Tag: redemption
-
“Vayeitzei Yaakov.” Rashi asks why the Torah mentions the leaving when we already know he’s going to Charan. Because when a tzadik leaves, the spiritual atmosphere shifts. His presence lifts the city, and when he’s gone, people feel the loss. If one tzadik’s departure creates a void, imagine the impact of all of Klal Yisrael…
-
Some stories don’t begin at birth. They begin before. Rivka feels a storm inside her and runs to ask Hashem what is happening. His answer sets the tone for all of Jewish history: “Two nations are in your womb… two regimes will separate from within you.” This isn’t a sibling rivalry. It’s the opening chapter…
-
Chazal tell us that as long as Sarah Imeinu lived, her tent was filled with open miracles. Bereishit Rabbah teaches that her Shabbat candles stayed lit from week to week, a cloud of the Shechina hovered above her tent, and her dough was blessed. It wasn’t just a home. It was a place where Hashem’s…
-
Both Avraham and Sarah laughed when they heard the impossible: that a child would be born to them in their old age.But their laughs were not the same. Avraham laughed out of joy — out of awe at the greatness of Hashem and the beauty of a promise being fulfilled.Sarah laughed out of disbelief —…
-
On Sukkot, we take the arba minim — the lulav, etrog, hadasim, and aravot, and hold them together. Each one represents a different kind of Jew. Some are full of Torah and mitzvot, some are still growing. But the mitzvah isn’t done with one — it only counts when they’re united. That’s the message of…
-
After weeks of inner growth from Elul through Yom Kippur, we arrive at Sukkot — when everything spiritual becomes real. On Rosh Hashanah we crowned Hashem as King. On Yom Kippur we were purified. And on Sukkot, we live that connection through emunah — stepping out of our solid homes into Hashem’s shade, trusting His…
-
The Gemara asks: Where is Esther hinted to in the Torah? Chazal point to this week’s parsha:“וְאָנֹכִי הַסְתֵּר אַסְתִּיר פָּנַי בַּיּוֹם הַהוּא” — “I will surely hide My face on that day.”The words haster astir allude to Esther, and to Hashem’s hiddenness in the Purim story. The Ramban explains: hester panim means Hashem withdraws His…
-
Standing Together in Unity Parshat Nitzavim opens: “Atem nitzavim hayom kulchem” — you are all standing here today. Every Jew, from leaders to water carriers, stood together before Hashem. Chazal teach this is arvut — kol Yisrael areivim zeh bazeh — we are responsible for one another. That unity is not only the opening of…
-
We’ve wandered long enough. In this week’s parsha, Moshe begins his final address to Bnei Yisrael.But he’s not speaking to the generation that left Egypt. He’s speaking to their children—the ones who struggled in the desert, grew through challenges, and matured over forty long years. Now, they stand at the threshold of Eretz Yisrael.They’re finally…
-
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…
