Tag: ahavat chinam
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Struggling to Feel Growing up, I always had a hard time connecting to the Three Weeks, the Nine Days, and especially Tisha B’Av. The mourning. The restrictions. The heaviness. I tried to feel something — but couldn’t. Part of it was that I didn’t fully understand what we were mourning. I mean, I grew up…
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Chazal in a Midrash debate about what the most fundamental pasuk in the Torah. The answer is surprising: “אֶת־הַכֶּבֶשׂ אֶחָד תַּעֲשֶׂה בַבֹּקֶר וְאֵת הַכֶּבֶשׂ הַשֵּׁנִי תַּעֲשֶׂה בֵּין הָעַרְבָּיִם”“One lamb you shall offer in the morning, and one in the afternoon.” The command to bring the daily Korban Tamid, morning and afternoon. Found in this week’s…
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The Mouth That Destroys, The Mouth That Rebuilds Not long ago, we all felt it.The silence. The distance. The ache of being apart.During the Covid lockdowns, even Pesach seders were held in empty rooms. Shabbos meals with no guests.Some of us were lucky to have family.But too many were completely alone — no one to…
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Parshat Tetzaveh is unique—it is the only parsha from Moshe Rabbeinu’s birth until Eikev where his name is absent. Instead, Hashem addresses him with “V’ata”—“And you.” The Baal HaTurim explains that this omission fulfills Moshe’s own words in Ki Tisa: “Mecheini na misifrecha”—”Erase me now from Your book.” After the sin of the Golden Calf,…
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Sometimes, the smallest act of kindness can change everything. A warm smile, holding the door for someone, offering a kind word—these simple gestures may seem insignificant, but they have the power to create connection, uplift others, and bring unity to our world. In this week’s parsha, the Torah warns us:“Do not take bribes, for bribes…
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In Parshat Yitro, just before Matan Torah, the Torah describes Bnei Yisrael’s encampment at Har Sinai: “וַיִּחַן שָׁם יִשְׂרָאֵל נֶגֶד הָהָר” – “And Israel encamped there opposite the mountain.” (Shemot 19:2) Rashi famously points out the unusual singular form of “וַיִּחַן” (they encamped), rather than the expected plural, explaining that Bnei Yisrael were united “כְּאִישׁ…
