REVIEW Let’s briefly review the relevant information we have been gathering to this point. It all began when we disclosed that Noah in symmetry becomes Khen (grace, favor or charm), as it is said: “Noah [was] found [as] Khen in the eyes of God”. Noah was 600 years old when the flood began. The two Read More
Category: Parshah
Weekly Torah Reading
Parashat Vayeira – Isaac and the Akeida
THE THREE BEDOUINS The life of Isaac is the most enigmatic of the 4 forefathers of Israel. Unlike Abraham, Yakov and Yosef, the Torah doesn’t give too many details of Isaac’s life; yet, he was worthy to receive and pass the Blessing God gave to Abraham our father. The first account of Isaac is his Read More
Parashat Lekh Lekha – The Blessing and the Plants
“And Terah took Avram… and Lot… and Sarai… and they went forth with them from Ur Casdim to go to the land of Canaan” (Gn 11:31). Kasdim is the Hebrew name for the Chaldeans. What is Ur Kasdim? It can also be read as: “Ohr K’Shedim” – A Light that is like the one of Read More
Parashat Tzav – The Continuous Fire
This new portion gives more details on the 5 main categories of sacrifices. 1 – Olah (ascending [offering]) (Lv 1:1-17 & 6:8-13). 2 – Minkha (tribute [gift offering of grain]) (Lv 2:1-16; 6:14-23). 3 – Shelamim (Peace [offering]) (Lv 3:1-17; 7:11-36). 4 – Hatat (purification [offering]) (Lv 4:1-5:13; 6:24-7:7). 5 – Asham (guilt [offering]) (Lv Read More
Parashat Vayikra – The Living Sacrifice
“And he called [vayikra] to Moses, and he, HaShem, spoke to him” (Lv 1:1). ויקרא אל משה וידבר יי אליו Humbleness When you read this portion in a Torah scroll, you’ll notice that the letter alef – א in the word “Vayikra” is smaller than the other letters. One may wonder why did Read More
Parashat Vayaqheil – One body, One Sanctuary
Review of Terumah The Last two portions in the book of Exodus (Shemot) are basically a repetition of Terumah and Tetzave respectively. In this week’s portion we read again of the working of the Tabernacle (Mishkan). Only thing that changes basically is the verbal form, from “You shall make” to “he made”. In Short, the Read More
Parashat Ki Tisa II – The Erev Rav
“And when the people saw that Moses delayed….” (Ex 32:1). Why are they called sometimes “the people” and sometimes “the sons of Israel”? It has been noticed that when Torah mentions only “the people”, it implies a participation of the “Erev Rav” (the “Mixed multitude”) as it’s written: “The sons of Israel traveled… and the Read More
Parashot Tetzave & Ki Tisa – Shekhina, Betzalel and Messiah
“veAtah Tetzave” (ואתה תצוה) “And you, you must command…” (Ex 27:20). The verse could have simply said: ‘Tetzave’ which means “you must command.” Why do we need the word veAtah (and “you”)? In Hebrew it seems redundant. But in the Bible, when a word seems redundant, out of place, or grammatically incorrect, it means Read More
Parashat Terumah – The Inner Sanctuary
“Tell the sons of Israel to take to me a Terumah” (a tribute, a present, literally, something uplifting) Exodus 25:2 This week’s Parasha talks of the materials and components donated to build the Sanctuary in the Desert. ועשו לי מקדש ושכנתי בתוכם “They shall make me a sanctuary and I shall dwell in their Read More
Parashat Yitro – Repentance and Shabbat
This is probably one of the most important moments and one of the most important topics to attain Redemption: Repentance (Tshuva), in many levels. It begins with the phrase: ‘VaYishma Yitro’ ‘And Yitro heard… how HaShem had brought Israel out of Egypt’ (Ex 18:1). Previous week’s portion told us that the pagan Read More