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“If among you there will be a poor man of one of you brethren … you shall not harden your heart … but rather open wide your hand to him. Also lend and lend him, sufficient for his need which he lacks.” (15:7-8)

According to the Torah, the duty to provide for the poor rests equally upon the community as a whole and upon every individual member thereof. This obligation is an essential principle of the law of tzedaka (charity). The community at large and each individual member must cooperate in order to realize the goal set by the Torah. Those who seek to fulfill the mitzvah by contributing only to communal funds do not embody the spirit of Jewish “giving” which is encouraged by the Torah. Based upon the Torah’s admonishment of “do not harden your heart,” one may assume that Jewish…

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“You are children of Hashem your G-d, you shall not cut yourselves nor make any baldness between your eyes for the dead.” (14:1)

  The concept of being considered Hashem’s children carries with it powerful consequences. As the children of Hashem, we are promised redemption from the depths of bondage, persecution, and the many other trials which have marked the chronicles of our tumultuous past. These special guarantees, however, are accompanied by the responsibilities of being Hashem’s children. We are inescapably subject to specific tasks, rigorous standards, and formidable punishment.   Attribution as Hashem’s children implies a sympathetic and personal loving relationship. As the Bechor Shor emphasizes, even when one suffers excruciating loneliness as a result of the loss of a parent or…

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“For Hashem your G-d is testing you to know whether you love Hashem your G-d.” (13:4)

The test of the false prophet is a formidable one. We are enjoined to refrain from listening to him even if his “man-made” miracles are impressive. Obviously, it is inherently difficult to withstand such a test. What is the trait which a Jew must possess in order to defeat the evil inclination which seduces him into believing in false prophets? The answer is found in this posuk. Hashem is testing us to see if we love Him. Man can transcend the questions of faith that confront him only through a relationship of love. Love can justify that which evades logical…

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“The blessing: that you listen to the commands of Hashem your G-d … And the curse if you will not listen to the commands of Hashem your G-d.” (11:27-28)

Significantly, in reference to the blessing the Torah does not state “if you will listen,” but “that you will listen.” Hashem does not promise us earthly blessings because we have fulfilled His precepts. On the contrary, He wants us to fulfill His precepts in order that we be motivated towards an even higher level of adherence to Torah and mitzvos. In fact, greater material abundance strengthens our ability to translate Hashem’s laws into concrete practice. Indeed, fulfilling the mitzvah of “tzitzis” obviously requires the possessions of a garment, while the mitzvah of mezuzah requires one to maintain a form of…

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