Tag: Beit HaMikdash
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Parshat Balak gives us a rare glimpse into the enemy’s war room. Balak, king of Moav, is terrified. Not because Bnei Yisrael attacked. They didn’t. But because he saw their strength. He felt their moral clarity. And that frightened him more than any army. So he hires Bilam, a world-class prophet with a twisted heart,…
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Hashem told Moshe to speak to the rock. Just speak. But after so many complaints, Moshe reaches a breaking point. He cries out, “Listen, you rebels!” and hits the rock. And then… everything changes. Hashem tells Moshe and Aharon, “Because you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me before the eyes of Bnei Yisrael,…
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A man walks into Macy’s and wins a 10-minute shopping spree. The doors open, the countdown starts… and he takes off running. But instead of heading for the jewelry or electronics, he wastes time and gets distracted picking things up along the way like grabbing socks, gum, and cheap T-shirts. By the time his 10…
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Korach’s claim sounded holy: “Ki kol ha’edah kulam kedoshim — The entire nation is holy!” And he wasn’t wrong. Every Jew stood at Har Sinai. We all carry a divine spark.But Korach twisted that truth. Instead of using holiness to serve, he used it to seize. He couldn’t accept that someone else had the role…
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Parshat Behar opens with Shemita — six years of working the land, followed by a full year of rest. It echoes Shabbat: six days of work, one day of rest. Both reflect the rhythm of creation: Hashem created in six days and rested on the seventh. But this isn’t just about rest — it’s about…
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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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How can someone so holy, so close to Hashem, be punished so harshly? In this week’s parsha, we read the shocking story of Nadav and Avihu, the sons of Aharon. Filled with spiritual passion and awe, they bring a korban that Hashem did not command—and are immediately consumed by a heavenly fire. They had just…
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The Double Mishkan: A Promise of Redemption This week’s parsha begins with a curious phrase:“Eileh Pekudei HaMishkan, Mishkan HaEidut…”Why the double language—Mishkan, Mishkan? Rashi, quoting the Midrash, explains that the repetition hints at something deeper.The word Mishkan can also be read as Mashkon—a collateral. This teaches us that the two Batei Mikdash in Yerushalayim were…
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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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This Shabbat, we read Parshat Shekalim, the first of the Arba Parshiyot—a reminder of the mitzvah of the half-shekel, which Bnei Yisrael gave to sustain the Communal Korbanot. But this mitzvah is far more than just a historical tax. The Gemara Yerushalmi reveals something incredible:Haman paid a sum of silver to buy the right to…
