Torah 948 articles

Parshat Va’era 5767 “And Yehuda too will make war on Yerushalayim” (Zechariah 14:14) The Parsha begins with Hashem’s disappointment at Moshe’s emotional shift at the turn of events, from elation that...

A number of Midrashim indicate that the departed sentenced to Gehinnom enjoy a kind of reprieve on Shabbat. This is not brought as a mere curiosity, but on the contrary comes...

Our parsha admonishes the lender, “When you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, don’t be to him as a collector; don’t impose interest on him” (Shemot 22:24)....

The Tur (EHE 65) writes: “It is a great mitzva to bring joy to the bride and groom, and dance before her… And it says in the Midrash: “Why didn’t the...

The previous two columns were devoted to the special laws relating to the seven species which the Torah recounts as the special praise of the Land of Israel. Rav Natan of...

As we mentioned last week, there are special rules of blessing for the “seven species” mentioned in the Torah as the praise of the Land of Israel: Wheat, barley, grapes, figs,...

While we are required to make a blessing on any food we eat, there are special rules for the “seven species”, the seven kinds of produce mentioned in the Torah as...

Some pronounce it in one syllable: CHOLNT Virtually all Jewish communities evolved some form of cholent, some kind of bean or barley stew which is sealed up in the oven to...

It is an old custom for the parents to bless their children on Shabbat night after Shabbat prayers. (Mentioned in siddurim from the early Acharonim.) The blessing for the sons begins...

The Gemara tells us that there is special merit in adjoining geula (the blessing Ga’al Yisrael following the shema) to tefillah (the amida prayer), meaning that he makes no interruption in...