Eikev 5784-2024
“Understanding Birkat Hamazon, the Grace After Meals”
(updated and revised from Eikev 5765-2005)
Parashat Eikev contains the verse that serves as the source of the mitzvah mandating the reciting of Birkat Hamazon--the Grace after meals. What is the purpose of the Grace after meals? Furthermore, how can a lowly mortal hope to bless or acknowledge the Source of his/her food?
0 Comments7 Minutes
Shemini 5784-2024
“Those Remarkable Dietary Laws”
(updated and revised from Shemini 5766-2006)
Kashruth in the 21st century is far more than a religious ritual. It is a profound bond that unites Jew to Jew, a most meaningful tether that secures an individual to a nation, the sacred energy that connects a people and a nation to its very essence.
0 Comments13 Minutes
B’shalach 5783-2023
“The Malbim Teaches the Lessons of the Manna”
(updated and revised from B’shalach 5764-2004)
From the life of the Malbim, the great 19th century Torah commentator, as well as from his brilliant and intricate explication of the "manna," the heavenly bread, that the Jewish people were given to eat in the wilderness, we find reminders of G-d's constant support. Sustenance is always sent from the Al-mighty, whether it overtly rains down from heaven as it did for the ancient Israelites, or appears in a more subtle manner.
0 Comments11 Minutes
B’ha’a’lot’cha 5782-2022
“The Message of the Manna”
(updated and revised from B’ha’a’lot’cha 5763-2003)
The Manna is the food from heaven that sustained the Israelites for forty years as they wandered in the wilderness. Manna, in effect, represents the heavenly means of support that is provided to each household. The Malbim, Rabbi Meir Yehudah Leibush, cites seven important lessons to be gleaned from Manna. Ultimately, the lesson is, that we must be the masters of our labors and our careers and not allow them to master us.
0 Comments7 Minutes