Sefer Vayikra is the only book in Tanach where we find the expression, v’yarata m’elokecha (“and you shall have awe for your G-d”). It appears three times in Parashat … more

CHAPTER 23 of our parasha is popularly known as parashat hamoadim. In its introductory verses we find: And Hashem spoke to Moses, saying: “Speak to the children of Israel and say to them: … more

The prohibition of eating blood is one of the best-known mitzvot in Parashat Acharei Mot. In his Commentary on the Torah, on Sefer Vayikra 17:10-11, the Ramban notes that many of the verses that … more

The first time we are introduced to the mitzvah of brit milah is the 17th chapter of Sefer Bereshit. This mitzvah is found once again in the first of our parshiot, Parashat Tazria. This repetition … more

This week’s haftarah is focused on Yechezkel’s well-known nevuah (prophecy) of the “Dry Bones,” that begins: “The hand of Hashem came upon me and carried me out in the … more

The name,“Shabbat HaGadol” has captured the imagination of Torah exegetes since time immemorial. The second Bobover Rebbe, HaRav Ben-Zion Halberstam (1874-1941), begins his analysis of … more

Why is “vayikra,” the first word of our parasha and the namesake of Sefer Vayikra, written with a diminutive aleph as its final letter? In his commentary on the Torah entitled Ba’al … more

This Shabbat we read parshiot Tetzaveh and Zachor. According to the Shulchan Aruch, Orech Chaim, the public reading of Parashat Zachor enables us to fulfill two of the three Taryag (613) commandments … more

Parashat Terumah focuses on the various raw materials necessary to construct the Mishkan (portable sanctuary) and its holy kalim (vessels). Therein, we find a well-known pasuk that speaks to the … more

Na’aseh v’nishmah — we will do, and we will hear and understand — are two of the most celebrated words that appear in Parashat Mishpatim (24:7). In some ways, this phrase … more