16 Lessons

Zachor SWEET DOESN'T MEAN PUSHOVER- Parshat Zachor
The ingenious & rational Rambam (hil. M'lachim 5, 5) adds several surprising words in defining the Torah mitzva to remember what Amalek did to us: "to constantly (!) remember their evil deeds and their ambush of Israel TO AROUSE OUR HATRED of them". We usually relate to hatred as something we are meant to overcome, and surely not "arouse", and definitely not "constantly"! Anyway you look at it, it's been 2500 years since there was a practical mitzvah to fight the Amalek children, so why must we constantly (?) "remember"? This short article analyzes the Jewish mistake which Hamas has recently helped us understand.

Zachor The Inability to Accept the Good
What connects Cyrus, Hamman, Adam and the people of Israel exiting Egypt? And what connects happiness and faith?

Bemare Habazak - Rabbis Questions Parashat Zachor with Different Pronunciations
My shul has always read Parashat Zachor once, with our regular havara (pronunciation). Some people now complain that we do not follow other shuls and read multiple times with different havarot to fulfill the mitzva according to more opinions and to do the mitzva properly for Sephardim. Should we change our minhag?

Zachor The Whys and Wherefores of Zachor
The obligation of hearing the special Maftir on Shabbos Zachor. Different customs, making a Birchas HaMitzvah, women and Zachor, Purim.

Zachor The Four Parshiot and their Significance
The parallel and connection between the four Parshiot, the four cups of the Seder, and the four expressions of redemption.

Zachor "Zakhor" Before Purim
Amalek sought to demonstrate, by attacking the spiritually weak, those whom the Clouds of Glory had cast out, that the secret of Israel's power lay in their observance of the Torah and its commandments, that they possess no intrinsic sanctity.

Zachor Amalek Against Jerusalem
The words of the verse, “First among nations is Amalek,” are coming true in our own time. An international attack is being waged upon Israel - especially upon its spirit, the Divine spirit whose practical expression is the rebuilt city of Jerusalem.


