In the Torah portion of Va’eira – Moses notifies Pharaoh that the Jewish people need to leave Egypt for 3 days to serve God. Pharaoh did not agree to it. Only afterwards Moses asked that the Jewish people be allowed to leave for permanent freedom. The question is asked, why was Pharaoh asked for the 3 days first? Rabbi Enkin shares an important lesson for life.
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In the Torah portion of Shemot – Moses’ mother places him in a wicker basket and sends him down the Nile river with hopes that he would be saved from the decree that all boys be killed. Miriam, his sister, kept an eye on him from behind the bushes, while Batya, Pharaoh’s daughter found him and took him in, adopted him as her own. Our Sages teach us that these 2 women were both rewarded – Miriam greater than Batya, and the question is Why? Rabbi Ari Enkin shares the lesson…
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This week we read the Torah portion of Bereishit / Genesis, and in it we learn about the Sin of Adam and Eve. The Ben Ish Chai shares what we can do, so to speak, to rectify the sin of eating from the tree of knowledge.
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In the Torah portion of Matot-Masei, hidden in a small verse in the book of Numbers, Rabbi Enkin shares a lesson of fine character from our teacher Moses. A tip for good parenting and good leadership.
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In the Torah portion of Chukat we read about the song that the Jewish people sung in celebration and thanksgiving for the well that followed them and provided water for them, through out their journey in the desert – however, there is another place in the Torah when the Jews also sing a song of Thanks to God, but there is a difference in the wording of these 2 verses. Why is that? Rabbi Ari Enkin shares the lesson.
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The Jewish holiday of Lag Ba’Omer is perhaps the most popular day for weddings…but, can we find a hint to this in the Torah? Rabbi Aaron Pessing shares some sources and a gematria which allude to weddings on Lag BaOmer.
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In the Torah portion of Terumah we read about the construction of the various utensils used for the miishkan / tabernacle / sanctuary in the desert. Like every Synagogue through out history was built by donations, so was the sanctuary in the desert. When collecting money for the sanctuary, the Torah uses the expression “kol nediv leebo” “all those generous of heart” – however this is the only time in this expression is used by donations in the Torah. The question is WHY?
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The Jewish people sing a song of Thanksgiving to G-d as they cross the red sea on dry land. In this song it says “This is my G-d & I will glorify Him” – We learn from this verse that when performing G-d’s commandments we should go above and beyond the bare minimum requirement – we should beautify the mitzvah/commandment, The question is asked: Why specifically is it this verse, of the Jews by the sea, that teaches us this lesson? There are many miraculous events that happened for the Jewish people – what is special about this one? Rabb Ari Enkin shares the lesson…
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In the Torah portion of Va’era we’re introduced to Moshe (Moses) and Aaron – two greats of the Jewish people. Sometimes Moses is mentioned first in the verse and sometimes Aaron is mentioned first. Why is this so? It’s explained that they were both equally as great. But that raises another question: How could that be? Everyone knows Moses and that he was the great leader of the Jewish people and the greatest prophet of Israel. How could it be that they were equal in greatness?
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In the Torah portion of Shemot, we read about the Jewish midwives. One of their names was Shifra and the other one was Puah. Yet we know that Shifra and Puah were actually Yocheved and Miram – the mother and sister or Moses. These are women who were also leaders of the Jewish people, why did the Torah give them names that represent seemingly menial tasks?
Rabb Ari Enkin shares…
