When the Torah wishes to inform us of the ‘historical’ reason for a holiday, it certainly knows how to do so. Take for example the two other pilgrimage holidays – “chag ha’matzot” & “succot”: Even though these holidays are also presented from their ‘agricultural’ perspective (see Shmot 23:14-17), the Torah informs us of their historical […]
What does it mean to celebrate receiving the Torah? It means understanding that there is no greater gift than the Torah. King David exemplified this.
Why was the whole fanfare of Matan Torah necessary? Why did Moshe have to go up to Heaven get the Torah (after Matan Torah), why couldn’t it be given to Moshe on Earth?
Rav Yosef was more makpid on Simchat Yom Tov on Shavuot than on other holidays because if not for the Torah he would be like every other Yosef in the marketplace. What did he mean by that? Why specifically the marketplace?
The following is meant as a convenient review of Halachos pertaining to Yom Tov. The Piskei Din for the most part are based purely on the Sugyos, Shulchan Aruch and Ramah, and the Mishna Berura, unless stated otherwise. They are based on my understanding of the aforementioned texts through the teachings of my Rebeim. As […]
Shiur provided courtesy of Naaleh.com. Summary by Channie Koplowitz Stein The holiday we generally refer to as Shavuot has in fact several names each reflecting a different aspect of the holiday, either spiritual or agricultural. However, one common name seems to have no relevance today, Chag Habikurim/the holiday of the first fruit. Certainly Torah […]
“Do not covet the house of your neighbor. Do not covet the wife of your neighbor; his slave and maid servant, his ox, his donkey, and all that belongs to your neighbor.” – Shemos 20:14 The Ibn Ezra explains that people are perplexed by this mitzvah. How is it possible not to desire that which I […]
To briefly review, in Part I of this article we introduced the concept that the yearly roster of the special holy-days listed in Vayikra chapter 23 within Parshas Emor might serve as an ‘organizer’ for the kepitlach of Hallel. The seven special times of Emor are: (1) Shabbos; (2) Pesach; (3) Shavuos; (4) Rosh Hashanah; […]
Everybody knows Hallel. They know it in their sleep. And everybody knows what it means. “Praise”. Every siddur translates it that way. But did you ever notice how different the kepitlach are from each other? For instance look at 113. Just as we would expect, it is full of general praise for HaShem– how He […]
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