Pinchas 5783: The Importance of Having a Rebbi
What does, קַח לְךָ, take for yourself, mean? Rashi explains, קָחֶנּוּ בִּדְבָרִים , take him with words. Draw him in convince him and say to him, אַשְׁרֶךָ שֶׁזָּכִיתָ לְהַנְהִיג בָּנָיו שֶׁל מָקוֹם, fortunate are you that you are zocheh to…
Chukas-Balak 5783: What to Focus on in Chinuch – part 2
The foundation of being an ehrliche Yid and the foundation of somebody being a talmid of Avraham Avinu is based on having good middos (Avos 5:19). And if you lack those good middos, then you’re one of the talmidim…
Korach 5783: The Key to Getting Rid of Jealousy
In the past, we have spoken about a massive problem, a challenge the people have with kinah, jealousy, and with sinah, hatred. Today, we would like to discuss the ways and means to deal with these issues. If…
Shelach Lecha 5783: The Right Time for Chutzpah
In this week’s parshah, we encounter a game-changing episode in the history of Klal Yisrael. The meraglim, the spies, came back and gave a bad report about Eretz Yisrael. The consequences were terrible. These great tzaddikim ended up forfeiting their…
Beha’aloscha 5783: What Is Chareidi?
In this week’s parsha, we are told about an episode with a group of people who expressed their regret and pain over the fact that their impurity prevented them from bringing the korban pesach. Their sheila was that if…
Nasso 5783: Concealing and Controlling Our True Middos
We’re coming down from the mountain. Shavuos is over. You know, there is one maalah of Yom Tov over Shabbos. The Ramban says that the neshamah yeseirah of Shabbos leaves by Motzei Shabbos. By Yom Tov, it doesn’t leave. But…
Shavuos 5783: The Awesome Power of Shavuos
There was a great tzaddik and talmid chacham, R’ Yosef Caro (1488-1575). He was mechaber the Shulchan Aruch and many other works. He was zocheh to tremendous giluyim min hashamayim over a 35-year period. He had a malach appear to…
Bamidbar 5783: Understanding The Ways of Hashem
In this week’s parshah it says “all the males by their skulls,” by their heads. So the Rema miPano, who authored a sefer called Asarah Ma’amaros, writes that Moshe Rabeinu would look at every single Jew when they came before…
Behar/Bechukosai 5783: Your Relationship With Torah
Parshas Bechukosai falls out almost every year right before Shavuos, or close to Shavuos. The subject of Parshas Bechukosai, as many people will tell you, is klalos and brachos, or tochachah. But the emes is that tochachah is only the…
Emor 5783: Learning to Honor Your Fellow Jew
The gemara Yevamos (62b) tells us about the 12,000 pairs of talmidim that Rabbi Akiva had. They didn’t learn in one building. They were spread out from a place called Gabos until Antifras – a network of yeshivos under…
Acharei Mos-Kedoshim 5783: Growing in Torah and Ruchniyus During Sefirah
We began to study the steps [based on pesukim in Mishlei 2:1-3] that are required during yemei sefiras haomer to bring out and connect us to our spiritual dimension. Not only is the dimension of ruchniyus of a person separate…
Tazria-Metzora 5783: How to Earn and Keep Your Olam Haba
The Torah allots two parshiyos, Tazria and Metzora, to discuss nega’im, tzaraas. Chazal tell us that one of the main reasons nega’im and tzaraas come is for lashon hara. You have to understand, if the Torah makes such a fuss…
Pesach 5783: The Purpose of the Sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim
The big mitzvah on Pesach is the Mitzvah of the Sippur Yetzias Mitzrayim. We must know and understand what is the purpose of this night. Why do we make such a big fuss about repeating the same story of Yetzias…
Vayikra 5783: Seeing the Yad Hashem in Everything
The passuk opens by saying that Hashem called to Moshe – ויקרא אל משה (Vayikra 1:1). The Ba’al Haturim discusses why the last letter alef in the word ויקרא is written small. In a sefer Torah most letters are written…
Vayakhel/Pekudei 5783: Living a Life of Emes
Before I start the shiur, I want to pose a question. Maybe someone out there will have a good answer. I have noticed that they closed down all the yeshivos, talmud Torahs, the yeshivah ketanos, the batei midrashim and the…
Ki Sisa 5783: How To Feel Shabbos
In this week’s Parsha, the Torah commands us regarding observance of Shabbos: ואתה דבר אל בני ישראל לאמר אך את שבתתי תשמרו כי אות הוא ביני וביניכם לדרתיכם לדעת כי אני ה’ מקדשכם – “Speak to the Bnei Yisroel and…
Tetzaveh/Purim 5783: The Ultimate Purim!
I’d like to share with you today a mindset that one should have regarding the mitzvos of Purim. There is a mitzvah of mishloach manos איש לרעהו on Purim that the Yidden were mekabel upon themselves and it’s something that…
Terumah 5783: Bring the Shechina Into Your Home
We find in many places in Chazal that building a home is compared to building a Beis Hamikdash. However, most people look at a home as the opposite of a Beis Hamikdash. Everybody is aware that when you go to…
Mishpatim 5783: The Key to Life & Who Does Hashem Answer First
In this week’s parshah there is a moradige yesod with an interesting new twist. It’s something that a person can employ in every endeavor that he undertakes in his life. The passuk says, כל אלמנה ויתום לא תענון, “you should…
Yisro 5783: Are You Aware That You Are Loved?
The first passuk in this week’s parshah begins by telling us the following: וישמע יתרו כהן מדין חתן משה, Yisro (who was the priest of Midian, and the father-in-law of Moshe), heard, את כל אשר עשה אלקים למשה ולישראל עמו,…
Beshalach 5783: Krias Yam Suf: How To Get Out When You Are Stuck
Everybody who hears this shmuess, should express their hoda’ah to Hashem Yisbarach, that they’re able to go to the bathroom and vacuate without surgery or any other intervention.[i] Perhaps you don’t understand what it says in asher yatzar, and you…
Bo 5783: Developing Your Spiritual Health
In the gemara (Bava Kamma 92) there is a gantze sugya about the source for certain sayings that the world says. Mei heicha teisi you have to find a mekor in Torah for sayings that people say? הפך בה והפך…
Vaera 5783: Planting Seeds to Build Our Future with Bitachon in Tefillah
We have to learn from our avos, Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, that we need to develop in every area of our lives. The avos built the future of Klal Yisrael. Their whole outlook and their whole avodah was with an…
Shemos 5783: Get Out of Your Mitzrayim (Part 2): The Amazing Power of Hope
We’d like to stay on the topic of ‘Getting out of Your Mitzrayim’ and today’s shmooze is on a Chazal we find in Parshas Vayechi on the passuk of ‘לישועתך קויתי ה – for Your salvation I long, Hashem (Bereishis…
