Dvarim

"...In his commentary on the Mishna, Maimonides attributes equal weight to the study of Hebrew and to the joy we must feel on the Festivals - and even to the mitzvah of circumcision..."

If all 613 commandments are included in the Ten Commandments ... where is the Land of Israel?

In this week's Torah portion, which we read every year just before the fast of Tisha B'Av, Moshe Rabbeinu reminds Israel that they 'didn't want to' enter the Land of Israel, following the Sin of the Spies. Bnei Yisrael did not see it that way: 'How can we go up [to the Land]?' they said, as if to say that it was not within their ability to do so.

Somehow Moses defied the law of entropy that states that all systems lose energy over time. Why was his energy unabated? Because his eyes were undimmed.

When words take wing, they modulate into song. That is what they do here in Ha’azinu as Moses, with the Angel of Death already in sight, prepares to take leave of this life.

Moshe’s final speech is really biting & critical. So much talk about all the negative things that can & will happen to us if we stray from G-d. I ask you: Is this really how Moshe wants to be remembered?

These last chapters of the Torah, culminating in this week's reading, are all very serious and have an almost fearsome quality and tone. Heaven and earth are called upon to be the ultimate witnesses regarding the covenant that the Lord has made with Israel for all time.

Parashat Ha’azinu comes out a couple of days before Sukkot, and it is instructive to look for themes that are common to the two.

The holiest day, Yom Kippur, and its preceding day contain apparently polar opposite elements – the firm requirement to fast on Yom Kippur and the requirement to eat on Erev Yom Kippur. When one eats then, it is equivalent to one who fasted both days. What is the nature of this dichotomy?