our continued survival and success.
Though the loss of even one soldier or civilian is a tragedy, we must recognize the miraculous way Hashem has protected the Jewish people over the past two years.
With no rest for the weary, Sukkot begins on the Monday evening following Shabbat Parshat Ha’azinu.
Hashem realizes that the commitment to improve does not always last, but He chooses to accept teshuvah because He cares for His creations and their survival.
Chazal say that for three days after Am Yisrael gathered all the loot from the Egyptians who drowned in the Red Sea, they neglected to study Torah, which set off a series of complaints and rebellions against Moshe and HaKadosh Baruch Hu Therefore, it was instituted that three days cannot pass without the Torah being read.
Hak-hel was (and will be again) a major event meant to unify the people and the Shevatim (tribes) to which they belonged. It also honors the Torah before all of Israel.
Nitzavim has only 40 pesukim – the second shortest sedra, pasuk-wise. Only its sometimes partner Vayeilech has fewer (30).
In order to enable free will, HaKadosh Baruch Hu hides Himself in His Creation. When I say hide, I mean behind a concept, for example The Laws of Nature. By hiding behind this "concept," HaKadosh Baruch Hu enables a person to see Him, or not.
Although idol worship is less common and enticing in contemporary society, the prohibition against avodah zarah remains, at least conceptually, relevant.
If you examine the paragraphs of the curses, both in Bechukotai and in Ki Tavo, you will see that they are preceded by a paragraph of blessings.
Bikkurim is a prime example of hakarat hatov, recognition and acknowledgement of the good that G-d does for us.
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.
There are 674 parshiyot in the Torah – 295 petuchot and 379 setumot. And Ki Teitzei has more parshiyot than any other sedra.
Even if the judge tells you that what appears to you to be right is left, or that what appears to you to be left is right, you have to obey him. The question is: How literal is this? Is one to really doubt their own sense data and override it, relying on the Sages?
In our fixed calendar of today, there is no doubt as to which day Yom Tov is. Yet the practice of one day in Israel and two days outside still applies.
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 can live free of restriction and obligation and even own slaves, but actually be a slave because he feels beholden to society’s expectations. Conversely, many are physically enslaved but truly free because they maintain their spiritual independence.
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.
All of us should express our appreciation of talmud Torah’s importance by enabling those devoted to its study to focus on that important mission.
Even a single person’s Torah learning makes the whole world worthwhile!
August 14, 2026 
