Previous Posts

ראה בנים אתם

If the Torah commands us to love it must be that the natural innate thing is for us to love our heavenly Father.

Seth Jacobs

Aug 164 min read

Comfort In Hope

That is the vision of Vaetchanan. To keep yearning. To keep believing. To keep looking beyond what our eyes immediately see. To refuse despair, even when hope feels irrational.

Ian Schwartz

Jul 263 min read

Greatness is for Everyone

People become great because they take what they have and work exceptionally hard. ... If an individual surrounds himself with great people, he will look to see what those great people did to succeed and implement those lessons into his own life.

Zachary Israeli

Jul 263 min read

A Curious Conclusion

Parashat Matot-Masei not only marks the end of Bamidbar but also that of the mainstream, standard Torah. Next week, we will begin Devarim, the fifth book of the Pentateuch and one different in character and nature. Devarim differs from the previous parts, both in terms of the perspective (Moshe’s first person, vs Hashem’s third person), content (Mishne Torah vs the OG), and perhaps authorship (Moshe Rabbeinu with God’s command [see Abarbanel] vs God Himself). As such, it wou

Eric Lenefsky

Jul 84 min read

Chukas: Missing the Most Important Word

By Tuvia Goldstein “We use our words and we don’t hit!” Those words, oft-cited by my mother in a house full of boys, are often the classic message derived from משה’s striking the rock and his subsequent punishment. This idea comes from none other than רש''י, who explains that משה’s great sin was in not abiding ה'’s directive of ודברתם אל הסלע. Since משה hit the rock instead, he and אהרן were punished, barring them from entering א"י. But is that really why they were punished?

Tuvia Goldstein

Jun 253 min read

Vayeitzei: The Power of Never Feeling Done

I wanted to look at the name יוסף itself and see what the essence of this name is. If you look at the pesukim where Rachel Names Yosef, it says. ותהר ותלד בן ותאמר אסף אלקים את־חרפתי She conceived and bore a son, and said, “God has taken away my disgrace.” ותקרא את־שמו יוסף לאמר יסף ה׳ לי בן אחר So she named him Joseph, saying, “May Hashem add another son for me.” ויהי כאשר ילדה רחל את־יוסף ויאמר יעקב אל־לבן שלחני ואלכה אל־מקומי ולארצי After Rachel had borne Joseph, Jacob sai

Zachary Fish

Nov 28, 20255 min read

Chayei Sarah: Why Avraham’s Real Challenge Was Losing Sarah

By Mordy Blau When looking through the past couple of parshiot, I noticed something very interesting. Whenever Avraham is going on his journey to a new location, the Torah emphasizes that he went with Sarah, his wife. We see this first at the end of Lech Lecha when Avraham leaves for Ur Kasdim. Terach took Avraham, Lot, and Sarah—אשת אברם. וַיִּקַּ֨ח תֶּ֜רַח אֶת־אַבְרָ֣ם בְּנ֗וֹ וְאֶת־ל֤וֹט בֶּן־הָרָן֙ בֶּן־בְּנ֔וֹ וְאֵת֙ שָׂרַ֣י כַּלָּת֔וֹ אֵ֖שֶׁת אַבְרָ֣ם בְּנ֑וֹ וַיֵּצְא֨ו

Mordy Blau

Nov 14, 20253 min read

Noach: Noach’s Hesitation; Reflecting on Our Avodat Hashem

By Mordy Blau When was the last time you took a moment to reflect on your avodat Hashem? How strong is your connection to Hashem, and how is it reflected in your life? By learning a powerful message from Parshat Noach, I believe we can begin to answer these questions. The Torah writes: "וַיָּבֹא נֹחַ וּבָנָיו וְאִשְׁתּוֹ וּנְשֵׁי־בָנָיו אִתּוֹ אֶל־הַתֵּבָה מִפְּנֵי מֵי הַמַּבּוּל” (בראשית ז':ז'). At first glance, the words “מִפְּנֵי מֵי הַמַּבּוּל” seem unnecessary. Hashem ha

Mordy Blau

Oct 24, 20253 min read

Netzavim: Standing Together, Rising Higher

By Ian Schwartz In this weeks parsha Nitzavim we have an extremely unique description of the jewish people אַתֶּ֨ם נִצָּבִ֤ים הַיּוֹם֙ כֻּלְּכֶ֔ם לִפְנֵ֖י יְהֹוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֑ם רָאשֵׁיכֶ֣ם שִׁבְטֵיכֶ֗ם זִקְנֵיכֶם֙ וְשֹׁ֣טְרֵיכֶ֔ם כֹּ֖ל אִ֥ישׁ יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ טַפְּכֶ֣ם נְשֵׁיכֶ֔ם וְגֵ֣רְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁ֖ר בְּקֶ֣רֶב מַחֲנֶ֑יךָ מֵחֹטֵ֣ב עֵצֶ֔יךָ עַ֖ד שֹׁאֵ֥ב מֵימֶֽיךָ׃ This is an extremely novel way of describing the jewish people, firstly it mentions all members of society from the highes

Ian Schwartz

Sep 19, 20252 min read