torah

This class is dedicated by Ephraim Sobol in loving memory of his father, Shlomo Mordechai ben Yaakov a”h. The Mitzvah: The commandment of p’ru u’revu,… Read More »Procreation: Creating Worlds

“…’Come, let us make bricks and burn them in fire.’ And the brick served them as stone, and the lime served them as mortar.” (11:3)… Read More »People In Stone Houses Shouldn’t Cast Bricks

Yeshaya 54 This week’s haftorah projects the glorious future of the Jewish people and describes the splendor of Jerusalem in breathtaking dimensions. In the midst… Read More »Haftorah Commentary Parshas Noach

* This Week’s RRR (Relevant Religious Reference): “If I’m not for myself, who will be for me? And if I’m (only) for myself, what am… Read More »“Live & Let Live?”

Noach lived through trying times to say the least. He survived not only a generation of spiritual chaos, but physical annihilation as well. However, Hashem… Read More »The Rainmaker

The concluding portion of this week’s Torah reading deals with the society that built the great Tower of Babel, and the beginning of the lifetime,… Read More »This Language Has Only a Few Words

Noach, the man of the earth, vayechel/began by planting a vineyard[2] We are inclined to see this narrative as damning to Noach’s reputation. Rashi, though,… Read More »Noach’s Humility

Hashem allows us certain moments when we can see clearly His great love for Klal Yisrael. These auspicious times come without any particular warning, and… Read More »Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Six

One of the most famous disputes cited in the Talmud is between Rabbi Eliezer and Rabbi Yehoshua and relates to the halachic status of the… Read More »Uninterrupted Prayer

The dove returned to him at eventide, and behold it had plucked an olive leaf in its mouth; so Noah knew that the water had… Read More »Chayn and Redemption