Parshat Terumah In-Depth “Speak to the children of Israel, that they should take to Me a terumah (“uplifting”) (Exodus 25:2) Every created entity has a spark of G‑dliness within it, a pinpoint of divinity that constitutes its “soul,” its spiritual…
Parshat Mishpatim In-Depth “And these are the laws which you shall set before them (Exodus 21:1) The phrase “and these” (ve’eileh) implies that they are a continuation of what is written before. This is to teach us that just as…
Parshat Yitro In-Depth “Jethro, the priest of Midian, the father-in-law of Moses, heard of all that G‑d did for Moses and His people Israel, that G‑d had taken Israel out of Egypt (18:1) Of what did he hear that he…
Parshat Beshalach In-Depth “G‑d did not lead them through the way of the land of the Philistines (13:17) The tribe of Ephraim had erred and departed from Egypt 30 years before the destined time, with the result that three hundred…
Parshat Vaeira In-Depth “G‑d spoke to Moses, and said to him: ‘I am G‑d. I revealed Myself to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob’ (6:2–3) G‑d said to Moses: I regret the loss of those who have passed away and…
Parshat Shemot In-Depth “And these are the names of the children of Israel who came into Egypt . . . Reuben, Simeon, Levi and Judah (Exodus 1:1–2) Although G‑d had already counted them in their lifetime, He again counted them…
Parshat Vayechi In-Depth “When Rabbi Menachem Mendel of Lubavitch (1789–1866) was a child attending cheder, his teacher taught the verse ‘Jacob lived for seventeen years in the land of Egypt’ according to the commentary of the Baal HaTurim—that Jacob lived…
Parshat Vayigash In-Depth “Judah approached him . . . (Genesis 44:18) Said Rabbi Yehudah: The verb “he approached” (vayigash) implies an approach to battle, as in the verse “So Joab and the people that were with him approached unto battle”…
Parshat Mikeitz In-Depth “The three Torah sections (Vayeishev, Mikeitz and Vayigash) that relate the story of Joseph and his brothers . . . are always read before, during or immediately after the festival of Chanukah. Since “to everything there is…
Aliya-by-Aliya Parshat Vayishlach 5762 “Onkeles seems to consider the messengers that Yaakov sent to be human (IZGADIN are runners or messengers); Rashi states that the word MAL’ACHIM is to be taken literally, as heavenly angels. Commentaries point to the end…
