Light Up the World!

Parashat Hashavua: Joint Rachel/Leah Leadership and Megillat Esther

Purim and the Priestly Garments

Parashat Hashavua: Gold, Silver, Precious Stones – Closeness to Hashem (part II)

In the Holy Temple: Garments of Honor and Glory

You light up my life

What exactly were the "Urim and tumim" worn by the kohen?

Pure Gold and Copper

The King’s Horse and Chariot

Leadership Means Making Space

The Secret to Eternal Life

Ever since the dawn of time, people have pursued the goal of eternal life. The ancient Egyptians, for example, mummified their bodies, in the belief that this would grant them continuity from one world to another. Even today, many contribute to various Torah or kindness organizations in order to memorialize their loved ones... On a simple level, the aspiration for eternity stems from a positive place in one's soul: the striving to be like our eternal Creator. If so, when we consider the other levels of G-d's creation, we will realize that we are not very close to reaching this goal...

The Essence of the Sanctuary What is the Most Important for Temple Erection

Why aren't the Muslims and the Christians able to build the temple even though they've been trying for hundreds of years? What are they missing out?

Honoring the Priesthood in Our Time

Tetzave starts out with two verses discussing the oil for the Menorah (lamp) in the Mishkan. It must be "pure beaten olive oil," and the lamp must burn perpetually in the Tent of Meeting. The commentators ask: What are these verses doing here in the portion dealing with the choosing and preparation of the Priests? Why are they not in the passage of the Menorah?

The Great 'Blander'

If you had your choice, would you choose to live in a world with the potential for great good but the danger of great evil, or a blend of the two resulting in a great blandness?

The Ethic of Holiness

With parshat Tetzaveh, something new enters Judaism: Torat Kohanim, the world and mindset of the Priest.

Is Wearing a Kipa Halachically Required?

The Mystery of the Missing Moshe

The position of Kohen Gadol is arguably the highest in the nation, for he alone could access the Urim V’Tumim & receive Hashem’s verdict for the nation on Yom Kippur.

Preperations

Why does the Torah write in detail about making the oil for the Menorah whilst the main purpose is the flame that is litten?

“Aharon Will Arrange them”

Based on Siach Shaul, p. 280

How does the mitzva of the oil and the lighting end up in the middle of the blueprints of the Mishkan, in between the description of the structure and its holy vessels and that of the glorious holy garments of the kohanim?

The Counterpoint of Leadership

One of the most important Jewish contributions to our understanding of leadership is its early insistence of “the separation of powers”. Neither authority nor power was to be located in a single individual or office. Instead, leadership was divided between different kinds of roles.