15 Lessons
Parashat Hashavua: The Way to Prepare to Build the Beit Hamikdash
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | Iyar 5785
Days of Re-establishment – How We Come Before Him in Praise – part I
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | 4 Iyar 5784
Who Are the Kohanim?
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | Iyar 5783
Shabbat and Holidays in a Jewish State
Is it permitted to violate the laws of Shabbat in the process of sanctifying the new month? Why does the Torah repeat the introductory terms about the mo’adim and mention Shabbat in the middle?
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | Iyar 2 5782
“Zichron Teruah” – On Judgment and Mercy
he term “zichron teruah” in describing Rosh Hashana among the holidays in our parasha, is a special term, which very likely refers to shofar blowing. But zichron, meaning remembrance, does not, at first glance, have a clear meaning.
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | Iyar 15 5781
Israel is a Nation of Holy People
The matter of kedusha (sanctity) is very much stressed in the parshiyot of Vayikra. Parashat Acharei Mot starts with the service of the kohen gadol on Yom Kippur, whose pinnacle is in the Kodesh Kodashim of the mikdash. The parasha ends with the prohibitions of arayot (illicit relations), which is followed with the charge, “Be holy, for I, Hashem your G-d, am holy” (Vayikra 19:2). Rashi explains this to mean: “separate yourself from arayot and sin, for whenever you find separation from arayot, you find kedusha.” Parashat Kedoshim also ends with the commandment: “You shall be for Me holy, for I am holy, and I have separated you from the nations to be for Me” (ibid. 20:26).
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | Iyar 11 5778
Brit Bein Hab’tarim to Kriat Yam Suf – The Connection to Yom Haatzmaut (part 2)
Last week we illustrated the similar language the Torah used to describe Kriat Yam Suf and the Brit Bein Hab’tarim with Avraham Avinu. Chazal, who saw this connection, instituted in Ma’ariv the following nusach to describe Kriat Yam Suf: “He who passed his children through the strips of Yam Suf”. Chazal used the word (gezarim) that is connected to Brit Bein Hab’tarim. Furthermore, we saw an explicit pasuk connecting these two events by describing the sojourn in Egypt for a period of four hundred thirty years, which was counted from Brit Bein Hab’tarim.
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | Iyar 10 5777
A Special Meaning of Beracha
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | 5575
The Seat of Justice
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | 5773
Service of Korbanot for All
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | 5771
The Necessary Boundaries of Seeking Leadership
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | 5770
An Improper Chumra
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | Iyar 5768
Careful! Holy Funds
Parashat Emor
Parashat Emor
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | 15 Iyar 5766
Counting Towards Something That Counts
Parashat Emor
Parashat Emor
Rabbi Yossef Carmel | 5 Iyar 5765