Tzav - Orthodox

Leviticus 6:1−8:36

By Rabbi Lawrence S. Zierler, provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox Congregations for MyJewishLearning.com

The Obligation To Give Thanks

The thanksgiving offering teaches us the importance of thanking God as a communal sharing of faith and appreciation.

Much can be learned, in terms of social graces and religious etiquette from the korban todah, the thanksgiving offering detailed in this week’s parshah. Rashi, basing himself on the Talmud, lists the four who bring a todah: one who returns from travel at sea; one who returns from a journey in the wilderness; one who is released from prison; and one who recovers from an illness.

This comment of Rashi requires an explanation. We know that bringing a thanksgiving offering is not obligatory; it is a voluntary heartfelt gesture. The priests and the courts could never demand that someone bring a todah.

How can Rashi then imply that specific cases require one to offer an animal as evidence of his thanks?

Continue reading. 

Follow us on   

Shabbat Zachor; Vayikra - Orthodox

Leviticus 1:1−5:26

By Rabbi Steven Weil, provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox Congregations for MyJewishLearning.com

The Role Of Sacrifices

Sacrifices allow us to reach out to God using our physical and emotional drives.

The theme of Sefer Vayikra (The Book of Leviticus) is korbanos, the animal sacrifices brought in the Tabernacle and, later, in the Temple.

The Rambam (Maimonides), in his Guide to the Perplexed, writes, “The purpose of sacrifices being incorporated into the Divine service of the Jewish people was to accommodate the transition of the people going from the extreme falsehood of idol worship to the extreme truth of worshipping one true God.

Continue reading.

Follow us on   

Pekudei - Orthodox

Exodus 38:21-40:38

Don’t Sit: Walk

This week's Torah commentary by Rabbi Jonathan Sacks may be read as a PDF or listened to as an audio file.

Follow us on   

Shabbat Shekalim: Vayakhel - Orthodox

Exodus 35:1–38:20

By Rabbi Aaron Cohen, provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox Congregations for MyJewishLearning.com

The Tabernacle and Shabbat’s Shared Message

Holiness is not limited to one sphere.

Our sages note the juxtaposition of Shabbat and the Mishkan (Tabernacle) at the beginning of Parshat Vayakhel.

The Mishkan, the “resting place” of the Shechinah (divine presence), was built to serve as the focal point of religious life for the Jewish nation. But therein lay a latent danger — the possibility that the Jewish people would contrast the pristine spiritual world of the Mishkan with the mundane society at large and mistakenly perceive that any significant kedushah (sanctity), any closeness to God, could be achieved only within the confines of the Mishkan.

Such a perspective, however, undermines the very essence of the Mishkan’s message: “veshachanti betocham — and I [God] will dwell among them.” Ultimately, God desires not an oasis of kedushah (holiness), but a spiritual wellspring that quenches the thirst of a Jew for closeness to God, influencing, inspiring, and elevating all those encamped around it — not just inside it. God wishes to dwell among us.

Continue reading.

Follow us on   

Ki Tissa - Orthodox

Exodus 30:11-34:35

By Rabbi Aaron D. Mehlman, provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox Congregations for MyJewishLearning.com

Veiling And Unveiling

Moses was sensitive to the needs of the people, changing his appearance in order to enhance their ability to communicate with him.

When Moses returns from Mount Sinai after forty days and nights, he descends with more than just the second set of luchos (tablets). Moses brings the very Shechinah (divine presence) with him as well.

The Torah teaches that after receiving the Law, Moses’ face shone. The Daas Zekeinim Mibaalei Tosafos (collection of comments by the Tosafists of the 12th and 13th centuries in France and Germany) explains that the luminosity of Moses face was, in fact, the light of the Shechinah. Hashem transferred the splendor of His presence to Moses in order to assure a post-golden-calf Klal Yisrael (people of Israel) that no other leader was as worthy as Moses. Subsequently, they unanimously received him as their leader.

Continue reading.

Follow us on   

Tetzaveh - Orthodox

Exodus 27:20-30:10

By Rabbi Avraham Fischer, provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox Congregations for MyJewishLearning.com

Moses’s Absence

Parashat Tetzaveh foreshadows the connection the Children of Israel will have with God after the death of Moses.

Hashem [God] continues His instructions for the building of the Mishkan (Tabernacle), which will bring the people of Israel into intimate, uninterrupted conjunction with Him.

It is a well-known observation that, from the beginning of Exodus until the beginning of Deuteronomy, there is not a Parashah in which Moses is not mentioned, except for Parashat Tetzaveh, which is always read close to the seventh day of Adar, the anniversary of Moses’s death.

Avoiding His Name

Continue reading.

Follow us on   

Terumah

Exodus 25:1-27:19

On The Way To Sanctity

The sanctification process of materials for the Tabernacle and Temple teaches us that everything has the potential to be used for holiness.

By Rabbi Avraham Fischer, provided by the Orthodox Union, the central coordinating agency for North American Orthodox Congregations for MyJewishLearning.com

The purpose of the Exodus was always more than the liberation of the Hebrew slaves; it was the establishment of a physical existence in which Hashem would reign. And, at the center of that existence, would be the Mishkan (Tabernacle), the portable sanctuary:

And they shall make Me a Sanctuary, that I may dwell among them (Exodus 25:8).The establishment of the Mishkan will make it possible for Hashem’s Presence to dwell in the midst of the people.

Every aspect of the Mishkan teaches us how to serve Hashem.

How to Serve Hashem

Continue reading.

Follow us on