Parasha Blog

444 posts

RDC

Parshat Vaetchanan

By Rabbi David Cohen: The Midrash (Rabbah 87:10) relates the following dialogue between Moshe and Hashem. Hashem said to Moshe, “You are grabbing the rope from both ends. (In other words, you cannot go forward, since you are pulling from both sides.) If you want to fulfill, ‘Let me now […]

RYS

Tisha b’Av

By Rabbi Yosef Shemtov: We can surely say Tisha b’Av is the saddest day of the year. It is the day that both the first and second Beit Hamikdash (temple) were destroyed. We need to understand that the temple was not just a building where B’nei Israel brought sacrifices, but […]

Parshat Mattot Masei

By Rabbi Aharon Seleh: The Medrash on this week’s Parsha asks: Hashem had commanded Moshe to go fight with Midian, how come Moshe sent others to fight but didn’t go himself? The Medrash answers since Moshe grew up in Midian, he had to show הכרת הטוב, appreciation. The answer is […]

RDC

Parashat Balak

By Rabbi David Cohen: In Bilaam’s dialogue with Hashem, he related that Balak, king of Moav, had petitioned him to curse the Jewish people. The word Bilaam used for curse is kavah, imprecate, which is a stronger, more emphatic, tone of curse. Rashi observes that kavah is stronger than arah, […]

Parshat Chukat

By Rabbi Aharon Seleh: In this week’s Parsha, the passuk says “This is the Torah, a man who dies in a tent.” The Gemara in Brachot quotes Rish Lakish who expounds this passuk to mean the words of Torah are not retained except by one who “kills” himself over the […]