Yeshua Centered Judaism

Just be Happy

The Gemara learns from the verse that states vhoyisa ach sameach, and you shall be nothing but joyous, that there is an obligation for one to be joyous on the night of Shemini Atzeres. There is a contradiction in the words of Rashi if this obligation also applies to Shemini Atzeres by day. The commentators ask that…

A Difficult Departure

The Gemara concludes that the halacha regarding Shemini Atzeres is meisav yasvinan beruchei lo mevarchinan, we dwell in the Sukkah but we do not recite a blessing for the mitzvah of dwelling in the Sukkah. The Medrash states that the reason why we celebrate Shemini Atzeres is because HaShem declares, “you, the Jewish People have…

There is only One God

Rabbi Shimon Ben Yochai declared, “there are few people of the highest level, i.e. who have received the Divine presence. If there are a thousand, I and my son are from that group. If there are a hundred, I and my son are from that group. If they are two, they are myself and my…

Teaching Torah to a Child

The Gemara states that when a child knows how to talk, his father teaches him Torah and the recitation of Shema. The Gemara states that Torah means that the father should teach him the verse that states Torah tzivah lanu Moshe morashah Kehillas Yaakov, the Torah that Moshe commanded us is the heritage of the Congregation of…

Blessings Prevent Anger

The Gemara states that one must recite the blessing for a mitzvah prior to performing the mitzvah. This is referred to as over laasiyasan. There are a number of instances in the Torah where the word over is used and the Medrash and Gemara interpret the word to denote anger. An example of this is regarding the laws…

Gold and Humility

The Mishnah states that the people of <st1:place w:st=”on”><st1:city w:st=”on”>Jerusalem would bind their lulav bundles with gold strings. The Chachamim said to Rabbi Meir that they would first bind the lulav with material of the same species in order to fulfill the mitzvah properly and then they added the gold strings as decoration. It is…

4Q246: 4Q Aramaic Apocalypse

Posted on February 27, 2008 by Jin Yang Kim 4Q246 Manuscript Transcription of 4Q246 Translation of 4Q246 Col. I 1. [ ] rested upon him, he fell befor the throne 2. [… k]ing, rage is coming to the world, and your years 3. […]. . . your vision, all of it is about to come unto the world….

Today’s Mitzvah

Adar II 9, 5774 · March 11, 2014 Today’s Mitzvah A daily digest of Maimonides’ classic work “Sefer Hamitzvot” AUDIO & VIDEO CLASSES • VIDEO CLASS: Rabbi Mendel Kaplan Watch • Listen • AUDIO CLASS: Rabbi Berel Bell Listen • MP3 Download Important Message Regarding This Lesson The Daily Mitzvah schedule runs parallel to the daily study of 3 chapters of Maimonides’ 14-volume…

Esrog; Fruit of Desire

The Gemara states that an esrog is described in the Torah as a pri eitz hadar, the fruit of the hadartree, and the word hadar can be interpreted to mean haddar, that dwells. Thus, the esrog is a fruit that dwells on its tree from one year to the next year. It is noteworthy that the Rishonim write that the…

A perfect Game

The Gemara derives from the word ulekachtem, and you shall take, that the four species are essential to each other, i.e. that one must have all four species available when he is prepared to fulfill the mitzvah. It is noteworthy that the Gemara derives this ruling from the word ulekachtem. The sefarim write that the festival of…

Crown of Aleppo

THE BIBLE OF BIBLES. Often considered the most authoritative text of the Hebrew Bible, the 1,000-year-old Aleppo Codex—known in Hebrew as the “Crown of Aleppo”—has had a tumultuous history. It remained fully intact until 1947, when it was nearly destroyed by an anti-Jewish mob. This fragment, a piece of the ten plagues narrative from the…

DAILY MASHAL

Sukkah and Avraham Avinu The Gemara relates a story that a certain elderly woman went to Rav Nachman and claimed that theReish Galusa and all the Chachamim were sitting in a stolen Sukkah. Her claim was that the servants of the Reish Galusa stole wood from her and used it to build their Sukkah. Rav Nachman, however, did not…