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 for his late wife. Rabbeinu Yonah deems this to be the tenth and final test in which Hashem tested Avraham. He explains that although Avraham […]
The Twosome of Greatness
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier We learn in this week’s Parsha that אברהם אבינו, our patriarch Avrohom, acquired a burial place for his deceased wife from the בני חת, the children of Heth. It was מערת המכפלה, the cave of Machpelah (the double cave), (where couples were buried). Avrohom Avinu specifically desired this place […]
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 he prepared the meat, he instructed שרה to ready the bread. Strangely, though, when he served the food, the bread is […]
Avraham’s Intercession with G-d Regarding Sodom
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier In פרק יח:יז, Chapter 18:17, the Torah states “וה’ אמר המכסה אני מאברהם אשר אני עושה” “And Hashem said ‘Shall I conceal from Avraham what I intend to do?’” Rashi explains, is it possible that I will destroy Sodom without his knowledge? I (Hashem) gave him this land, and […]
The Potency of Bracha
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier On ליל שבת, Friday evening parents and grandparents bless their dear children and grandchildren. For a male the prefix used is ישמך אלוקים כאפרים וכמנשה. May Hashem make you like Ephraim and Menashe, whereas for a female the prefix used is the ד’ אמהות, may Hashem make you like […]
Parshas Lech-Lecha
Print PDF By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum וישמע אברהם כי נשבה אחיו וירק את חניכיו וכו’ (פרק יד פסוק יד) Our פרשה details the events of a tremendous war between five nations who rebelled against the four nations that until then had ruled them. One of the rebelling nations was סדם, Sodom, where לוט, Lot, the […]
Parshas Noach
Print PDF By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum נח איש צדיק תמים היה בדורותיו (פרק ו פסוק ט) The Torah introduces us to Noach by saying that he was a righteous man and perfect in his generation. Rashi says that the פסוק stresses that he was righteous in his generation either to praise Noach or to point […]
A War Against G-d
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier From the onset of the creation of אדם וחוה, Adam and Eve, the human race was prohibited from eating an animal (שטת רש”י ורמב”ן) (or killing an animal שטתת תוס’ סנהדרין נו). Immediately after the מבול, ‘Noah’s Flood’, all the animals were permitted to be eaten. The רמב”ן, Nachmanides, […]
Parshas Bereishis
Print PDF By Rabbi Shimmy Sternfield בראשית ברא אלוקים את השמים ואת הארץ (פרק א’, פסוק א) In the beginning of Hashem’s creating the heavens and the earth… The מִשנְׁהָ in פ רְִּקיֵ אָבוֹת states, “The world was created by ten utterances of Hashem. What does that teach us? Could it not have been created […]
Reflections
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier The most used word describing סוכות, Sukkot, is “אסיף”, “gathering”. In פ’ משפטים, כי תצא we are introduced to the “חג”, festival of “האסיף”, “the gathering of the harvest”. in פ’ אמור, the Torah describes the festival as חג הסוכות, the time period when we celebrate by living in […]
