Teshuva: Creating a New Perspective
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier The גמרה יומה פ”ו, Talmud Tractate Yuma 68b with regard to תשובה, repentance asks: What are the circumstances that demonstrate that one had completely and honestly repented? רב יהודה taught, if one has the opportunity to sin with the same woman (who he had sinned with previously) at the same […]
Parshas Ki Savo
Print PDF By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum לא עברתי ממצותיך ולא שכחתי (פרק כו פסוק יג) After a person distributes all their tithes-תרו”מ) תרומה ומעשרות) they must come to the בית המקדש in the third year of the שמיטה cycle to proclaim וידוי מעשרות- “the confession of the tithes.” In this established text the person announces […]
Bikurim: Capturing the Moment
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier The ספר החינוך, מצוה תר”ו, mitzva 606, teaches that “since a man arouses his thoughts and draws the truth in his heart with the power of the words of one’s mouth. Therefore, when one is the beneficiary of one’s benefactors- that He blessed hi, and his land to bear […]
Parshas Ki Seitzei
Print PDF By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum ובכתה את אביה ואת אמה ירח ימים (פרק כא פסוק יג) The Parsha begins with the story of the יפת תואר- the gentile woman that a man captured in war. The הלכה is that she must don ugly clothes and live in the man’s house for a month. There […]
Teshuva: A Manifestation of One’s Inner Greatness
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier The month of אלול is an acronym for “אני לדודי ודודי לי”, “I am for my beloved and my beloved is for Me.” חז”ל are teaching us that it is a propitious time, that Hashem’s ‘fatherly’ connection to His children, כלל ישראל, can be acutely felt and experienced due […]
Parshas Shoftim
Print PDF By Rabbi Shimmy Sternfield א־תִזְבַּח֩ לַיהֹוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֶ֜יךָ שׁ֣וֹר וָשֶׂ֗ה אֲשֶׁ֨ר יִהְיֶ֥ה בוֹ֙ מ֔וּם כֹּ֖ל דָּבָ֣ר רָ֑ע כִּ֧י תוֹעֲבַ֛ת יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ הֽוּא (יז,א)׃ “Do not slaughter to Hashem, your G-d, an ox or sheep that has a blemish, any bad thing.” This week’s פָּרָשָׁה opens with several prohibitions that apply to judges: “Do not […]
Ennobling Each Other
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier In דברים כ:ה-ח , Deuteronomy 20:5-8, the Torah enumerates those that are disqualified from entering into battle. They are 1) one that built a new house and has not inaugurated it, 2) one who planted a vineyard and has not redeemed it. 3) one who has betrothed a woman […]
Parshas Re’eh
Print PDF By Rabbi Shimmy Sternfield ( עַשֵּׂ֣ר תְּעַשֵּׂ֔ר אֵ֖ת כׇּל־תְּבוּאַ֣ת זַרְעֶ֑ךָ) (פרק י”ד, פסוק כ”ב) “You shall tithe the entire crop of your planting.” When introducing the requirement for one to tithe one’s crops, the Torah uses a “double expression” of עַשֵּׂר תְּעַשֵּׂר” (literally, “Tithe, you shall tithe”). The חֲתַם סוֹפֵר cites two comments […]
Hashem’s Beloved Family
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier In דברים, י“ד:א , Deuteronomy 14:1, it states, “You are children of Hashem, your G-d, you shall not cut yourselves, nor make a bald patch between your eyes for the dead.” The Torah prohibits one to make a permanent scar on oneself due to one’s feeling of loneliness and […]
Parshas Eikev
By Rabbi Shimmy Sternfield Print PDF וְהיָהָ עקֵֶב תִּשְׁמְעוּן אֵת הַמִּשְׁפָּטִים הָאלֵהֶּ וּשְׁמַרְתֶּם וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אתָֹם” (פרק ז’, פסוק י”ב) “It shall be, in exchange for that which you will listen to these laws, and you will guard and keep them…” This week’s פָּרָשָׁה begins with a long list of blessings that Hashem promises us, “In […]