GIVING IS THE GREATEST GIFT “When your brother becomes impoverished and loses the ability to support himself in the community, you must come to his aid. Help him survive, whether he is a proselyte or a native [Israelite].” (Vayikrah 25:35) The verse above is one of several...

WHO IS A JEW? One aspect of my job as the registrar of the Cape Town Beth Din is to provide certificates of Jewish status, teudot yahadut. These certificates are required when someone applies to make Aliyah or to get married abroad. In the case of...

TOGETHER WE WILL BE VICTORIOUS “You shall not take vengeance; you shall not bear a grudge against members of your people. You shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” (Vayikrah 19:18) “Rabbi Akiva says: This is a great principle of the Torah.” (Sifra) The commandment...

OLD ENEMIES, NEW CONFLICTS The Lord spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to the Children of Israel and say to them: I am the Lord your God. You shall not follow the practices of the land of Egypt in which you lived, and you shall not follow...

GONE UP IN SMOKE The Shabbat that falls during the festival of Pesach has long been associated with King Solomon’s Song of Songs which is read during the morning service. This masterpiece, a cleverly written love poem, is a metaphor for the relationship between the Nation...

THE END OF DAYS Malachi was the last of all the prophets. His short book consists of three chapters, the last of which is the haphtarah for Shabbat HaGadol. It is unclear if Malachi is the actual name of a prophet or a title, meaning “My...

“And the leper in whom the mark is, his garments shall be rent and the hair of his head shall be grown out and he shall cover [his mouth and] his upper lip and he shall cry out: Impure! Impure! All the days that the...

OF FINS AND SCALES “This may you eat from everything that is in the water: All things that have fins and scales in the water, in the seas, or in the rivers, those you may eat. All things that do not have fins and scales in...

I AM SO THANKFUL “If he shall offer it for a thanksgiving offering, he shall offer with the feast thanksgiving offering unleavened loaves mixed with oil, unleavened wafers smeared with oil, and loaves of scalded fine flour mixed with oil.” (Vayikrah 7:12) One of the sacrifices described...

THE DAY GOD WEPT “Remember what Amalek did to you, on the way, when you were leaving Egypt, that he happened upon you on the way, and he struck those of you who were hindmost, all the weaklings at your rear, when you were faint and...