Parshas Behar – Bechukosai Note: The Shabbos Torah Reading is divided into 7 sections. Each section is called an Aliya [literally: Go up] since for each Aliya, one person “goes up” to make a bracha [blessing] on the Torah Reading. 1st Aliya: Parshas BeHar begins with the laws of Shemitah and Yovel. The land lay…
Tag: Study
The Everlasting Mitzvah
Question: Are there differences in actual Torah laws among the Sephardic, Ashkenazi, and Yemenite customs? Why is it not possible to make a decision that Jews of all backgrounds should rule on Halacha in the same manner? Answer: The Rambam (Chapter 9, Halacha 1 of Hilchot Yesodei Ha’Torah) writes: “Something written explicitly in the Torah,…
“Chalak Bet Yosef” Meat
According to Torah law, one may only consume the meat of kosher fowl or animals which have been slaughtered in accordance with Halacha. However, there are many detailed laws regarding “Terefot” or blemishes and illnesses which may be found within the fowl or animal which would render the animal a “Terefa” and forbidden for consumption…
BEHAR SINAI – BECHUKKOTHAI
BEHAR SINAI LEVITICUS 25 (ONKELOS) — 1 And the Lord spake with Mosheh in the mountain of Sinai, saying: 2 Speak with the children of Israel, and say to them: When you have entered into the land that I will give you, the land shall have rest by an intermission (shemet shemittha) before the Lord….
Year of the Shofar-Blast
Leviticus 25:8 And thou shalt number seven sabbaths of years unto thee, seven times seven years; and the space of the seven sabbaths of years shall be unto thee forty and nine years. Verses 8, 9. – The word jubilee (as it is always spelt in the Authorized Version) is taken from the Hebrew…
Understanding Torah
Reb Yochanan Sofer writes that he remembers when he began to attend to his grandfather Reb Shimon Sofer zt”l for several hours during the day, the remaining hours that he utilized for learning were tremendously productive. In only a short period of time, he was able to understand the depths of the Gemora and the…
The Gentle Way to Educate
Parshat Emor The Gentle Way to Educate G-d spoke to Moses saying, “speak to Aaron.” –Leviticus 21:16-17 The Torah mainly uses two Hebrew words for “speaking.” The first (dibur) is reserved for “hard speech,” the straightforward, accurate delivery of the message. The second (Amirah) is “soft speech,” i.e., tailoring the message to its intended recipient in…
Yeshua Centered Judaism 