The Book of Deuteronomy, Devarim, which we’ve started reading two weeks ago, is a collection of speeches delivered by Moses before the Israelites entered the Land of Israel. Moses is aware that he will not accompany them on this journey. This makes him anxious about the future of the People of Israel. He doesn’t know […]

Thoughts on Parashat Va’etchanan

What are mitzvot/commandments? The word commandment has many synonyms, such as command, recommendation, indication, regulation, guideline, order, norm, imperative, rule, instruction, directive… Using these synonyms, we can say that commandments are certain directives that order or recommend to do something. And while for the vast majority of the commandments of the Torah this kind of definition would not be problematic at all,[…]

Thoughts on Parashat D’varim

One of the oldest philosophical problems is the dispute over the so-called human nature. The notion of nature within this context is synonymous with the notion of essence (vis-à-vis the concept of the essence of things), understood as[…]

Thoughts on Parashat Masei

Masei (“Travels”), typically read together with the preceding parasha ‘Matot’, is the final Torah portion in the Book of Numbers. It opens with a recollection of the places where the Israelites encamped in the desert; later God commands the Israelites to abide by the laws of the Torah upon conquering the promised land and to destroy idolatry in the Land of Israel.[…]

Alfred Hitchcock, when asked how to draw the viewers’ attention, replied: “A film should start with an earthquake and be followed by rising tension”. This week’s Parashat Pinchas continues the story which draws our attention by continuously building tension. Please imagine that you’re watching a film based on it. Its first minutes show the Israelites […]

If I were to ask the average Jew, anywhere in the world , what is the most important verse in the Torah, they would probably answer “Shema Yisrael” or maybe one of the Ten Commandments or “Love Your Neighbor as Yourself” from Leviticus. All are good choices. In fact, there is a rabbinic passage that […]