Ki Tavo: When you Come
The nation was instructed to take the firstfruits of all their crops, when they came into the land, and set them in the place where God chose to have His name. These were the...
Foundations in Torah Dr. Dinah Dye
Service of the Heart: Liturgy
This is an in depth teaching on the Hebrew prayer service. It traces the expansion of prayer from the time of Moshe to present day and shows just how the words of our mouth...
Early Morning Blessings
This series looks at the early morning blessings in the Hebrew prayer book starting with “Mah Tovu” which means “How Goodly” and which recalls the tents of Jacob. The prayer speaks of entering into...
Ekev (because)
This week’s portion took me on a major “rabbi trail” that completely caught me by surprise. After a full day of research, which included taking copious amounts of notes, my entire file disappeared when...
V’et’chanan: I Pleaded
The following quote probably best expresses the power of the words of the Shema, “Hear O Israel the Lord our God the Lord is One” (Shema Israel Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad). “Throughout the entire...
Devarim: There aren’t words!
This week’s portion starts off the book of Deuteronomy with a review, by Moshe, of some of the camps and events that took place over the course of Israel’s forty-year history in the wilderness. ...
Masei: Journeys
“These are the journeys of the children of Israel who went forth from the land of Egypt according to their legions under the hand of Moshe and Aharon. Moshe wrote their goings forth according...
Pinchas (Phineas)
“Pinchas turned back my anger when he zealously (kanah) avenged my jealousy (kanah) among them, so I did not destroy the children of Israel in my jealousy (kanah). Give Pinchas my covenant of peace,...
Dew of Heaven
This series explains how the rabbis associate the dew with the resurrection of the dead. It explores the atonement and the resurrection of the dead in a number of stories in Scripture. This includes Elijah...