A WEEKLY TORAH THOUGHT FROM RABBI MORDY This week’s Parsha, Behar, contains various laws, including that of the Sabbatical and Jubilee years. What I would like to focus on, however, is the name of the Parsha. “Behar” means “on the mountain,” which indicates its significance; the laws of the Torah were communicated to Moses on Mt. Sinai. But why is the parsha… Read More

This week’s Parsha – Vayechi – concludes the Book of Genesis, the first of the “Five Books of Moses.” Traditionally, at the end of each book, the synagogue calls out in unison, “Chazak chazak venischazek!” Which means “Be strong, be strong and may we be strengthened,” thus giving us a little inspiration and charge to move on into the next… Read More

This week’s Parsha – Va’era – is chock full of lessons. It contains the beginning of the Ten Plagues of Egypt and the beginning of the end of slavery. It always seems like it was G-d testing a variety of tortures against these slave drivers and was throwing things against the wall to see what would stick and eventually get… Read More

So the Jewish people are in a pickle this week (Parshat Bo). Slavery is rough and the fire that is the plagues under the seat of the Egyptians is heating up. These are tense times indeed. And so, when finally the tenth plague arrives and the Egyptians are completely fed up, Moses instructs the Jews that everyone should take a… Read More

This week’s Parsha, Beshalach, tells of the Jewish people leaving Egypt and crossing the Sea. It also begins to tell us of their journey in the desert. Obviously, their time in the desert was a significant one; it is the time period that takes up most of the Torah. The Jewish people were sustained throughout their travels by Manna, the… Read More