Vayelech 5780

This week’s Kiddush was sponsored in honor of the Preidah for R’ Yackov Shwartzbaum. The Rav explained that it’s a סעודת מרעים, where friends get together. The Sefer HaChaim, written by Reb Chaim MVridburg (Brother of the Maharal) in the section titled ספר פרנסה וכלכלה, he writes that a סעודת מרעים, a seudah where people get together in friendship shouldn’t be a small thing in one’s eyes. Because it’s not for nothing that Chazal said that people shouldn’t break for Tefilah when they are involved in such a seudah because such a seudah is a big deal and is somewhat an expression of Tefilah, that which people nourish the אהבה between themselves....

October 2, 2019 · Dovid

Nitzavim 5779

The Gemara in מגילה דף לא ע"ב says that Ezra established that we should read the קללות in Vayikra before Shavuos and the קללות of Devarim before Rosh Hashanah כדי שתכלה שנה וקללותיה. It’s not merely because we finish the torah once a year that the קללות fall out near Rosh Hashanah rather its part of the Takana of Ezra, and even בני מערבא who competed the Torah in three years would read the קללות around Rosh Hashanah being it’s relevant for the time period....

September 28, 2019 · Dovid

Ki Seitzei 5779

This week’s Kiddush was sponsored by the Feldinger family in honor of their sons Aufruf. The words כי יקח איש אשה appear three times in this week’s Parshah in the following Psukim. כי יקח איש אשה ובא אליה ושנאה (כב,יג) כי יקח איש אשה ובעלה והיה אם לא תמצא חן בעיניו כי מצא בה ערות דבר וכתב לה ספר כריתת ונתן בידה ושלחה מביתו (כד,א) כי יקח איש אשה חדשה לא יצא בצבא ולא יעבר עליו לכל דבר נקי יהיה לביתו שנה אחת ושמח את אשתו אשר לקח (כד,ה) In fact, the source for כסף קדושין is learned out from the גזירה שוה of קיחה קיחה משדה עפרון and one of them is in the Parshah....

September 14, 2019 · Dovid

Shoftim 5779

The end of the Parshah deals with the עגלה ערופה. The Pasuk says ויצאו זקניך ושפטיך. Rashi says the זקניך are the סנהדרין גדולה. Every time a dead body was found, the entire Sanhedrin would have to get up from Jerusalem and travel to wherever the body was found. The question is who the beheaded heifer is coming to represent. One could have thought that it represents the murderer as the Pasuk says in the end of Parshas Masei ולארץ לא יכפר לדם אשר שפך בה כי אם בדם שפכו....

September 7, 2019 · Dovid

Re'eh 5779

This week is Shabbos Rosh Chodesh Elul. One would think that when comparing the two, Shabbos is greater than Rosh Chodesh. However, from the Gemara in זבחים דף צא ע"א it appears that Rosh Chodesh is greater and more holy because the Gemara wants to prove that תדיר precedes מקודש because the musafei Shabbos come before the musafei Rosh Chodesh which is תדיר even though Rosh Chodesh is more מקודש....

August 25, 2019 · Dovid