Divrei Torah Archive

There's a strange Rashi for this week's parsha that has always left me bewildered. That is, it did until around four years ago. I experienced something then that truly made me understand the commentary on a personal level, and I’d like to share my experience with you today...

I get to learn most of Shemini every year with my eighth-grade Chumash talmidim, and I have felt really torn on choosing just one idea to discuss with them this year. Ultimately, I've decided that I'll answer a question that I ask my talmidim every year to answer on a test, but to which I have never actually shared my own response. The...

Many people have asked how we can celebrate Purim when we are still in the midst of a war and continue to mourn for the events of this past Shemini Atzeret. Perhaps the answer can be found in understanding a connection between Shemini Atzeret and Purim. Shemini Atzeret is...

The rapid approach of April reminds us that tax season is already upon us. Now is the time for taxpayers to make an accounting of all of our finances over the past year. We will get another reminder of the importance of keeping accurate financial records this Shabbat when we read Parshat Pekudei. This...

In the first pasuk of the parsha, we see Moshe gathering bnei Yisrael together in order to teach them about the Mishkan:

וַיַּקְהֵ֣ל מֹשֶׁ֗ה אֶֽת־כׇּל־עֲדַ֛ת בְּנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל וַיֹּ֣אמֶר אֲלֵהֶ֑ם אֵ֚לֶּה הַדְּבָרִ֔ים אֲשֶׁר־צִוָּ֥ה ה' לַעֲשֹׂ֥ת אֹתָֽם׃

Moshe then convoked the whole Israelite community and said to them: These are the things that Hashem...

This week’s parsha, Parshat Terumah, features Hashem asking Moshe to begin taking donations from the Jews in order to build the mishkan, so that Hashem can “dwell among the Jews.” Hashem says, “וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם,” “And they shall make for me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst.” One thing I love about this is the idea that Hashem leaves it totally up to us...

When I wake up in the morning, the first words that come out of my mouth are what seems like a tefillah, "מוֹדֶה אֲנִי": "Thankful am I before you, my Everlasting King, who acts with mercy and has great faith." While this line may not explicitly say...

I’d like to share some thoughts about Tu B’Shevat and Parashat Beshalach. This week, we celebrate Tu B’Shevat, the New Year of the Trees. As the almond trees begin to bloom in Eretz Yisrael, we are reminded that a new season is on its way. Although we know that it will take quite some time until spring arrives...

Ordinarily, when I’m asked to write a dvar Torah, I have a fairly standard formula that I try to follow. I find some sort of anomaly, or seeming difficulty in the parsha, and look for a solution that is thoughtful and meaningful. Right now, we are not living in ordinary times, and I feel that this is a time where a different lens is needed for how we look at Torah. Last...