Magazine

by R. Gidon Rothstein Parshat Naso Kli Yakar’s comment to Bamidbar 7;12 looks back to the end of chapter six, where the Torah taught the kohanim the blessing to administer daily on Hashem’s behalf. Those end with the promise of God giving us peace, a value Kli Yakar extolls and wishes to show is expressed in the gifts the nesi’im, the heads of the tribes, brought to ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: Are there any things to be careful about when cooking for Shabbat on Yom Tov that falls out on Friday, with the help of an eiruv tavshilin (=et)?  Answer: The laws of cooking on Yom Tov are the same when done for Shabbat (with an et) as when done for Yom Tov eating, concerning what ...

by R. Gidon Rothstein Parshat Naso We pretty much all know the basic routine for the priestly blessing (which we often call duchanen, I think because it usually involved kohanim ascending to a platform in front of the congregation; it is also called nesi’at kappayim, lifting of the hands, because they raise their hands over their heads when saying it), and it all seems to be de-oraita. ...

by R. Gil Student Every holiday has its unique practices and spirit… and its own question. Rav Yerachmiel Zelcer became famous for his Sefer Ner Le-Me’ah on Chanukah, in which he offered 100 answers to what is commonly known as the Beis Yosef‘s question: Why are there eight days of Chanukah when the miracle was only seven days? He followed ...

by R. Daniel Z. Feldman Commentary and insights into the fourth portion of Parashas Bamidbar. If you cannot see anything below, click on this link. See here for past weeks: here

by R. Moshe Kurtz Lomdus on the Parsha: Bamidbar Based on the Acclaimed Sefer Chavatzeles HaSharon Q: May a younger sibling get married before the older one? And Nadav and Avihu died before the Lord, when they offered strange fire before the Lord, in the wilderness of Sinai, and they had no children; and Elazar and Isamar ministered in the ...

by R. Gidon Rothstein Parshat Bamidbar In chapter three of our new sefer, Hashem has Moshe designate the Levi’im to serve in the Mishkan, under Aharon’s direction. In verses twelve to thirteen, Hashem clarifies they are being taken in place of the first-born, who “belonged” to Hashem since they were spared in Egypt, in the plague of the first-born. Still later, ...

by R. Daniel Mann Question: We want to plant a fruit tree in our yard, but if we can work it out, we will expand our house and will need to uproot the tree. Is it alright to plant it in these circumstances? Answer: The Torah forbids cutting down fruit trees (Devarim 20:19). This is the strictest application of the ...

by R. Gidon Rothstein Parshat Bamidbar Rambam and Ramban debate the nature of our mitzvah, forcing Sefer HaChinukh to take sides (Ramban was his direct teacher, while he built his whole book on Rambam’s count, as we have seen). Rambam’s Mitzvah—Kohanim Carry the Ark Rambam says Obligation 34 requires kohanim to carry the Aron, the Ark of the Covenant, on their shoulders, whenever there is need to ...

by R. Gil Student I. Great Rabbis and Divergent Beliefs I have been asked many times whether the act of defining lines of acceptable beliefs pushes some great Jewish thinkers outside of normative Judaism. Can we really declare that some great rabbis were heretics? Can we take away their place in the World-to-Come? If not, then we have to say ...