Close To Torah

“והוא נער את בני בלהה ואת בני זלפה…” (לז:א).

“He (Yosef) befriended the sons of Bilhah and Zilpah” (37:1).

Rashi tells us that the sons of Yaakov were disrespectful of their four brothers born from Yaakov’s secondary wives (Dan, Naftoli, Gad, Asher) and called them, “sons of the maidservants”. Yosef was very unhappy with this disrespect and so he… Continue reading

I mentioned earlier that TEN brothers were involved in the sale of Yosef. The Seforim say that the incident of the Ten Martyrs (Asarah Harugey Malchus) took place as an atonement for the TEN people involved in the sale of Yosef. However, this needs to be understood. We know that Yaakov had twelve sons. Three of them were not involved in the sale! Binyomin wasn’t there, Reuven was… Continue reading

We all know that the reason we celebrate Chanukah is to commemorate and thank Hashem for all of the Nissim – miracles – that He performed for our ancestors upon saving them from the Greeks and their harsh decrees.

Firstly, for the miraculous and crushing defeat of the mighty Greek army at the hands of the Maccabees – a small army of religious Jews led… Continue reading

Intermarriage is the greatest problem facing the Jewish nation today. It is decimating our masses at an alarming rate as the tides of our youth assimilate into oblivion. Faced with this challenge, we have dispatched some of our best and brightest to the forefront to confront this growing problem head on.

We have sent them to college campuses around the globe. There, outreach professionals are… Continue reading

The Close to Torah family would like to congratulate Rabbi Yehuda Spitz on receiving word that his published work ‘Kuntres Shnei Keilim’ has been one of the selected winning entries (from thousands) in the Municipality of Jerusalem’s Office of Torah Culture Competition.

The award ceremony will take place – in the presence of Harav Ovadia Yosef Shli”ta – on December 19th at the International Convention Center in Jerusalem… Continue reading

Ohr Somayach is proud to offer our new Chanukah Handbook as part of our Holiday Handbook series.

With great essays, Q/A and halachic overview it is a tremendous asset for schools, synagogues and organizations.

http://ohr.edu/web/chanukah/dl.php

Best wishes for a Happy and inspirational Chanukah!… Continue reading

There are many opinions given by Chazal as to why we come to sin.   The gemara in Sota offers the opinion that a ruach shtuss, a wind of absurdity, enters us.  Once this ruach shtuss takes hold of us we cannot resist the temptation to commit an aveira.  The word shtuss is derived from the word shote, a person who is incompetent.  The gemara is telling us that when a… Continue reading

Aah! The cool refreshing taste of the “Real Thing”! Is there anything (besides maybe baseball and apple pie) that is considered more American? Everyone also knows that around the world (pretty much) there is almost nothing more kosher than good, old-fashioned Coke. Why, you can even ask Grandma, that back in the day (before mp3s, microwaves, dishwashers, and even World War II), Coca-Cola was THE drink of choice… Continue reading

On behalf of the Close To Torah family I would like to formally welcome Rabbi Yehuda Spitz, Rosh Chaburah at the Ohr Lagolah Halacha Kollel at Ohr Somayach in Yerushalayim. Rabbi Spitz will be posting halachik articles on a variety of topics. It is my brachah that Rabbi Spitz inspires and enriches the Close To Torah Community and that he will grow in his clarity and wisdom from his work… Continue reading

עם לבן גרתי (לב:ה).

“I (Yaakov) dwelled with Lavan (32:5)”.

Yaakov Aveinu heard that Esav was coming to kill him. He sent large gifts and words of appeasement in an attempt to calm him down. What is in great need of explanation is one statement which Yaakov made to Esav, which seems out of line with Yaakov’s plan of pacification.

Rashi fills… Continue reading