Midrash Tanchuma (Parshas Ki Sissa) sets forth the notion that the machatzis ha’shekel, coin which every Jew had to donate, was to atone for the sin of the Golden Calf.  The Midrash says that the nations of the world declared, “A nation that heard at Sinai: A) I am Hashem, your G-d, followed by B) You shall not recognize the gods of others.” In spite of this, after only forty days, the people created the Golden Calf.  How could Hashem welcome them back?  This was no ordinary sin, but a grievous, flagrant act of unfaithfulness.  Chazal liken this to a…

Yehoshua gave everything up in order to be in the tent of Torah.  As a result, he earned the position as Moshe Rabbeinu’s primary disciple and eventual successor. Many believe that leadership is simply a matter of being in the right place at the right time.  In Torah, however, leadership goes far deeper.  Torah leaders are those who have proven themselves worthy of such responsibility – a position that can only be earned through dedication to, and toil in, Torah.  It is cultivated in the bais hamedrash, through long hours of study, presence, and commitment, not by worldly acumen or…

Moshe Rabbeinu requested that the ways in which Hashem conducts the world be revealed to him.  Chazal (Berachos 7A) explain that he had a specific question which was pressing him, a question that has stumped every human: “Why is it that the righteous (will at times) suffer and the wicked (will at times) prosper?”  Veritably, this is a question that only plagues mortals.  Those whose neshamos have departed this world are privy to a supernal light which illuminates all that troubles us in this world.  Thus, they have no questions.  Hashem replied to Moshe, Lo Yiraani adam v’chai, “No human…

Lashon Kodesh contains layers of nuance whereby various words translated similarly actually present subtle differences. In Sheimos HaNirdafin, Horav Shlomo Wertheimer, zl, devotes an entire sefer to distinguishing between these synonyms.  With regard to friendship, the Torah breaks it down to three primary terms:  chaver; rei’a; and yedid.  Each expresses a different dimension of human connection which gives us an insight into the true meaning of friendship. The most common term is chaver, which is a friend by chibur, attachment.  This means that the relationship is not one of emotion, but rather, of commitment.  A chavrusa is a study partner…

You shall make bigdei kodesh, vestments of sanctity.  Were they used for sanctity or did they become holy when Aharon wore them to perform the Priestly service, or did the artisans craft them with the intention of making them holy?  Perhaps it was their designation for the Kohen Gadol who would perform the Divine Service in the Sanctuary that lent holiness to these vestments.  Clothing on its own is not intrinsically holy. When it is worn by a saintly person in the course of his performing a holy function, however, it transforms from garment to holy vestment.  Once the garments…

Midrash Rabbah (Shemos 33) “quotes” Hashem as saying, “I sold/gave you My Torah – I sold Myself with it.”  This may be compared to a king who had one single daughter whom he loved very much.  Another king betrothed her and now asked permission to take his new wife to his country.  The father replied, “She is my only daughter. On the one hand, I cannot divest myself of her. On the other hand, she is your wife and must follow her husband.  I ask only that, wherever you set up your home, you construct a small room for me,…

Parashas Terumah focuses on the construction of the Mishkan, the Sanctuary in which the Shechinah, Divine Presence, would repose among Klal Yisrael.  One question requires elucidation.  The parshah is unquestionably all about the construction of a holy place for the Shechinah – the Mishkan.  Why, then, is the parshah called Terumah, contribution, and not Mishkan, Sanctuary? Perhaps the Torah seeks to convey a profound message: Holiness is not merely found in the structure itself, but in the willingness and predisposition of the people to give of themselves to create it.  While the MIshkan was designated as the place where the…

The opening command of our Parshah represents the first appeal for funds.  Moshe Rabbeinu made the appeal, but he was doing so at the behest of Hashem.  Perhaps, this is something we should consider when someone asks us to open our wallets to support a worthy cause:  Whoever is making the request is acting on behalf of an institution or a chesed that has Hashem’s henpeck, seal of approval.  Otherwise, he should not be soliciting our funds. Parashas Terumah may begin with the first fund-raising campaign, but it is far more than a construction appeal.  It represents the Torah’s foundational…

The Mishkan’s walls were comprised of huge planks of acacia wood.  Rashi wonders why the Torah refers to the kerashim, planks, as ha’kerashim, the planks, with the hay ha’yediah, definite article, as though these were planks with which we were familiar (at the time).  He quotes Midrash Tanchuma (91) that, indeed, these were no ordinary planks.  They were the product of trees that Avraham Avinu originally planted. Yaakov Avinu was fully aware that he was descending into the Egyptian galus, exile.  He also knew that one day his descendants would be liberated, receive the Torah, followed by Hashem’s command that…

Chazal (Kiddushin 22b) explain why the ear is the organ of the body that is pierced:  “It is the ear that heard on Har Sinai that Bnei Yisrael should be servants (only) to Me, and this man went and acquired a (new) master for himself.” The obvious question is: if the purpose of the piercing is to reprimand the eved, bondsman, for continuing his servitude, why was it not pierced when he originally sold himself to pay for his ill-begotten debts?  Why wait until the end of his tenure?  Furthermore, why is the master the one who bores the ear?…

Horav Aharon Leib Shteinman, zl, asks why the closing b’rachah, Bircas Refa’einu, the blessing for healing, is Rofeh cholei Amo Yisrael; Hashem heals the Jewish people.  Does He not heal everyone?  If Hashem does not “agree” to the patient being healed, he will not be healed.  He explains, based upon a story that occurred when the Gaon, zl, m’Vilna, refused to turn to doctors for assistance in healing.  He was a firm believer (following Ramban, commentary to Vayikra 20:11) that one who fears and places his trust only in Hashem will be healed by the Divine Himself.  Nonetheless, during his…

“Someone you hate.”  Jews are not supposed to hate.  V’ahavta l’reiacha kamocha; “Love your fellow as yourself” is a cornerstone of our faith.  Obviously, this is not the common hatred based on envy and other social flaws.  This must be a hate that falls under the rubric of permissibility, such as a fellow Jew who persistently commits sinful behavior – despite being warned and admonished repeatedly to desist from his spiritually egregious activities.  Until that time that he listens and repents, he may be the focus of our disdain and even loathing.  Such a person harms not only himself, but…

Rashi translates va’yichad Yisro as va’yismach Yisro, as rejoicing over the salvation of Am Yisrael. The Brisker Rav, zl (cited by Horav Eliyahu Baruch Finkel, zl) explains Yisro’s b’rachah as a blessing of gomeil, gratitude to Hashem. We would normally think that the person who recites the blessing is none other than the direct beneficiary of Hashem’s favor. The Shulchan Aruch (Orach Chaim 219:4), however, rules that one can fulfill his obligation to bless through the medium of his fellow’s blessing. This means that “Reuven” can bentch gomeil for “Shimon,” and Shimon will have properly discharged his religious duty to…

Rashi notes that the verb, va’yichan, they encamped, is written in the singular, rather than in the plural, va’yachanu. This teaches us that the huge multitude of people, which comprised the nation that was about to receive the Torah, was camped k’ish echad, b’lev echad, like a single person with one heart. Klal Yisrael’s unity is critical to its survival as a Torah nation. Only when they were united in their goal of hearing and accepting the d’var Hashem, word of G-d, would they be ready to receive the Torah. A number of points concerning the concept of k’ish echad…

We wonder why the Torah chooses to write yaarichun, they will lengthen, rather than aarich, I will lengthen. It is as if the Torah were saying that, by honoring your parents, you cause your children to lengthen your life. Horav Chaim Meir, zl, m’Vishnitz, answered this question after first relating an incident in which three sons/brothers sought his advice concerning their aged father’s care. Apparently, they felt it was difficult for them, and the question on the table was: Do they continue with home care with its various difficulties, or move him to a nursing home? The Rebbe (Imrei Chaim)…

Our lives are filled with miracles.  Yet, we do not take the time or make the effort to study them and to employ them as a pathway for deepening our bitachon, trust, in Hashem.  When Klal Yisrael left Egypt, two paths were before them: the short and easy route through the land of Plishtim; the long circuitous route through the wilderness.  Rabbeinu Chananel (quoted by Rabbeinu Bachya) explains that Hashem chose the long way which, albeit took them through the wilderness, provided the opportunity for exposure to additional miracles.  A trip straight through Plishtim would not have availed them the…

The euphoria connected with the liberation and exodus from Egypt lasted until the nation saw Pharaoh and his army in pursuit.  Some prayed fervently to Hashem for salvation.  Prayer is our key to reaching Hashem and petitioning Him to annul whatever decree hangs over our heads.  Others were frozen in fear. They sadly complained that they would have settled for remaining in Egypt as long as their slavery would have ended.  Hashem responded that this was not a time for prayer, but rather for positive action, for mesiras nefesh, a display of their faith in Him and a willingness to…

Horav Yechezkel Abramsky, zl, related the following homiletic rendering of these pesukim.  (Apparently, he had heard the exposition from a Chassidic Jew.)  On the surface, the pesukim relate that, when Klal Yisrael came to a place which was (later) called Marah, bitter, they found the drinking water to be bitter.  As a result, they were unable to drink, and they questioned the choice of rest area.  Moshe Rabbeinu prayed to Hashem, Who instructed him to throw a certain tree into the water, and it became sweet.  Water is a metaphor for Torah.  Be’er chafaruah sarim, “Well that the princes dug”…

Horav Aharon Leib Shteinman, zl, asks, if we were to bring Pharaoh to trial before the International Court in The Hague — what would this evil man be convicted of?  Pharaoh’s sins were monstrous, even by the standards of the most brutal, sadistic tyrants of history.  Mass murder, enslavement, cruelty beyond imagination – all crimes against humanity, deserving of the most painful punishment.  Yet, the Torah does not list these atrocities as an indictment against Pharaoh.  The only thing the Torah writes is: “You refused!”  Pharaoh refused to acknowledge Hashem as the One behind the punishment.  He ignored the obvious…

Chazal (Pesikta Rabbasi Parsha 14) cited by Horav Yitzchak Zilberstein, Shlita, relates the following story.  A Jew owned a cow.  This was his sole source of livelihood.  Unfortunately, his small parcel of land was not producing sufficiently, forcing him to sell his cow to a gentile.  He received a good price which would sustain him until his economic situation would take a positive turn.  The gentile was very happy with the cow, and he had it plow his field on a daily basis.  Come Shabbos, something strange happened with the cow:  it refused to plow.  No coaxing, no beating –…

Memory and the joy of remembering seminal moments in our history are among the cornerstones of Jewish life.  As such, we are a nation who, although we live in the present, we neither forget nor take for granted the lessons of the past.  As Klal Yisrael is about to prepare for its liberation from the Egyptian exile, they were repeatedly exhorted to remember that they were once slaves, and Hashem in His infinite kindness redeemed them from bondage.  In the Haggadah, we underscore this obligation with, B’chol dor vador chayiv adam liros es atzmo k’ilu hu yatza mi’Mitzrayim, “In every…

One might ask why the Torah emphasizes bincha, your son, rather than talmidcha, your student?  After all, every Jew bears the collective responsibility of v’shinantam l’vanecha, which is explained, “You shall teach Torah to all of Klal Yisrael” – not only to one’s biological children.  Why is the father-son relationship underscored? Perhaps the Torah seeks to impart an important message.  The foundation of Jewish continuity is bolstered in the yeshivah, bais ha’medrash, Bais Yaakov – but it begins at home.  Before one can inspire a talmid he must first connect with his ben.  The mitzvah of v’higadeta l’vincha is not…

What is the meaning of the added “I, too,” as if Hashem is also listening, when, in fact, Who else but Hashem listens?  Hashem heard the cries emanating from the Jewish slaves.  Why is this referred to as “also”?  The Chasam Sofer explains that, “I, too,” teaches us that, indeed, Hashem is not the only one listening.  In Egypt, each and every Yid listened to the painful cries of his neighbor and, as a result, they commiserated with one another.  They did not think only of their pain, but also of the pain of other Yidden who were suffering.  When…

Rashi comments that, concerning the plagues of blood and frogs, Aharon HaKohen was the one who struck the water.  Moshe Rabbeinu owed a debt of gratitude to the natural resource because it was the Nile that protected him as a newborn infant. The obvious question is: Does water have a mind? Does water have feelings?  It is inanimate.  Why does one have to maintain a sense of gratitude to it?  Indeed, Chazal teach, Bira d’shasis bei maya al tizrok bo even, “The well from which you drink, do not throw a stone into it.”  It would seem that this is…

Simply speaking, Moshe Rabbeinu informed Pharaoh when each plague would begin.  This was meant to underscore the miraculous nature of the plague.  Horav Shalom Bentzion Felman, zl, explains this pasuk homiletically: “I will make a distinction between My people and your people.”  What is this distinction?  In which area of belief do we see a separation between Jew and non-Jew?  Tomorrow, this sign will come about.  It is with regard to the concept of “tomorrow” that we differ.  The Jew who believes in Hashem lives with a constant awareness of “tomorrow.”  Even if today appears bleak and filled with hardship,…