Tetzaveh & Purim Unmasked
This week’s Divrei Torah is a double-hitter, both on Parshas Titzaveh and Purim. Enjoy!
This week’s Divrei Torah is a double-hitter, both on Parshas Titzaveh and Purim. Enjoy!
What is Shovavim שובבים? Shovavim is an acronym for a set of parshios in which the Torah is telling us about the increasing levels of kedusha of klal yisroel. The parshios are: ש Shemos, ו Vaera, ב Bo, ב Bishalach, י Yisro, מ Mishpatim.
Yisro, the minister of Midian, the father-in-law of Moshe, heard everything that G-d did to Moshe and to Israel, His people – that HaShem had taken Israel out of Egypt. Yisro, the father-in-law of Moshe, took Zipporah, the wife of Moshe, after she had been sent away; and her two sons: of whom the name…
In the parsha, klal yisroel sing Shirah to HaShem regarding their redemption from mitzrayim, even though they were still in the midst of escaping their oppression.
This week we’re going to look at two aspects of Emunah.
Last week we examined the parsha and how Yaakov Avinu is the archetype of emunah. In our discussion, a difficulty was raised regarding Yaakov. When Yaakov encounters Paro, Paro asks about his age. Yaakov tells him the years of his life were few and difficult. The simple reading of the text leads us to the…
When discussing Emunah, Tefillah, and the Parsha, really this week is one of the best times to do it. In the sidra, Vayechi, we see the shevatim are given their brachos from Yaakov Avinu. Every Friday night a father recalls the brachos given to Menashe and Efraim. There’s so much here to cover.
There are times in history when we repent out of fear, and there are times when we repent out of love. We learn these attributes from the Avos. The Bobover Ruv brings a Midrash to teach us this concept…
In Parshas Toldos, Yaakov Avinu shows great hesitancy at the ruse of his mother to dress up as his brother to receive the Brachos. The Medrash teaches that Yaakov feared to appear like one who worshipped Avodah Zara.
Emunah is the cornerstone of observance and survival within Yiddishkeit. We have mitzvos to guide our observance, but without real emunah, we lack the necessary relationship with HaShem to bring our mitzvos to life. We, in essence, according to the kabbalists, create an angel that can do good but lacks a voice. Our kevanah is…
What is a whole year? Every year, when we read the parsha of Chayei Sarah, I review the Rashi about the years of Sarah’s life.
Rabbi Akiva Bruck writes, in his parsha sefer From Behind the Curtain on Parsha Vayeira, “[o]ne of the most fundamental ideas which the Chassidic masters wished to impart is that we all have the ability and the obligation to find the spiritual within the physical — to pull away the masks clothing this physical world…