What Counts
Between the first day of Pesach, commemorating the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt, and the following holiday of Shavuot, commemorating the Israelites’ receiving G-d’s Torah, is an interval of fifty days. In the Torah received from G-d, the nation of Israel is commanded (Vayikra 23:15 -16), “And you shall count for yourselves from the morrow of the […]
And I Shall Take You to Me for a Nation
As we approach the joyous holiday of Pesach (Passover) and we prepare for the festive seder, we are reminded of the verse in the Torah in which G–d tells the offspring of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, “And I shall take you to Me for a nation” (Sh’mot 6:7). After many years on foreign soil, subject to […]
Like Writing in the Torah
In the Torah section of Vzot HaBracha, Moses offers a parting blessing to the nation he led through the desert. As a preface to his series of blessings to each of the tribes, we are reminded (Devarim 33:4), “The Torah that Moses commanded us is the heritage of the community of Jacob.” In commenting on the […]
The Rope of Jacob
In the Torah section of HaAzinu, among Moses’ parting floral admonition and foretelling of the future of the Children of Israel whom he led through the desert, we read (Devarim 32:9), “For G-d’s portion is His people; [the children of] Jacob is the portion [literally “rope”] of His possession.” As regards this allusion to a […]
More Than a Piece of Paper
In the Torah section of VaYelekh, we are enjoined, “And now, write this song for yourselves, and teach it to the Children of Israel” (Devarim 31:19), the source for the Jew’s obligation to write a Torah scroll (Shulchan Arukh, Yoreh Deah 270). The question arises: Where can it be inferred from this verse that the […]
You Shall be Only Above
The Torah section of Nitzavim is dedicated to Moses’ exhortation to the children of Israel to adhere to G-d’s Word as set forth in the Torah. He relates all the good that shall come their way “When you listen to the Voice of the L-rd, your G-d, to observe His commandments and His decrees that […]
Get the Message
In the Torah section of Ki Tavo, we read the verse (Devarim 28:2), “And all these blessings will come upon you and they will reach you.” Later on (Devarim 28:15), we also find with regard to the curses: “And all these curses will come upon you and they will reach you.” Commentators have, over the […]
Fair is Fair
In the Torah section of Ki Tetze, the Torah unequivocally declares (Devarim 23:21), “You may charge interest to the gentile, but to your brother you shall not charge interest.” Similarly, towards the end of the Torah section of Behar, we read (Vayikra 25:36), “You shall not take from him interest; and you shall fear your […]
Obligation to Relate
In the Torah section of Shoftim, we read (Devarim 17:18), “And when he [the king] sits on his throne, he shall write two copies of this Torah for himself.” Whereas every Jew is commanded to write a sefer torah (torah scroll), a Jewish king is commanded to write two – one to keep at home and one […]
Stork is not Kosher
In the Torah section of Re’eh, Moses repeats the various animals and creatures that G-d deems unfit for consumption, known colloquially as not being kosher, which were originally prohibited in the Torah section of Shmini. Amongst these is enumerated the chasidah [the stork] (Devarim 14:18; Vayikra 11:19). With regards to this bird, Rashi notes in Shmini, “Why […]