Weekly Parsha Thoughts

The beginning of this Parsha speaks about the mitzvah of bikurim.  The Mishna in Bikurim teaches that rich people would bring their bikurim in beautiful silver and gold baskets.  The poor people would bring their bikurim in baskets of arava (willow) wood,... Read More

The Midrash Tanchuma brings that in this parsha we learn about mitzvah goreres mitzvah and avaira goreres avaira.  The beginning of the parsha teaches us about avaira goreres avaira: if a person takes a yefas to’ar he will end up hating her. ... Read More

The passuk says ידינו לא שפכו(ה) את הדם הזה ועינינו לא ראו. Rashi explains: Do you think that the elders of Beis Din are killers that the Torah needs to tell us they aren’t? Rather, it means they didn’t send him off... Read More

The parsha starts off, “See I am giving before you bracha and klalah. The bracha, on condition, that you will listen to the mitzvos of Hashem… that I am commanding you today (as Rashi explains). And the klalah if you don’t listen... Read More

In the second parsha of Shema it says:ושמתם את דברי אלה על לבבכם . The Gemara explains the word ושמתם is made up of two words: סם and תם, remedy and complete. The Torah is compared to סם חיים. Rashi explains it... Read More

The Gemara brings: Rabban Gamliel, Rabi Eliezer ben Azariah, Rabi Yehoshua and Rabi Akiva were going up to Yerushalayim. When they reached the mountain called Tzufim, or were a certain distance from Yerushalayim from which they could see Yerushalayim, they ripped their... Read More