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Displaying 811 - 839 of 839 in total
Parsha: Vezos Habracha – Antidotes to Mediocrity
In the Torah’s final Parsha, and indeed, in its final words, we say goodbye to the greatest human to have ever lived. With the passing of Moshe, the Torah ends, and on...
Hoshana Rabbah, Shemini Atzeret, and Simchat Torah: The Meaning of Sukkot’s Climax
The Festival of Sukkot ends with a three-day constellation of significant days: The seventh day is Hoshana Rabbah, the eighth is Shemini Atzeres, and the ninth is Simc...
Dreaming of a Sunny Sukkah
We are amid the incredible Festival of Sukkos. Each day (except Shabbos) we shake the Lulav and Esrog, we celebrate with our family, and we dwell in our temporary resi...
The Glorious Clouds of Sukkos
Over the course of the Festival of Sukkos (sometimes spelled “Sukkot”, sometimes “Succos”, rivaled only by the nightmare of trying to find the definitive spelling of C...
Parsha: Parshas Vezos HaBeracha (Rebroadcast)
The final parsha of the Torah details the blessings that Moshe conveyed to the tribes of Israel immediately prior to his passing, and the Torah ends with the descripti...
Parsha: Ha’azinu – Small Step for Eaglet
The Song of Ha’azinu is a richly textured tapestry with layered meaning and subtleties. Our Sages tell us that t incorporates all of Jewish History. In its 613 words, ...
Tips and Tricks to Secure a Positive Judgment on Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur is the end of the annual judgment. On Yom Kippur, the verdict written on Rosh Hashana gets sealed. Until that deadline, however, we can effectuate our judgm...
Jonah: Studying the Yom Kippur Reading on a Deeper Level (Rebroadcast)
On Yom Kippur afternoon, we read the 48-verse Book of Jonah, which tells of a renegade prophet, Jonah, who defies the directive of God and refuses to castigate the peo...
Reconciliation and Forgiveness: The Interpersonal Component of Yom Kippur
Yom Kippur is a day of atonement and expiation. On this auspicious day, the Almighty forgives us for all our transgressions and we become purified before God. But the ...
Parsha: Parshas Ha’Azinu (Rebroadcast)
Still in the final day of Moshe’s life, he conveys to the nation a 43-verse Song predicting the contours of Jewish history, both past, present, and future. The pattern...
Parsha: Vayeilech – Man on a Mission
Moshe has been the leader of the Jewish people since before the Exodus. Over the course of these forty years, Moshe has led the people through high times and low ones;...
The Rosh Hashana Torah Reading – Day Two (Rebroadcast)
On the second day of Rosh Hashana, we read the Torah section of Genesis chapter 22 that tells the very famous and quite troubling episode of the Binding of Isaac. Abra...
The Seven Wonders of Repentance
Rosh Hashana kickstarts the Ten Days of Repentance which culminates in Yom Kippur. This is the time to repent. But repentance is a daunting and terrifying concept. All...
The Rosh Hashana Torah Reading – Day One (Rebroadcast)
The Torah readings for the two days of Rosh Hashana were not arbitrarily chosen. There are very good reasons why on the first day of Rosh Hashana we read Genesis chapt...
Man In The Arena: Three Ways To Understand The Judgment of Rosh Hashana
In addition to the many other themes and motifs of the day, Rosh Hashana is called the Day of Judgment. The Mishnah tells us that on Rosh Hashana every human has an in...
A Mystical Approach To The Rosh Hashana Readings ft. Rabbi Shmuly Botnick
As is true by Shabbos and all Festivals, on the two days of Rosh Hashana we read sections from the Torah and a supplemental reading from Tanach, the Haftorah. At first...
Parsha: Nitzavim – Drawbridge Of The Soul
With the entire nation gathered on his final day of life, Moshe warns the people against being seduced by idolatry. The nation, Moshe reveals, is particularly vulnerab...
Mitzvah: Bribes and Palm-Greasing (#83)
Judgment is the ultimate partnership between us and God. Litigants who come to a Jewish court are coming to hear the will of the Almighty on the case. Consequently, th...
Rosh Hashana: Customs, Rituals, Ceremonies, and Practices
The two days of Rosh Hashana are two of the most important days in the year. These festival days are celebratory and joyous, but are also dedicated to prayer, to intro...
Parsha: Parshas Nitzavim & Vayeilech (Rebroadcast)
On the final day of Moshe’s life, he gathered the entire nation – men, women, children, and according to the Talmud, all souls of future Jews – to pass them through a ...
Parsha: Ki Savo – Maniacal Determination
Our parsha contains perhaps the most difficult Torah portion to read and digest: The Tochacha (Admonition). In it we are told the consequences of our deeds. If obey th...
Mitzvah: Conjecture in Court (#82)
A court is tasked with verifying the validity of the claims of the witnesses and rendering a ruling. What kinds of testimony are admissible in court? What are the extr...
Parsha: Parshas Ki Savo (Rebroadcast)
As the Book of Deuteronomy draws to its conclusion, the narrative makes a transition: Moshe finishes conveying the mitzvos to the nation, and sets up his final parting...
Parsha: Ki Seitzei – A Lifetime A Day
The Midrash in our parsha calculates that the Torah contains 613 mitzvos, 248 positive mitzvos, where the Torah commands us to do something proactive, and 365 negative...
Ethics: Realms of Rage (5:14)
Anger is a sentiment that we all feel sometimes. What triggers our rage? What does our anger say about us? What is the connection between anger and faith? Why does the...
Parsha: Parshas Ki Seitzei (Rebroadcast)
In the parsha that contains the most mitzvos of any of the 54 Torah sections (a staggering 74 mitzvos), we read about the wayward and rebellious son, the requirement t...
Parsha: Shoftim – Gateways to Great Pursuits
Justice is a virtue that we must vigorously pursue. Our Parsha begins by instructing us to establish a court system with judges and bailiffs throughout our gates and t...
Ethics: Generosity and Miserliness (5:13)
In the question of generosity and miserliness, our Mishnah tells us that there are four kinds of people. Interestingly, a group that we would view quite innocuously is...
Mitzvah: Judging A Crook By It’s Cover (#81)
Imagine you are a judge and two litigants come before you for justice. One of the people is a righteous, pious, trustworthy person. The other one is a crook. How must ...