Shulchan Aruch

Chapter 21 – KIDDUSH, HAVDALAH, AND THE SABBATH MEALS When coming home from the synagogue on Friday night, a person should eat immediately (271:1). Nothing should be eaten or drunk before reciting KIDDUSH (271:4,7); both men and women are required to recite it (271:2). On what a person should do if he is in the…

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Maharal

Chapter 3: Mishna 3: Part 3 There is a further depth to the qualitative difference between two people and one person, which will explain why the Divine presence resides specifically between the two who are studying Torah. Immediately following the giving of the Torah at Sinai, the Jewish people were commanded to build a Mishkan,…

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D’var Torah

D’var Torah Parshas Masei Close Enough? By Rabbi Label Lam And you shall not defile the land where you reside, in which I dwell, for I am HASHEM Who dwells among the Children of Israel. (Bamidbar 26:34) …in which I dwell: You should not cause Me to dwell amidst its uncleanness. (Rashi) …for I am…

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Daf Notes

  It is written in the Megillah [2:5]: There was a Jewish man in Shushan the capital, whose name was Mordechai, son of Yair, son of Shimei, son of Kish, from the tribe of Binyamin. The Gemora asks: He is called a Jew (Yehudi), which would imply that he is from the tribe of Yehudah…

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Yetzer Hara

Humility Ketuvin Netzarim: James (Jacob or Ya’akov) 4:1-17 Speech and Lashon Ha-Ra Prohibition of Harming a Person through Speech This category is derived from Ex. 20:13, saying, “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” It includes all forms of lashon ha-ra (sins relating to speech). Resist Pride and Evil   1 Where do…

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Maimonides on Life

Maimonides on Life The Power of the Human Eye, Part I Maimonides, Laws of De’os – Chapter 2, Law 7(b) “…Neither should a person be overly greedy (lit., ‘one of a wide soul’), obsessed with the pursuit of riches, nor one lazy and neglectful of work. Rather he should be one with a good eye,…

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Parsha Summary

Pashas Masei Jeremiah 2:4 – 2:28, 3:4 Please note: There is no Parsha Summary for this week. Just the Haftorah. 2nd of the Tlas Diparanusa – Haftoras of Ill Tidings This week’s Haftorah is the second Haftorah forewarning the impending destruction of Yerushalayim. In the 2nd chapter of Yirmiyahu, the Navi detailed the extent of…

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Parshas Masei Haftorah

Parshas Masei Yirmiyahu 2:4 This week’s haftorah continues the theme of the three weeks and introduces the month of Av. The prophet Yirmiyahu reprimands the Jewish people and reminds them, in the name of Hashem, of all of the favors they have received over the years. Hashem asks, “What wrong did your fathers find in…

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Sfas Emes

Parshas Ma’sei By Nosson Chayim Leff Sfas Emes, Zechuso Tagein Aleinu, Parshas Mas’ei, 5632 The parsha begins (33: 1 -2): “These are the journeys of Bnei Yisroel who went out of Egypt … Moshe recorded their departures for their journeys (motza’ei’hem lemas’ei’hem) … these were the journeys for their departures” (mas’ei’hem lemotza’ei’hem). The Sfas Emes…

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Operating Vending Machines and Websites on Shabbat

Question: May one place an automatic snack or soda machine in a non-Jewish neighborhood on Erev Shabbat even if one is certain that the residents of this neighborhood will put money into the machine in order to purchase an items on Shabbat or is this forbidden? Answer: We have already explained above, that in terms…

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