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Nissan 27 5781 | Baruch Gordon
Israel Ind. Day - Missing Link in Ancient Rabbinic Code
Though the Hebrew calendar date of Israel Independence Day was decided upon by the Israeli government a year after the establishment of the State, their choice of day - the 5th of the Hebrew month of Iyar - received a divine stamp of approval in that this very day filled the missing link in a Rabbinic puzzle of centuries.
The Essence of the Day
Nisaan 27 5781 | Rabbi Zalman Baruch Melamed
Translated by Hillel Fendel From Destruction to Revival
Rav Tzvi Yehuda Hakohen Kook, saw the terrible destruction of the Shoah in the context of the great construction of the Redemption. While the Exile was being all but destroyed, he Nation of Israel was being built up in its homeland.
Yom Hakaddish Haklali Holocaust Memorial Day
Nissan 26 5781 | Rabbi Shlomo Katz
A Berdichever First Impression
When Reb Levi Yitzchak of Berditchev became the Rav of the well-established community in Berditchev and how he made his first impression as someone extremely and incredibly special.
Chassidic Tales
0 min
Nissan 26 5781 | Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Reticence vs. Impetuosity
It should have been a day of joy. The Israelites had completed the Mishkan, the Sanctuary. But tragedy struck. The two elder sons of Aaron “offered a strange fire" and they died. Aaron’s joy turned to mourning.
Shmini
Nissan 25 5781 | Rabbi Stewart Weiss
The Pain and the Pride
Israel is a roller-coaster, a thrill ride; We are currently in the "sandwich," in the segment between the twin triumphs of our glorious redemption from Egypt, and "Exodus 1948," when we re-established ourselves as a sovereign country.
IDF Memorial Day Holocaust Memorial Day

Popular Lessons

5764 | Rabbi Eliezer Melamed
Mourning Customs During the Omer
The days between Passover and Shavuot are marked by pain; twenty-four thousand of Rabbi Akiva’s students died therein. Consequently, it is customary to observe mourning practices during this period - weddings, haircuts, and dancing are all forbidden.
The Laws of Sefirat Ha'omer The Meaning Sefirat Ha'omer
Rabbi Daniel Mann
Shehecheyanu, Clothes, and Renovations During Sefira
Bemare Habazak - Rabbis Questions
Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff
Rav Yehudah Hachassid and his Shidduchin II
In a previous article we discussed the writings of Rav Yehudah Hachassid, who prohibited or advised against many potential marriages that are otherwise perfectly acceptable according to halachah. But first some background on the chassidei Ashkenaz.
Additional Stories
Iyar 5767 | Rabbi Mordechai Hochman
The Ten Tribes Beyond the Sambatyon
The road from Babylon to the Land of Israel passes through Syria, and many of the returning exiles got stuck there, beyond the Sambatyon River. Though largely unobservant, they were protected from assimilation by the observance of the Sabbath.
Eretz Agada
Cheshvan, 5761 | Rabbi Eliyahu Brin
The Maharal of Prague: An Introduction
We might very well credit Rabbi Yehudah Liva, the legendary "Maharal of Prague," with being the first to "open the gate" and provide us with a truly penetrating look at the essence of the Sages' homiletical teachings on the Torah - the "Midrash."
Subjects of Jewish Thougts

Beit Midrash Torah Portion and Tanach Torah Portion

Vayikra

More on the topic of

Vayikra Tzav Shmini Tazria Metzora Achrei Mot Kdoshim Emor Behar Bechukotai

Nissan 26 5781 | Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Reticence vs. Impetuosity
It should have been a day of joy. The Israelites had completed the Mishkan, the Sanctuary. But tragedy struck. The two elder sons of Aaron “offered a strange fire" and they died. Aaron’s joy turned to mourning.
Shmini
Nissan 24 5781 | Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff
Lessons of Parshas Shemini
“I work as a leather tanner. Should I train for a different parnasah, so that I can make a living after Moshiach comes?” “What is the difference between a toad and a frog?” What does either of the previous two questions have to do with this week’s parshah?
Shmini
Nissan 24 5781 | Rabbi Berel Wein
The Rules of Kosher Food
One of the more distinguishing life values which Judaism advocates is the type of food that a Jew eats. Perhaps no other area of Jewish life has evoked so much scholarship and divergence of opinions.
Shmini
Nissan 24 5781 | Baruch Gordon
Israel National Torah Meat eater - Pack up for Israel!
deducting from the Torah reading why you're better off eating meat in Israel than in the Diaspora.
Shmini
0 min
Nissan 23 5781 | Yaakov Asher Sinclair
Why Eat Kosher?
What's the connection between working in a recording studio and eating non-kosher food?
Shmini
3 min
Nissan 23 5781 | Rabbi Daniel Mann
Make Sure your Head Is Straight
In the aftermath of the death of two of Aharon’s sons, who brought “a foreign fire” (Vayikra 10:1), the Torah commands kohanim not to drink wine or other intoxicating drinks before entering or serving in the holy sanctum (ibid. 9). The Torah goes on: “… and to make rulings for Bnei Yisrael on all of the statutes that Hashem spoke to them by Moshe’s hand” (ibid. 11).
Parashat Hashavua Shmini
Nissan 2 5781 | Baruch Gordon
Israel National Torah Kabbalistic Twist on Vayikra
Why is the first letter Aleph in Vayikra small? the Zohar explains this issue.
Vayikra
3 min
Nissan 13 5781 | Baruch Gordon
Temple Sacrifices Today!
discussing the relevance of the Temple sacrifices in our time - how past sacrificial offerings contribute to today's rebuilding of Jerusalem, and how learning about sacrifices today will serve us in the future.
Tzav
4 min
Nissan 9 5781 | Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
The Courage of Identity Crises
Good leaders know their own limits. They do not try to do it all themselves. They build teams. But learning your limits, knowing there are things you cannot do can be a painful experience.
Tzav
Nissan 9 5781 | Rabbi Berel Wein
Tzav – An Officer's Command
The verb that is used is one of strength. Just as in a well-disciplined army, an officer's commands are fulfilled to be able to execute grand strategies, so, too, in Jewish life. The only way that the great strategy of connection with the Creator, living a holy life and being a kingdom of priests and a holy nation can be fulfilled is by obeying and observing commandments.
Tzav
Nissan 5 5781 | Yaakov Asher Sinclair
Tying The Knot
The Book of Vayikra begins a series of complex laws about the service of the Holy Temple, but even though the laws of the Torah are precise, they require individual creativity.
Vayikra
3 min
Nissan 4 5781 | Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
The Sins of a Leader
Leaders make mistakes. That is inevitable. So, strikingly, our parsha of Vayikra implies. The real issue is leaders respond to their mistakes.
Vayikra
Nissan 1 5781 | Rabbi Berel Wein
Moshe's Private Revelation
Moshe hears the voice of the Lord as God calls to him. However, it is not the same experience that it was at Mount Sinai. it is a private revelation exclusive to Moshe. The great heavenly voice is not heard outside the precincts of the Tabernacle itself.
Vayikra
Nissan 1 5781 | Rabbi Yossef Carmel
A Soul who Sinned against … Hashem?
most the entire Sefer Vayikra and, deals with mitzvot between man and Hashem. The p’sukim in the end of the Parshah, in contrast, deal with matters between man and his fellow man, and the Torah still calls it a ma’al baHashem. In addition
Vayikra Parashat Hashavua
Shvat 7 5781 | Rabbi Michael Linetsky
The HIgh Priest and the Collective
we discern quite clearly that God also judges the Jewish People as a whole and by their collective merits.
Vayikra
Iyar 21 5780 | Baruch Gordon
Israel National Torah What's First - Messiah or Aliya?
Who must initiate the redemption of Israel? Will it be G-D through blatant miracles, or will the Jewish people gradually awaken to return home? The Or Hachaim answers that question based on this week's Torah reading.
Behar
3 min
Iyar 21 5780 | Rabbi Stewart Weiss
The Yovel and You
Behar
Iyar 16 5780 | Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
The Power of a Curse
Covenant & Conversation Bechukotai
Iyar 14 5780 | Baruch Gordon
Israel National Torah Is Being a "Torah Jew" Enough?
This week's Torah reading of Emor discusses Kiddush Hashem and Chilul Hashem (sanctifying and desecrating G-D's name). The Navi Yechezkel explains how the entire nation is able to sanctify and desecrate G-d's name.
Emor
3 min
Iyar 11 5780 | Rabbi Jonathan Sacks
Radical Uncertainty
Covenant & Conversation Emor