Parashat HashavuaSeries'LibraryPiskei Din (Hebrew)Test YourselfOur sedra of Chukat is so named because it includes the ritual of the Para Aduma, which is considered the "chok par excellence." This same compound renders other people tahor while at the same time making the administering Kohen tamei; even Shlomo - the wisest of all people – could not understand it. (Why would any dead animal make someone ritually pure?!). A chok is a law for which the meaning is not readily understood. Every law – chukim, too – has a reason; we just don’t always know what that reason is (see Yuma 67b). Interestingly, the Mitzva of Kibud Av V’Aym is considered by some (e.g. Rav Yosef Engel) to be a chok! The most well-known chukim are Tzitzit & the laws of Kashrut, though numerous m’farshim nevertheless offer a rationale for these Mitzvot. In many ways, the chukim are actually the most important mitzvot, because we perform these purely out of faith & allegiance to Hashem, rather than because they make sense to us, like mishpatim, civil laws
Between the recital of morning berachos and Boruch She’amar, which begins pesukei dezimra, is a section of the davening colloquially referred to as “korbanos,” since it includes many references to the various offerings brought in the Beis Hamikdash. The goal of this article is to provide an overview and some details about this part of the davening.
Energy at the Intersection between the Holy and the Mundane
Ein Aya Shabbat Chapter B Paragraph 278
[Rabbi Shimon and his son, Rabbi Elazar, left the cave after an additional stay.] As Erev Shabbat was turning into Shabbat, they saw an old man who was holding two fragrant branches and running during twilight. They said to him: “Why do you have those?” He told them: “In honor of Shabbat.” “Why isn’t one enough?” “One corresponds to zachor (remember Shabbat) and one corresponds to shamor (observe Shabbat).” Rabbi Shimon said to his son: “See how beloved the mitzvot are to Israel.”
According to our Sages, The Day of the Rain is as great as, or even greater than the day of the Giving of the Torah. The basis for this comparison is discussed in depth, as well as additional aspects of the connection between the rains and the Torah.
For many, this most basic question will formulate their decision whether to be religious-Zionists or not. Interestingly, the Rambam explains the celebration of Chanuka as thanks to Hashem for 200 years of Israeli Independence, even though the Maccabean Dynasty was not from the tribe of Judah and for most of that period was not religious! Why is it so important to have a Jewish State, even if not the ideal one?
According to most authorities, women are no less obligated to pray than men. Therefore, they must pray “Amida” in the morning and the afternoon (“Shacharit” and “Mincha”). The evening Amida prayer (“Maariv”), on the other hand, is voluntary.