Parshat Noach relates the cause, result, and aftermath of the flood. As the flood began, the passuk (verse) tells us that the springs of “tehom rabah” opened up (7:11). While the phrase means “the...
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Dvar for Bereishit (Genesis 1:1-6:8)
As we begin Bereishit, after recounting creation and Adam/Chava’s sin of eating from the forbidden tree, life seemingly settles down for Adam and Chava. Adam goes off to work, they have 2 children,...
Dvar for Haazinu (Deuteronomy 32:1-32:52)
In Haazinu we are urged to remember years past and to understand each and every generation (“dor vador”, 32:7) in the context of generations before it. As Rabbi Hirsch suggests, the word meaning...
Dvar for Vayelech (Deuteronomy 31:1-31:30)
Parshat Vayelech includes the commandment to gather everyone every seven years to hear the Torah being read. Men, women, converts and children are invited (31:12). The Gemara explains that while...
Dvar for Nitzavim (Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20)
In Parshat Nitzavim Moshe famously explains that the commandments are there for us to observe, and that “it is very close to you; it is in your mouth and your heart, so that you can fulfill it”...
Dvar for Ki Tavo (Deuteronomy 26:1-29:8)
Parshat Ki Tavo describes the blessings that will be bestowed upon those that follow the Torah’s laws and the curses that will befall those that don’t. The Torah lists the acts that would trigger...
Dvar for Ki Tetzei (Deuteronomy 21:10-25:19)
Parshat Ki Tetzei contains many laws, including the one to erase the memory of Amalek because of what they did to the Jews on our way out of Egypt (25:17-19). Because Amalek no longer exists as a...
Dvar for Shoftim (Deuteronomy 16:18-21:9)
Among the many topics discussed in Parshat Shoftim is the concept of cities of refuge for those that inadvertently killed another. The Torah says that these cities are a way to avoid spilling the...
Dvar for Re’eh (Deuteronomy 11:26-16:17)
Parshat Re’eh lists the kosher and non-kosher animals, and delineates the traits that make animals kosher (chew their cud and have split hooves), the absence of which makes them non-kosher (14:6)....
Dvar for Va’etchanan (Deuteronomy 3:23-7:11)
Parshat Devarim records Moshe recounting the story of the people, including the time we had camped at Har Seir for a while, and were instructed to move on. The Passuk says “you have circled this...