Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan translates Bamidbar 15:15-16 as follows: “Among the group that may marry one another, the same rule shall apply both to you and to the proselyte who joins. It is an … more

Ki Seitzei is about relationships: between men and women, parents and children, employers and employees, lenders and borrowers. Strikingly, though, it is also about relationships between humans … more

The Ramban begins his analysis of our parasha, Mishpatim, by noting that mishpatim (ordinances and civil laws) are the first category of mitzvot presented. This contrasts with what took place at … more

There are some, say the Talmud, who acquire their world in an hour and others who lose it in an hour. No example of the latter is more arresting and bewildering than the famous episode in Chukat, … more

Parashat Vayeshev concludes with the story of Yosef’s imprisonment in an Egyptian dungeon as a result of Potiphar’s wife’s false accusations. While incarcerated, Yosef rises to the … more

Every time I hear a chillul Hashem story involving so-called religious Jews going to prison, I contemplate what the term “religious” means. I will not be one to say that people are perfect and … more

I always look forward to. For eight days, I get more and more excited as the day continues and the next night of Chanukah approaches. While life will always have its share of dark moments, the opportunity to spend a week surrounded by close family and friends, re-telling the story of the miracle of the Jewish people’s survival, against all odds, in their battle against the mighty Greek empire, is always uplifting. more

The phrase, “aleh hamitzvot” (“these are the commandments”), appears twice in the Torah — in the concluding pasukim of Sefer Vayikra, and in our parasha, Matot-Masei, in … more

There is a tale of Rosh Hashana in the book of Nechemiah. It was in the initial years of the Return from the exile of 70 years following the destruction of the first Temple. The crowd that … more

Bear with me as I make a case here. Shmot 4:14-16: After giving a number of excuses for why he should not be the Deliverer, including that he is uncomfortable with his own speech-abilities, G-d … more