Parasha

Parashat Tzav: True freedom begins in the mind, not in physical circumstance

Shabbat Hagadol is a time of inner preparation for the Festival of Freedom. On this Shabbat, we begin to think and act from a broader perspective.

|ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ
An Israeli family enjoys a "Seder" Pesach on the first night of the Jewish holiday of Pesach. April 22, 2024.
Ezekiel teaches that a true beginning requires cleansing.

Shabbat Hachodesh: A time to cleanse and begin again

Shabbat Hachodesh reminds us that national rebirth is not only a matter of borders, armies, and institutions. It is also a matter of values.

|ByMICHAEL FREUND
Cooling the bath: Amalek.

Parashat Zachor: Remembering Amalek in every generation

Amalek exploits spiritual weakness; Parashat Zachor calls on us to strengthen our identity and faith in every generation.

|ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ
Promises.

Parashat Bo: Promises must be kept

Keeping promises is the foundation of trust between people, of educating children, and of building a moral future.

|ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ

Parashat Shelach: Believe in yourselves

The Torah recounts the argument that erupted between the 10 pessimistic spies and Joshua and Caleb, the two optimistic ones.

JUNE 20, 2025ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ
The Grapes of Canaan by James Tissot (circa 1900). Although the 12 spies brought back a cluster of grapes so large that it took two men to carry it, only two of the 12 brought back a good report of the land.

Parashat Beha’alotcha: The call of humility

We are all entitled to even the strongest of our beliefs and opinions. And yet, we should never be so sure of what we think that we are not open to a different voice, a different opinion.

JUNE 19, 2025ByMICHAEL M. COHEN
OUR FINITENESS can never completely comprehend the infinite

Parashat Beha’alotcha: Yes to speaking up, no to hurting!

Speak up! Share your opinion! Try to bring about change – but not through gossip and not with hurtful words.

JUNE 19, 2025ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ
An illustrative image depicting gossip.

“Whoever Has One Hundred Desires Two Hundred”: Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto on the Endless Cycle of Desire

JUNE 12, 2025ByDAVID BERGER

Parshat Naso: Rich people’s problems

When you live a life filled with meaning, spiritual fulfillment ... you receive a remarkable gift: a profound inner peace and emotional serenity that no material wealth can offer.

JUNE 6, 2025ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ
An illustrative image of businessmen jumping across a chasm for money.

Parashat Bamidbar: ‘Each man by his banner’

The many hardships endured by the Israelites during their desert journey could have been greatly reduced had the nation learned to appreciate what they had.

MAY 30, 2025ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ
EVERYONE IS rooted in his place

Parashat Behar-Bechukotai: Live and let live 

The only halachic ruling that was ever given is that “your life comes first” – and nothing beyond that.

MAY 23, 2025ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ
WHOSE LIFE comes first?

Home at last: Two sons, two soldiers, one homeland - opinion

The very different circumstances under which two Israeli soldiers were returned puts things in perspective and echoes Jewish values.

MAY 17, 2025ByMOSHE TARAGIN
ANAT COHEN, sister of Sgt. First Class Zvi Feldman – whose body was recovered during a special operation in Syria after being missing for 43 years – speaks to the media outside her Tel Aviv home, May 11.

Parashat Acharei Mot-Kedoshim: ‘Holiness,’ ‘abstinence,’ and what lies between

Don’t aim for lofty, angelic separation “like Mine” but live a human holiness – the kind of life for which I created the world.

MAY 9, 2025ByRABBI SHMUEL RABINOWITZ
FIND HOLINESS at your Shabbat table

A message from the weekly Torah portion: How can one truly draw close to G-d?

MAY 8, 2025ByDAVID BERGER