Vayikra: Don’t be a Behemah or a Chayah! ~ Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein
Have you ever heard an old Jewish Bubby (Yiddish for “grandmother”) refer to wild kids as chayot or behemot? Do you know what she’s...
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Vayikra
Vayikra: The Greatest “Cover-up” ~ Tzvi Abrahams
Vayikra כַּפָּרָה: atonement כּוֹפֶר: redemption payment כַּפֹּרֶת: the cover of the Ark כּוֹפֶר: pitch כְּפִיר: young lion כְּפוֹר:...
Tzav: Focus Is Fire ~ Yehoshua Steinberg
Tzav This week's Torah Portion describes the procedure for the sacrifice of birds to as implemented by the Kohen, namely to nip off its...
Tzav: Running after Our Desires ~ Tzvi Abrahams
Tzav מְרֻצֶה: pleasing, desirable רָצוֹן: desire/will רוּץ: run שֶׁרֶץ: rodent אֶרֶץ: earth רְצֵה: accept מְרֻצֶה: Pleasing, Desirable...
Shemini: The Simple Son: Dense or Perfect? ~ Yehoshua Steinberg
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Shemini: Of Corpses and Carcasses ~ Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein
In the aftermath of the Ten Spies fiasco, the Jewish people were doomed to remain in the wilderness for forty years until the rise of the...
Shemini: Seven Reasons Why the Pig Returns ~ Tzvi Abrahams
חוֹזֶר: return, renege, seek out חַזֶרֶת: lettuce מַחְזוֹר:machzor חַזִיר: pig חוֹזֶר: Return, Renege, Seek Out Besides for its plain...
Tazria: Of Lepers and Grasshoppers ~ Yehoshua Steinberg
Article Abstract: The root גבח appears in all of Scripture only in this week’s Torah portion, Tazria, in connection with the “leprosy”...
Tazria-HaChodesh: Old Month versus New Month ~ Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein
This Shabbat we read Parshat HaChodesh, the last of four special Torah readings before Pesach. Parshat HaChodesh establishes Nissan as...
Tazria-Metzora: Approaching Reproaching ~ Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein
Edmund Burke (1729-1797), the father of contemporary conservatism, purportedly said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is...
Tazria: The True Measure of a Man ~ Tzvi Abrahams
שְׂעִיר: goat שְׂעוֹרָה: barley שֵׂעָר: hair שְׂעָרָה: tempest חוּט הַשַׂעַר: hairsbreadth וְשֵׂעָר בַּנֶּגַע הָפַךְ לָבָן/And the hair...
Metzora: The Place Where I Belong, My Ken ~ Yehoshua Steinberg
Article abstract for Metzora: As part of the leper’s purification process following his affliction with tazraat, this week’s portion...
Metzora: We Love to Bug ~ Tzvi Abrahams
זְבוּב: fly דַּבְּרוּ אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַאֲמַרְתֶּם אֲלֵהֶם אִישׁ אִישׁ כִּי יִהְיֶה זָב מִבְּשָׂרוֹ זוֹבוֹ טָמֵא הוּא Speak to the...
Acharei Mot: Mixed Up and Worn out ~ Yehoshua Steinberg
The word “tevel”(תבל) appears once in Parashat Acharei Mot and once in Parshat Kedoshim, and nowhere else in the Pentateuch. In both...
Acharei Mot: Confronting Death ~ Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein
The Torah introduces the laws of the sacrificial services of Yom Kippur by noting that G-d relayed them to Moses after the...
Kedoshim: Born to Produce ~ Tzvi Abrahams
חוֹרֶף: winter חֶרְפָּה: disgrace, shameful, detested חַרִיף: sharp, strong, biting נֶחֶרֶפֶת: designated, singled out וְאִישׁ כִּי...
Kedoshim: Burke and Rebuke ~ Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein
Edmund Burke (1729-1797), the father of contemporary conservatism, purportedly said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is...
Kedoshim: Sacrifice Delayed, Sacrifice Denied - Yehoshua Steinberg
A discussion of the rare scriptural word פגול (abominable, loathsome), and its relationship with the range of other words containing the...
Acharei-Kedoshim: The Realm of the Undertaker ~ Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein
In this essay we will explore the different words for gehinnom (commonly translated as “hell” or “purgatory”). The Talmud (Eruvin 19a)...
Emor: Branching Out ~ Yehoshua Steinberg
אנו מתנצלים על ההפוגה בפרסום המאמרים בשבועות האחרונים עקב פטירתה של אמו האהובה ע"ה של הרב שטיינברג. אצילותה, רוחה ונשמתה האיתנה, ואהבתה...
Emor: When Just Counting Doesn’t Count ~ Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein
The Torah commands us to count the days and weeks from Passover until Shavuot (Lev. 23:15-16). Interestingly, the Torah portion which...
Emor: An Appropriate Epithet ~ Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein
The common word for a tombstone in spoken Hebrew is a matzeivah (literally, “monument”), and, indeed, when Yaakov buried his wife Rachel,...
Emor: The Road Less Traveled ~ Tzvi Abrahams
Parshasאֶמֹר The Road Less Traveled עַם קוֹדֶשׁ: holy nation קְדֵישָׁה: prostitute קִדוּשׁ: Kiddush שַׁבָּת קוֹדֶשׁ: Shabbos Kodesh...
Behar: Melted Heart – Yehoshua Steinberg
What is the connection between נמוך (low, short) and הכאה (hitting) and ניכוי (diminishment)? Also, what does the verse (Ps. 106:43)...
Behar: Words of Redemption ~ Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein
The end of Leviticus speaks about different forms of redemption in the legal sense. It mentions the rights — or even commandments — of...
Behar: Climb Every Mountain ~ Tzvi Abrahams
Parshasבְּהַר Climb Every Mountain יוֹבֵל: jubilee יוּבַל: brook יְבוּלָה: produce יוֹבֵל: Jubilee InParshasבְּהַר, Hashem gives us the...
Bechukotai: Happy Ending / New Beginning ~ Yehoshua Steinberg
The root יסף denotes addition / expansion, as do many other words containing the two-letter ס-פ string. By contrast, other words...
Bechukotai: A Collection of Curses ~ Rabbi Reuven Chaim Klein
The Torah says, “A judge you shall not curse and a prince/king in your nation shall you not curse” (Ex. 22:27). This passage forbids...
Bechukotai: The River of Light Illuminating the Eyes ~ Tzvi Abrahams
Parshas בְּחֻקֹתַי The River of Light Illuminating the Eyes יוֹרֶה: cast down יוֹרֶה: satisfies יוֹרֶה: instruct, teach, to show תּוֹרָה:...
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