Ki Teitzei: Shalom Zachar
The Rema writes that the custom is to make a meal or gathering on Shabbat night after a son is born, and adds that this is considered a seudat mitzva (SA...
Shoftim: Judging in a Torah Court
Our parsha begins with the commandment to appoint judges. Of course even without an explicit mitzva the Jewish people would have had to establish some system of justice, just to ensure...
Re’eh: Yaaleh V’Yavo
On days which have a musaf prayer, that is, Yom Tov, High Holidays and Rosh Chodesh, we say the prayer yaaleh veyavo in the blessing on the restoration of the Temple...
Ekev: Plowing in the Land of Israel
The Mishna in Shabbat enumerates 39 distinct archetypal labors, or melachot, according to a number of series. The first is the series of making bread, which begins with sowing and is...
Vaetchanan: Tu B’Av
This/next Wednesday (July 24) is Tu B’Av, the fifteenth day of Av. The Shulchan Aruch mentions that we do not say Tachanun on this day (Orach Chaim 131:6). The reason is...
Devarim: Learning Torah on Tisha B’Av
One of the expressions of mourning on Tisha beAv is that we refrain from studying Torah, just as a mourner does (SA OC 554). The gemara bases this rule on the...
Matot-Masei: Birkhat Kohanim Without Shoes
One of the nine decrees of Rabban Yochanan ben Zakkai is that the Kohanim are not allowed to wear sandals when they ascend the duchan to bless the congregation (Rosh HaShana...
Pinchas: Remembering the Temple during Times of Joy
The three-week period from the 17th of Tammuz to the ninth of Av is marked by various mourning customs meant to commemorate the destruction of the Temple. For example, Ashkenazim don’t...
Balak: Bribery
The Torah forbids judges from taking bribes in no uncertain terms: “Don’t accept bribes, for bribes blind the sighted and distort the words of the wise” (Shemot 23:8). The Torah reiterates...
Chukat: “Who Has Made Me According to His Will”
The Shulchan Aruch states that in the series of benedictions recited each morning on awakening, a man thanks HaShem, “Who has not made me a woman”, whereas a woman thanks HaShem,...
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