Every Friday night we re-enact one of the most moving scenes in the book of Bereishit. Jacob, reunited with Joseph, is ill. Joseph comes to visit him, bring bringing with him his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim. Jacob, with deep emotion, says: “I never expected to see you again, and now God has shown me your children as well.” Gen….
…they walled with defensive walls? And the spies come back and they say the cities are betzurut [fortified], surrounded by very high walls. In Devarim, when Moshe retells the story, he even says they said the walls reached to heaven. And the spies concluded that if the cities are strong the people are strong. And that was the mistake. As Rashi says…
…so as to earn our trust. That was what made Moses the great leader Bilaam might have been but never was. Always be loyal to the people you lead. [1] Sifre Devarim, 357. [2] Tanna devei Eliyahu Rabbah 28; see also Bamidbar Rabbah 14:20; Brachot 7a; Avodah Zarah 4a. [3] Mishnah Sanhedrin 10:2. [4] Sanhedrin 105a Can a bad person be a good leader, or…
…Reb Chayyim of Brisk. The quality,’ he said, ‘I won’t talk about. But the quantity is greater.’ And I came away understanding what Chazal meant when they said ‘Nittenah Torah bishloshah devarim: be’esh, bemayim uvemidbar’ – the Torah was given with three things, with fire, With water and in the wilderness. In the 1940s America was only a Jewish wilderness….
…omed hayom, (Devarim 29:14) those who are with us today and Jews everywhere, in Israel and throughout the world, a year of health, a year of blessing, and above all, a year of peace, amen. Congregation: Amen. Rabbi Sacks: Friends, Rabbi Yisroel Salanter once said, “When I was young, I wanted to change the world, and I tried, but the…
…Bavli, Shabbat 75a Midrash Eicha Rabbah 2:13 Torah is Israel’s Gift Devarim 4:8 Tehillim 147:19-20 Core Questions What can we learn about universal chochmah from these sources? What can we learn about Torah wisdom from these sources? How do they differ? Do we need both? Texts from the writings of Rabbi Sacks on Science and Religion The Universal and the…
…the concept of Shabbat? Shabbat and the Manna Shemot 16:22-30 Core Questions What can we learn about Shabbat from here? How does this story introduce us to the faith required to observe Shabbat? How does this connect to our lives today? Shabbat in the Ten Commandments Shemot 20:8-11 Devarim 5:12-15 Core Questions What are the differences between the two versions?…
…(Chullin 139b) In the Dead Sea Scrolls, they found every other book of Tanach except Esther because it was the last to be canonised. They said, in the words, Anochi haster astir panai – “I will hide my face on that day.” (Devarim 31:18). Hakadosh Baruch Hu’s most fearful warning was, there will come a time when there will be…
Koren Publishers have launched a new Magerman edition of the Koren Tanach featuring, for the first time, the complete translation of Chumash by Rabbi Sacks zt”l. You can order your copy here and view the opening pages below. Peek Inside…
In Devarim, Moses gave the people their Why. They are God’s people, the nation on whom He has set his love, the people He rescued from slavery and gave, in the form of the commandments, the constitution of liberty. They may be small but they are unique. They are the people who, in themselves, testify to something beyond themselves. They…