Parashat HashavuaSeries'LibraryPiskei Din (Hebrew)Test YourselfIn our Sedra, Ahron's position as Kohen Gadol is challenged. G-d orders that each tribe take a staff with their name on it; the one that miraculously blossoms signifies that it is the choice of Hashem. Ahron's staff, that of Levi, blossoms first, with ripe almonds (this staff stayed in bloom for centuries & was kept in the Bet HaMikdash with a sample of the Mahn). Almonds - "shaked" in Hebrew - signify zeal, speed, & faithfulness. The almond tree is the first to bloom in Israel, in the midst of our rainy season, thus Chazal decided that the time they bloomed (Tu B'Shvat) would be the New Year for trees. When Yirmiyahu is shown an almond tree (1:11-12), it is a sign that Hashem carries out His word punctually. The cups on the Menora (some say the Menora itself!) were shaped like almonds. Israelis love & consume 7000 tons of almonds each year. Marzipan, made from almonds, has its own museum in Kfar Tavor, complete with a marzipan sculpture of Jewish (that’s right!) icon Elvis Presley!
The two commands are respectively the prohibition against desecrating God’s name, Chillul Hashem, and the positive corollary, Kiddush Hashem, that we are commanded to sanctify God’s name. But in what sense can we sanctify or desecrate God’s name?
The heter mechira came about in the first shmitta year, 5649 (1888), after thousands of years in exile. Some opposing poskim changed their positions when they saw how urgent the situation was. Anti-Zionism caused more opposition.
The mitzvah of Bris Milah has been enhanced by many beautiful customs. We will explain the background of these minhagim in the course of a guide to the honors bestowed during a bris and the steps of a bris procedure.
What drove the Romans against the Jews was the Jews' “dangerous culture” - a culture which had begun to penetrate the Roman Empire. Judaism was educating the masses to behave according to the principle that says “man is created in God's image.”