Falsehood, the Source of all Mistakes
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier In תהלים פ״ה:יא-יב, Psalms 85:11-12, it states: ״חסד ואמת נפגשו, צדק ושלום נשקו: אמת מארץ תצמח וצדק משמים נשקץ.״ “When loving-kindness and truth have met together (then) righteousness and peace have kissed each other: Truth must spring from earth and righteousness still looks down from Heaven.”Rashi explains that to […]
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 […]
It’s Solely G-d’s World
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier The episode of the מרגלים, the “spies” sent by משה רבינו to scout the land of present-day Israel is fraught with many perplexing questions.They are introduced by the Torah as, “כולם אנשים ראשי בני ישראל המה” (יג:ג)ע, “they are all distinguished people, the leaders of the Jewish people, they […]
Parshas Behaalosecha
Print PDF By Rabbi Shloimie 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 […]
The Path to Achievement
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier Prior to the giving of the Torah to Klal Yisroel at Mt. Sinai, all those that had an infirmity, i.e. lame, deaf, blind, were miraculously healed by the Creator. There is a discussion in the Medrash at what point was the gift taken away; was it at the incident […]
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 […]
Life Lessons from the Nazir
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier In this week’s portion, we are introduced to the נזיר, Nazirite, a person who dedicates themselves to elevating their spiritual sensitivity and steadfastness. Chazal teach us that the Torah equates this period of one’s life to the lofty status of the כהן גדול, the High Priest!The גמרא נדרים ט’י, […]
The Essence of Torah: Chesed | Shavuos
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 […]
Parshas Bamidbar
Print PDF By Rabbi Shloimie Lindenbaum אך את מטה לוי לא תפקד וגו’ בתוך בני ישראל (פרק א פסוק מט) Hashem commands Moshe to count the entire Jewish nation but specifies that Levi should have their own separate counting. This is reiterated two more times, emphasizing that the Levites should not be included in […]
Orderliness
Print PDF By Rabbi Naftoly Bier The Torah in this week’s portion details at great length the census of the Jewish people; how many were in each tribe. In the second chapter, the Torah commands how the Jewish people encamped around the משכן, Tabernacle. There were four divisions in each direction, comprising of three […]