There are moments when a person suddenly realizes how little is really in his control. We can plan, prepare, and do everything in our power to protect ourselves, yet life […]
Weekly Torah Portion
Insight and themes on the weekly Torah portion (parshah) read aloud in synagogue.
In this week’s Torah reading, the Torah prohibits using witchcraft and superstitious omens to predict the future and influence our decisions. The Torah despises these practices and says as follows: […]
Do Not Be Negatively Influenced The verses in this week’s Torah reading state as follows: “When your God will annihilate the nations to which you are going there (to the […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz The number 40 appears again and again throughout the Torah: Moshe spent three separate periods of 40 days on Mount Sinai; the Jewish […]
What It Means to Be God’s Treasured Nation We are told in this week’s parashah, “You are children to Hashem your God… a treasured nation” (Devarim 14:1–2). We see from […]
When Success Leads to Pride In this week’s Torah reading the Torah warns us of the trap of abundance. The Torah says: “[For] you might eat, be satisfied and build […]
After forty years of experiencing a reality unlike anything the world had ever known, the Jews stood on the threshold of a new chapter. Their miraculous journey through the wilderness […]
A Prayer from the Heart After forty years of wandering in the desert, Klal Yisrael, the Jewish nation, stood on the threshold of entering Eretz Yisrael (Israel). Yet, to Moshe […]
Why Buy Food They Didn’t Need? As Klal Yisrael (the Jewish nation) journeyed toward Eretz Yisrael (Israel), they planned to pass through the land of Edom. Moshe Rabbeinu (our leader […]
When Disappointment Is Part of the Plan In this week’s Torah reading, Moshe (Moses) speaks to the Jewish Nation and recounts their encounter with Sichon (Devarim 2:26–30). Sichon was a […]