SACRED THREADS “You shall make holy vestments for Aharon your brother for glory and for splendour…These are the vestments that they shall make: a breastplate and an ephod and a robe and a quilted tunic, a turban and a sash. And they shall make holy vestments...

IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD “They shall make for Me a sanctuary and I will dwell among them.” (Shmot 25:8) “You never want a serious crisis to go to waste. And what I mean by that is an opportunity to do things that you think you...

THE SAVAGE BEAST “The four primary categories of damagers [are] the ox, the pit, the maveh and the fire…” (Mishna, Bava Kama 1:1) The source for this Mishna which opens the section of the Talmud called Nezikin, “damages”, that deals with civil law is parshat Mishpatim. In...

I BELIEVE “I am the Lord your God, who took you out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage.” (Shmot 20:1) "The conclusion one must derive from this prayer [Aleinu] is that heathendom still rules our civilized world.  If we are dissatisfied with the...

THIS LAND IS MY LAND The Jewish people are in a state of severe trauma. It is a trauma that began on Shabbat, seventh of October 2023, Simchat Torah 5784. I arrived at shul in a joyous mood for the Shemini Atzeret service (in the diaspora...

“Shepherd Your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, who dwell alone, in a forest in the midst of a fertile field. Let them graze in Bashan and Gilad, as in days of old. Like the days of your exodus from the land...

REWARD AND COMPENSATION “Pharaoh sent and summoned Moshe and Aharon and he said to them: I sinned this time; the Lord is righteous and I and my people are wicked. Plead with the Lord; there has been too much thunder of God and hail. I will...

FAIR WEATHER FRIENDS “A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Yoseph.” (Shmot 1:8) The book of Exodus begins with a list of the names (shmot) of Yaakov’s sons and by telling the reader that Yosef, his brothers and their entire generation passed away. We...

THE WARRIOR “A troop will troop forth from Gad, and he will troop back on his tracks.” (Bereishit 49:19, translation according to Rashi’s commentary) This is the brief blessing that Yaakov gave his son, Gad, when he blessed all of his sons moments before his passing. In...

BESIEGED! “It was during the ninth year of his [King Tzidkiyahu] reign, during the tenth month [Tevet], on the tenth of the month that Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, he and his entire army, came against Jerusalem and encamped against it. And they built a rampart against...