Tag: Jewish values
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I always went to the Pesach seder at my Bobie and Zaidy’s house.Same table.Same songs.Same Divrei Torah.Same jokes. (bih bih bih…) After my Zaidy was niftar, we continued at my parents’ home. Even when I got married and had kids, we went back. Pesach was never up for discussion. It meant something — that night…
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Imagine a child giving their parent a drawing. The paper is crumpled, the lines are messy, and the colors don’t stay inside the lines. Objectively, it’s not worth much. But to the parent? It’s priceless. Because it wasn’t about the paper or the crayons—it was about the love behind it. In this week’s parsha, we…
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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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I Thought I Had a Superpower For the last decade, I believed my ADHD meds gave me a superpower. Six hours of laser focus.Six hours of clarity.Six hours where my brain worked the way I always wished it would. I felt unstoppable. I could think, write, create, and execute at a level that finally felt…
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The Torah commands:“וְיִקְחוּ־לִי תְּרוּמָה” – “And they shall take for Me a donation.” (Shemot 25:2) Am Yisrael had just witnessed the greatest miracles in history—Yetziat Mitzrayim, Kriyat Yam Suf, and Matan Torah. They stood at the peak of spiritual elevation. And now, Hashem asks them to give. But not just gold and silver—something far greater.…
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In Parshat Mishpatim, Hashem tells Moshe: “Ascend the mountain and be there (ve’yehi sham), and I will give you the tablets, the Torah, and the mitzvot that I have written to teach them.” (Shemot 24:12) At first glance, this phrase seems redundant. If Moshe is going up the mountain, of course, he is there! Why…
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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…
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At the beginning of Parshat Bo, Moshe once again delivers Hashem’s message to Paroh: “For how long will you refuse to submit to Me? Let My people go so they may serve Me.” Paroh’s advisors, exhausted by the cycle of plagues and warnings, urged him to give in: “Let the men go and serve their…
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Life is a journey filled with moments of triumph and times of challenge. Yet, it’s during the struggles—the hardest, most humbling moments—that we often uncover our true purpose. Right now, we’re reading the parshiot about Bnei Yisrael transitioning from slavery to freedom, a story we revisit every Pesach Seder. Rav Hershel Schachter teaches that Pesach…