Gaining Consistency
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier Why does the Torah juxtapose the story of the מקושש, the person (צלפחד) who violated the Shabbos with the mitzvah of wearing ציצית; the requirement to place “strings” on any four cornered garment? The answer is, “that at that juncture of time, Moshe Rabeinu said to Hashem, ‘It states […]
Parshas Shelach
Print PDF By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum שלח לך אנשים ויתרו את ארץ כנען (פרק יג פסוק ב) Our Parsha begins with the מרגלים (spies) scouting out ארץ ישראל (Israel) before the Jews entered to conquer it. They came back with a terrible report about the land which resulted in the Jews’ losing faith that Hashem […]
Parshas Behaaloscha
Print PDF By Rabbi Shloime Lindenbaum למה נגרע לבלתי הקריב את קרבן ה’ במועדו (פרק ט פסוק ז) When the Jewish nation was preparing to bring the קרבן פסח in the desert, a group approached Moshe and explained that because they were טמא (impure) they weren’t allowed to participate. They felt this was unfair and […]
Does Action Create Will or Does Will Create Action?
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier HaRav Menachem Recanati (1223-1290) who wrote mainly kabbalah, explained that before the “sin” of אדם הראשון, Adam, one’s inner essence and focus was completely positive, though the outside environment contained negative influences. Subsequently after the “sin” the external influences became his essence and the internal self became ideas and […]
Parshas Naso
Print PDF By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum ועשה הכהן אחד לחטאת…מאשר חטא על הנפש (פרק ו פסוק יא) When a person decides to be a נזיר they are not allowed to drink wine, cut their hair, or become impureby coming into contact with a dead person. If there is an uncontrollable situation in which they becomeimpure […]
The Nazir and “The Street”
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier Chazal explain the juxtaposition of the laws of the סוטה, Sotah – a woman who has not acted in a moral manner – to the laws of the נזיר, Nazarite in the following manner:A married woman who had been forewarned not to seclude herself with another man and did […]
The Essence of Torah: Chessed
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier The Medrash Rus, רות רבה ב:טו, says, “אמר רב זעירא, (this מגילה scroll has no mention of what is prohibited, what is permitted…) it is written to teach us the ‘great reward for those who are involved in kindness.’”Another Medrash, ילקוט רות תקצ”ד, teaches: we read מגילת רות on […]
Parshas Bamidbar
Print PDF By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum וידבר ה’ אל משה…באחד לחדש השני בשנה השנית…שאו את ראש וכו’ (פרק א פסוק א-ב) Sefer Bamidbar opens in the second year of Bnai Yisroel’s journey in the desert with a command from Hashem to count the Jewish nation. In the continuing פסוקים it becomes clear that the purpose […]
The Vital Importance of Structure
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier The רמב”ם, Maimonides, in הלכות כלי מקדש, Laws of the Vessels of the Sanctuary, states the following: “The Levites’ service was to guard the Temple. Among the Levites, there were gate-keepers who would open the gates of the Temple and close its doors. And there were singers who would […]
Parshas Behar-Bechukosai
Print PDF By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum כי לי בני ישראל עבדים עבדי הם אשר הוצאתי אותם מארץ מצרים (פרק כה פסוק נה At the end of the laws describing the freedom of a Jewish slave, the Torah makes the point that the Jewsare Hashem’s servants that he redeemed from Egypt. The Torah seems to be […]