Towards the end of the sidra we have the well-known parshiot of AserTe’aser and KolHabechor which are read for KriatHatorah “ChutzLa’Aretz” on Shmini Atzeret and Yom Tov Sheni. There are five places in Chumash where the range of YamimTovim are…
Bertrand Russell (a British philosopher and mathematician who was a foremost proponent of atheism in the early 20th century) once was asked what he will respond if after he dies he meets G-d and He will judge him for his lack…
This week’s Parasha tells the command of affixing a Mezuza to the doorposts of your house, – “you shall inscribe [this passage] upon the doorposts of your house and your gates.”[1] The Mitzvah of Mezuza is special in that it…
A Jew was riding on a train travelling through Russia. Seated next to him was a soldier of the Czar quietly boiling and seething with deep hatred toward the Jew. In one moment he let loose his anger to the…
This week’s Haftorah begins with the words NachamuNachamu Ami, which means that Hashem will console us, twice. שמחינו כימות עניתנו שנות ראינו רעה(Tehilim 90:15) We plead with the Shechino that we should merit to rejoice in our salvation, equal to…
The Midrash Tehillim says that the Giants Og and Sichon were more formidable adversaries than Pharaoh and his army. Moshe had battled Sichon and won. Now he faced a war against the mighty Og. Yet before this war, Moshe seems…
“Woe to us on the day of judgment; woe to us on the day of rebuke!” There are many things in life that are easy to give but difficult to accept and likewise there are those that are difficult to…
