From the Rabbi's Desk

THE GIVING AND RECEIVING OF THE LAW

In a little town near Safed there lived an elderly couple. The husband was a farmer and he tilled, plowed and worked on the soil the whole year. He was too poor to employ someone else to help him with his hard work, and so he carried on himself, doing all that was necessary, and there was always a lot to be done on the farm.

One day a letter arrived for him, but as his eyes had grown weak...Read more...

This week’s second Torah portion, Behukotai, begins Eem Bechukotai - "If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments..." What follows is a list of blessings that we will receive for following the mitzvot.
 
However, this parasha is also known for its list of TOKCHACHOT - curses, what will befall us if we do not follow God's ways. I will lay your cities in ruin and make your sanctuaries desolate. And you I will...Read more...

There are two terms that appear in this week's Torah reading (Perashat Emor) that every single Jew should know.

The two terms appear together in one sentence at the end of chapter twenty-two of Vayika. The first one is: “vilo tichalelu et shem kodshi” - you shall not desecrate My holy Name, and the other which appears in the same sentence is: “vinikdashti bitoch biney Yisrael” - so that I may be sanctified in the midst
of...Read more...

This is the week when we read the commandment that is the central commandment in the Torah: “V’ahavta lireacha kamocha” - thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. It is in the second perasha which we will read on Shabbat.

I have no doubt that this commandment is by far the most difficult commandment in the Torah to keep. Kashrut is an easy commandment. All it takes is some discipline and some self-control. Shabbat is an easy...Read more...

YOM HAATZMAUT
THE 70th YEAR OF
ISRAEL INDEPENDENCE

Many people think that Jewish Law does not change. That is not true. As situations change, Jewish Law changes. I am going to prove this to you by looking at two legal decisions. One comes from the second century; the other comes from our own time.

The first passage comes from the Talmud, from Masechet Shabbat. The Sages are discussing the question of what are you...Read more...