Geulah
Devarim-Tisha B’av – Unifying Duality
Why is the lesson of Devarim before Tisha B’av? How did Moshe become able to speak so eloquently when he originally categorized himself as ‘heavy of tongue?’ What does it mean that the Torah ‘cures the tongue?’ What is the significance of the teaching that a sefer Torah can be written in any language, or…
Read MoreBalak – Final Refinement
Why does Hashem lead the Jewish people to a place where they will sin? What is the significance of the waters of Shittim that the Jews drank of, which was also the spring that the people of Sodom drank from? Why does the midrash seem to make a clear connection to Abraham, sodom and the…
Read MoreKedoshim – Tzion, Yosef and Kedusha
What is the concept of Kedusha-holiness? Are we to separate ourselves completely from this world? Why does the verse seem to say that we are to be holy because Hashem is holy? Why is the concept of kedusha connected to Tzion, which is Jerusalem and the Temple? Why do the blessings of redemption come from…
Read MoreBeshalach – Stages of Redemption
Why do the sons of Efraim try to leave Egypt thirty years early? Why is the verse which speaks of moshe taking Yosef’s bones out of sequence? Why is the depth of the idea of Moshe ‘grabbing a commandment?’ Why is there a double oath to take Yosef’s bones out of Egypt? Why does Yosef…
Read MoreBeshalach – Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Cloud
What is the significance of the three verses in a row that have 72 letters? What is the significance of the fact that the total amount of letters is 216, which is the same numerical value as the word גבורה – withholding kindness? What is the concept of the pillar of fire? What is the…
Read MoreDevarim – Tisha B'av and the spies
What was the story of the spies from the perspective of the Jewish people? How could the Jewish people say that Hashem ‘hated’ them if He had shown them so many miracles and was constantly providing for them? Why does Hashem seem to confirm their fears and remove His presence from them? Why does the…
Read MoreThoughts on 5770 and Geulah
Before I begin this post, I want to preface it with a thought on the Gemara in Sanhedrin (97b) which was recently learned in the Daf Yomi. The Gemara quotes the statement of R’ Shmuel Bar Nachmeni in the name of R’ Yonasan, “Let the bones of those who calculate the end blow up.” This…
Read MoreGr"a on Redemption notes III
3. This Redemption will only occur through the learning of Torah. The main Redemption is dependent on the learning of Kabbalah (*) (**). (*) Raya Mehemna (2:2), Tikkunei Zohar (4:4), Tikkunei Zohar Chadash (36:3). For this reason, the blessing of Ahava Rabba, which is the blessing of the Torah (Berachos 11), was ordered as we…
Read MoreGr"a on Redemption notes II
2. In the beginning, the ten tribes will be redeemed, and afterwards, the tribe of Yehuda [will follow](**). Afterwards will be the generation of the wilderness (Shir Hashirim 6:4)(*). (*) The twelve middle blessings of the prayer are ordered as four times three. The first three are Torah, Teshuva, which is service, and forgiveness. These…
Read MoreGr"a on Redemption notes I
What follows is a detailed review of the eleventh chapter of the Gra’s sefer, Even Shlema. The Gra himself is in bold, the notes on the sefer itself, by Rabbi Shmuel Maltzin are in bold italics. My own thoughts follow in regular print. Chapter 11 – In the concepts of the Erev Rav and the…
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