Is there a mitzvah to live in Eretz Yisrael? This question has long been disputed by the greatest halachic authorities. The Ramban says that it is a mitzvah to conquer and settle Eretz Yisrael, and it applies in all generations. The Sefer HaCharedim, similarly, counts it as a mitzvah d’oraisa that applies at all times….
The Ramban writes that Shemos is the Sefer of Geulah. From Parshas Shemos through Yisro the story is told of the redemption from slavery until Sinai. From Mishpatim onward, however, it is unclear what the subsequent parts have to do with the theme of redemption. Mishpatim would seem to fit in better at the end…
Sometimes people do averos without realizing it. They’re just doing what they’ve always done and what everyone’s always done (as far as they know). Anyone who reproves them will just be accused of being excessively strict. They won’t listen, and it will just make matters worse. For once they are informed that what they are…
It is necessary for a person to be able to adapt to situations which are less than ideal. “…the youth is renewed like the eagles.” (Tehilim 103:5) The ability to renew youth doesn’t mean the ability to turn back the clock and become young again. Rather, the verse is referring to the capacity for self-renewal…
There was once a person who was hitch-hiking. He was carrying a large bundle and before long someone picked him up. When the driver looked back through his rear view mirror, he noticed that the hitch-hiker was still carrying his bundle. “You can put it down,” the driver told him. The hitch-hiker responded, “It was…
Hillel and Rebbi Akiva both stated that “Love your neighbor” is a great principle in the Torah. When the convert came to Hillel demanding that he teach him the whole Torah on one foot, it was not a silly request. What he meant was that he wished to be taught the foundation of the entire…
Why is that there are women today-who claim to be religious, who claim to be believers in G-d and Torah-who clamor and have complaints about their status as women in Judaism? Why do we have women who every Rosh Chodesh go to the Western Wall in talis and tefilin, singing out loud in front of…
The Torah tells us that after Yisro heard all that had happened to Moshe and Israel when HaShem took them out of Egypt, he came to join them. Yet, Rashi asks, What report did he hear, and come? And the answer Rashi gives—that he came because he heard about Krias Yam Suf and Milchemas Amalek—is…
When Eli Hakohen saw Channah at prayer, he thought that she was drunk and reproved her. From this the Gemora learns that when a person sees someone doing something that is not proper, he should reprove him. Tosephos indicates that the Torah itself obligates us to reprove a person who is violating a Torah law….
A person can not only control his emotions, he can also sublimate his emotions and raise them to higher levels. Yaakov Avinu was reading Kriyas Shema when he met Yosef. This has been interpreted in many ways. One is that, at that moment, Yaakov had the most intense feeling of love he had ever had….