Close To Torah

This week’s Parsha contains the famous Birchas Kohanim, blessing that the Kohanim are instructed to give to the Jews. It is comprised of three short verses and contains many deep secrets. Rabbieun Bechaya shares some of these ideas.

Three Verses

The first verse contains three words, “yivarechicha Hashem v’yismarecha, May G-d bless and watch you.” The number three hints to the… Continue reading

King Shaul took a search team of three thousand men to the desert of En Gedi in search of David. Shual distanced himself from his men to use the restroom in private unknowingly entering the cave which David and his men were hiding in! This was a real moment of truth. David’s men urged him to act and to finally kill the man who had made his life miserable. This… Continue reading

Rabbeinu Bechaya (d. 1340) points out the juxtaposition of parshas Bamidbar to its predecessor, Bechukosai. He quotes a Midrash (Which we do not have extant. It should be noted that R’ Bechaya quotes many such Midrashim throughout his works, giving his writing even greater value for the access they provide to Midrashim that would otherwise be lost. He also set out to explain each parsha according to the Midrash (see… Continue reading

David visited Gath in psalm 34 (see essay there). His life was in danger and he miraculously escaped the Philistine King Achish who wanted to execute him. David had a plan to escape from Shaul who wanted him dead. But Hashem had other plans…

Solution

David realized that King Shaul wanted him dead and would not be pacified. David had exhausted all possibilities of escape. He… Continue reading

When one reads the parsha of Bechukosai the theme of punishment and curses seems to be quite dominant. Is this the way that the Torah wishes for us to view life? Are we to be overcome with fear, gripped by anxiety and always wondering if we are good enough for Hashem? What is the proper perspective of this matter?

Look at Construct

The past few psalms focused on David’s sadness over those who wished to harm him. This psalm expresses David mourning of the loss of a friend and once trusted confidant. Achitofel betrayed David and proclaimed himself his archenemy. David had studied Torah with Achitofel and they had also developed their political careers together. David was heart-broken when it was none other than Achitofel who incited David’s own son Absalom to… Continue reading

Parshas Emor discussed all of the Jewish holidays. It is important to understand that each holiday has a specific day or span upon which it is celebrated on the calendar but also has relevancy throughout the entire year. For example, Pesach is celebrated on the 15th of Nissan for seven days, but the lessons of emunah, faith, and inspiration for service of God remain strong and relevant throughout the entire… Continue reading

In psalm 52 David described a corrupt and powerful man named Doeg. His selfish acts caused many people to lose their lives. In this psalm David describes a force of evil that is found in a man who wishes to deny God’s providence and very existence. This person is called a “naval, scoundrel” because his selfish desires influence him to deny God. This person lives life according to his own… Continue reading

It was a three-word message, it was clear, it was clever and it worked! One of the first experiences I ever had in Israel was observing a fascinating approach towards dealing with the issue of getting people to give up their seats for elders on the bus. I have seen long, blunt and sometimes rude signs, but in Israel it was amusingly different. I was happy to be able to… Continue reading

This psalm mirrors Psalm 14 in that they both discuss the exile of the Jews and the future redemption. The only difference is that which Rashi points out. Psalm 14 refers to the destruction of the first Beis Hamikdash by Nebuchadnezzar, whereas Psalm 53 refers to the second Beis Hamikdash’s destruction thru Titus. In either case, one must ask why this current psalm lies between 52 which spoke about Doeg’s… Continue reading