Weekly Parsha Thoughts

The Gemara states that the Torah starts with chesed and ends with chesed. It starts with the chesed of Hashem clothing Adam and Chavah with כתנות עור and ends with the chesed of Hashem burying Moshe Rabeinu. We know that Hashem’s creating... Read More

The Rama brings that on Simchas Torah we make a mishteh, a seudah, in honor of finishing the Torah. One source for this is from a Midrash on Shir HaShirim which states: Hashem came to Shlomo HaMelech in Giveon in a dream... Read More

The pessukim state, “בסוכות תשבו שבעת ימים…למען ידעו דורותיכם כי בסוכות הושבתי את בני ישראל, in Sukkos you shall dwell for seven days…in order for your generations to know that I caused the Bnei Yisrael to dwell in Sukkos.” The Gemara writes... Read More

The Rama writes that one should not be cruel to not forgive someone unless he intends for the benefit of the one who seeks forgiveness. For example, if you will forgive him right away, he will then continue on with his habit... Read More

This year Rosh Hashanah falls out on Shabbos and Sunday. We all know that on Shabbos we do not blow the Shofar. The Gemara writes the reason is because Chazal were afraid that one might carry the Shofar four amos in a... Read More

The Gemara writes, four things rip up a bad decree against a person: tzedakah, tefilla…. The Maharsha points out that these are hinted at in the tefilos of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur: “ותשובה ותפלה וצדקה מעבירין את רע הגזירה.” The Yerushalmi... Read More