Vayikra

Even though we live in a time when such animal sacrifices are not possible, one of the main lessons which is pertinent to us is that all forgiveness for wrongdoing requires true "sacrifice" on the part of the perpetrator of the sin.

The Zohar brilliantly asks: "Why was Moshe able to stand before the Divine Presence on Mt. Sinai, but not down on earth?"

We would expect to read: “when one of you offers a sacrifice.” Instead, what it says is “when one offers a sacrifice of you.” The essence of sacrifice, said Rabbi Shneur Zalman, is that we offer ourselves.

Michaelangelo may have been the greatest sculptor who ever lived, but his knowledge of Jewish anatomy was a bit off.

The very possibility to demand of a king to acknowledge his sin is a great novelty. All the more so, we would never expect that there would be someone with permission to rebuke the king or to demand of him to admit that he sinned.

Is it the land lying fallow that is the central theme, or are the Jews who do not work it during the shmita year the focus?

In this week's Torah reading, why begin the description of the Avoda on Yom Kippur with telling us of the demise of the sons of Aaron?

This Shabbat, we find ourselves between two staggering events: the tragedy at Har Meron last Friday, and Yom Yerushalayim this Sunday night and Monday. Two mountains, steeped in Jewish history, associated with the most significant personalities and pathos: Avraham, Yitzchak and Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai.

The Sages said: “‘They will stumble over each other’” – read this as ‘stumble because of one another’: this teaches that all Israelites are responsible for one another.” This is an exceedingly strange passage. Why locate this principle here?

Looking at the Ohr HaHayim's commentary on this week's Parshat Behar to discover the answer to the centuries-old question: Will Redemption come miraculously or by natural means?