The Significance of Completing the Mishkan

“God is My Light” - This Is Rosh Hashanah

The essence of Rosh Hashanah is to pronounce God king over us and over all of creation. Therefore, Rosh Hashanah aims at rectifying the Sin of the Golden Calf, for this particular sin constituted an attempt to throw off the yoke of God's kingship.

Sanctity - Past, Present, and Future

Does the sanctity of the Temple stem from the Divine Presence or from the Land of Israel? Is Jerusalem destined to be sanctified with a more exalted sanctity in the future? Does the sanctity of the First and Second Temples continue to exist today?

Between Passover and Shavuot

The essential message of Passover is that the Almighty dominates and rules over His creation, while Shavuot focuses upon God's role as king. Both these traits find expression in the Omer counting, which is reckoned both according to days and weeks.

R' Yehuda the Head Speaker

Lag Ba'omer

R Yehuda said, “How pleasant are the doings of this nation (Rome). They have built marketplaces, bridges, and bathhouses.” R' Yose kept quiet. R' Shimon ben Yochai responded, saying, “Everything they have built, they have built for their own good.”

"The Torah is light"

The individual Chanukah candle symbolizes the Torah as a whole - one entity which is more than the mere sum of its commandments. The additional candles allude to the commandments - the concrete outward manifestation of the Torah's inner essence.

Dwelling in God's Palace

Early authorities ask: Why does the Torah enjoin us to commemorate the Clouds of Glory of all things. Why not the Manna? Why not Miriam's Well? After all, the presence of these miracles may have been even more important than the Clouds of Glory.

“Seek Me Out and Live”

“Repentance preceded the creation of the world” (Nedarim 39b). In other words, repentance is an integral part of creation and bound to it by its very nature. It stems from God's own integrity, for without this, creation would be lacking in some way.

The Seventh Blessing Re-examined

“God, our Lord, let there soon be heard in the cities of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem the sound of joy and the sound of gladness, the voice of the groom and the voice of the bride, the sound of the grooms’ jubilance from their canopies.”

Husband and Wife

If a husband and wife are worthy, the Divine Presence dwells between them. They merit greater spiritual perfection than when they are separate, and their entire Divine service, both prayer and practice, achieves greater perfection.

Aaron, Moses, and the High Priesthood

Parashat Shmini

“Moses and Aaron went into the Tent of Meeting, and they came out and blessed the people, and God’s glory appeared before the entire nation.” Moses had the power to channel the blessing earthward and Aaron had the capacity to receive it for the entire Nation of Israel

Aaron and His Descendants

Parashat Tzav

Aaron, who perused peace and desired peace, who brought peace between husband and wife and between man and his fellow man, and in this manner brought them close to God - he was the most appropriate choice for being the progenitor of the priesthood.

"The Plowman Shall Overtake the Harvester…"

Parshat Vayigash

So long as the nation is divided it is susceptible to the "defilement and detestable things." Only when we are united as "one nation in the land," with one shepherd leading us, are we able to truly follow God's statues, and safeguard His laws.