Appreciating Nature
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier In פרק כ“ד:ס“ג , chapter 24 verse 63 it states: “ ויצא יצחק לשוח בשדה “ . The Talmud ברכות כו:י translates it to mean that יצחק , our patriarch Isaac went to pray ( שיח , to speak). רבינו בחיי , Rabbeinu Bachya (1255-1340) writes that the literal […]
Parshas Chayei Sara
Print PDF By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum ויהיו חיי שרה וכו’ (פרק כג פסוק א) The Parsha begins with the death of Sarah and Avraham’s subsequent search for a proper gravesite forhis late wife. Rabbeinu Yonah deems this to be the tenth and final test in which Hashem testedAvraham. He explains that although Avraham was promised […]
Parshas Vayeira
Print PDF By: Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum לושי ועשי עוגות…ויקח חמאה וחלב ובן הבקר (פרק יח פסוק ו-ח) When the מלאכים came to visit אברהם he hastily prepared a lavish meal in their honor. While heprepared the meat, he instructed שרה to ready the bread. Strangely, though, when he served the food,the bread is omitted. The […]
Avrohom Avinu: Paragon of Chessed
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier The Medrash states for 2,448 years the world existed due to the חסד, selfless dedication to all of אברהם אבינו, our patriarch Abraham, who was the paragon of kindness and taught the world by example. Due to this dynamic, when he was commanded by Hashem to circumcise himself, he […]
Parshas Lech Lecha
Print PDF By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum בט נא השמימה וספר הכוכבים אם תוכל לספור…כה יהיה זרעך (פרק טו פסוק ה) Hashem tells Avraham to look up at the stars and attempt to count them. He then tells him, just as you cannot count the stars, so will be your children, unable to be counted. R’ […]
Avrohom Avinu’s Legacy
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier, Rosh Kollel Every day in תפלת שחרית we quote the פסוק from נחמיה: “ומצאת את לבבו נאמן לפניך, And You (Hashem) found his (Avrohom Avinu’s) heart faithful to You.” HaRav Yeruchem Levovitz defines this trait of אברהם אבינו, our patriarch Avrohom as a “בר סמכא”, a person that one […]
Parshas Noach
By Rabbi Shloime Lindenbaum Print PDF אלה תולדות נח נח איש צדיק (פרק ו פסוק ט) ויחל נח איש האדמה (פרק ט פסוק כ) Our Parsha begins with referring to Noach as a איש צדיק – a righteous man, and towards the enddescribes him as being a איש האדמה – a man of the earth. […]
Animal Rights
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier, Rosh Kollel In בראשית א’:כט-ל, Genesis Chapter 1:29-30, it states: Hashem said, “I have given you (humankind) all herbage yielding fruit… And to every beast… and bird… and all that moves on the earth… every green herb for food.” The Ramban teaches, “Hashem did not permit Adam and his […]
Sukkos: A Time of Rejoicing and Awe
PRINT PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier One of the most abrupt changes in the spirit of the Jewish calendar is the change of mood from solemnity upon ending Yom Kippur to joy when entering the Succos Festival. Succos, according to the Torah, is the time of one’s greatest rejoicing. Every day is spent in a […]
Parshas Vayelech
Print PDF Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum למען ספות הרוה את הצמאה (פרק כט פסוק יח) The Torah condemns a person who feels confident ignoring Hashem’s directives and following their own desires and whims. The פסוק ends off with an interesting phrase which the Ramban explains to mean, literally, “this will add the satisfied one with the […]