torah

“And he did not recognize him because his hands were as hairy as Esav’s, and he blessed him.” (Bereshith 27:23) Immediately after blessing Yaakov, Yitzchak… Read More »False Accusations

Birkas Kohanim is a close encounter with Hashem. Our Sages tell us that Hashem participates in the blessing, and that His Presence rests on the… Read More »Complete Concentration

In the “Shema”, a prayer repeated twice a day, the Torah tells us to serve G-d “with all your heart “(Deuterotomy 6:5). This phrase is… Read More »In the Presence of the Divine: Modalities of Jewish Prayer

One should not be a person of levity and mockery (‘s’chok v’hatail’), nor sad and somber, but cheeful (‘samai’ach’). So too did the Sages say,… Read More »Chapter 2, Law 7(a) – Torah through Laughter

The sadness still lingers in our hearts. Just days ago, we fasted and grieved over the destruction of Jerusalem. We read the lurid accounts in… Read More »A Father’s Love

A recurring theme delineated in last week’s portion and reiterated in this week’s portion is the inherent responsibility of a father to teach Torah to… Read More »Intergenerational Dialogue

Yeshaya 49:14 This week’s haftorah continues the theme of comfort and presents the strong feelings of the Jewish people in exile. The prophet Yeshaya captures… Read More »Haftorah Commentary Parshas Eikev

Friday Night THE PARSHA STARTS of with the verse: And it will be, because you will—aikev—listen to these judgments and keep and perform them… (Devarim… Read More »I Protest!

In this week’s portion, the Torah seemingly indicates that there is a simple formula for Jewish life and success while living in the land of… Read More »Not in This World

And it will be, because you will heed these ordinances and keep them and perform, that HASHEM, your G-d, will keep for you the covenant… Read More »The Prelude to All That is Good