November 2023
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Parsha Pearls: Parshas Shoftim
The Difference Between Achav and HerodWe Don’t Want an Announced RedemptionHonoring the Government “And the officers shall speak to the people, saying, who is the man who built a new house and did not dedicate it? Let him go and return to his house, lest he die in the war and another man dedicate it.”…
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Parsha Pearls: Parshas Re’eh
These are new gods, so they are okayThe False Prophet’s MiracleLike Deer and Hinds “If a prophet or a dreamer arises among you, and he gives you a sign or a wonder” (Devarim 13:2) The Satmar Rebbe once said, “In the old days, if you said that a Jew did something wrong for the sake…
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Parsha Pearls: Parshas Eikev
Relying only on HashemG-d Does Not Accept BribesSleeping in ExileThe Order of Shmoneh Esrei “If you say in your heart: these nations are more numerous than me; how will I be able to displace them? You shall not fear them; you must surely remember what Hashem your G-d did to Pharaoh and to all of…
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Parsha Pearls: Parshas Vaeschanan
Those who are in exile against their willThe Right Way to Consult a RabbiDon’t Break in Like a Burglar!Selling Land and Giving Up SovereigntyNo Strategies or Diplomacy “And Hashem will scatter you among the nations, and you will be left few in number in the nations where Hashem will lead you. And you will worship…
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Parsha Pearls: Parshas Devarim
Why do you show yourselves?What Should We Pray During a War?Mass ImmigrationStopping the Spread of HeresyThe Power of the Holy Tongue “You have circled this mountain long enough; turn yourselves northward.” (Devarim 2:2) The Klei Yakar writes: Many say that this verse contains a penetrating lesson. It refers to both the immediate context and to…
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Parsha Pearls: Matos-Masei
Is it a mitzvah or a sin?Does the Ramban Contradict the Three Oaths?The Ramban Does Not Advocate ConquestOnly with a Prophetic CommandFruits of Eretz Yisroel During ExileBasing Sins on the Torah And Moshe spoke to the heads of the tribes, to the children of Israel, saying: This is the thing that Hashem commanded. A man…
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Parsha Pearls: Parshas Masei
Does the Ramban Contradict the Three Oaths?The Ramban Does Not Advocate ConquestOnly with a Prophetic CommandFruits of Eretz Yisroel During ExileBasing Sins on the Torah “And you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for to you I have given the land to inherit it.” (Bamidbar 33:53). The Ramban in Sefer Hamitzvos…
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Parsha Pearls: Parshas Matos
Is it a mitzvah or a sin? And Moshe spoke to the heads of the tribes, to the children of Israel, saying: This is the thing that Hashem commanded. A man who makes a vow… (30:2-3) Rashi says, quoting Bava Basra 120b, that Moshe taught the parsha about vows not only to the heads of…
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Parsha Pearls: Parshas Pinchas
Why the moon is smaller than the sunBut Chassidim Daven Late!The Zealot Saves EveryoneWhat to Do When the Rabbi Doesn’t AnswerPinchas and Yirmiyahu “And one goat as a sin offering for Hashem.” (Bamidbar 28:15) The Gemara in Chullin 60b understands this to mean “a sin offering to atone for Hashem,” and tells the following story…
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Parsha Pearls: Chukas-Balak
Esrogim from Eretz Yisroel may be growing on stolen land!Do Not Fight With the NationsNot Praying Too MuchProtesting for Hashem’s HonorDon’t be frumer than the TorahNatural, But Only With MoshiachWhat Pinchas ForesawJust Say No to the Army “For Cheshbon was the city of Sichon, king of the Emorites, who fought with the first king of…