war
Lech Lecha – Abraham's War and the Final War
What is the importance of the story of the war of the five kings vs. the four kings? What do our sages mean when they say that the war was about killing Abraham? Why does Abraham not accept the people of Sodom into his own care? What is the connection between this and the story…
Read MoreMasei – Warring for Israel
Why do the thirty one kings desire to fight in the war on Sisera’s side against the people of Israel? Why are they willing to do it for free? What does it mean that they ‘thirst to drink of the waters of Israel?’ Why did Jacob, Moses and King David run away from their enemies?…
Read MoreKi Seitze – Facing the Spiritual War
Why does the Torah stress that one is to be careful about illicit and licentious behavior in times of war? What is the difference between co-dependent and interdependent relationships? How do we face the spiritual war that surrounds us in our times? Find out in this week’s parsha podcast. Running time: 18:20
Read MoreShoftim – Preparing for war
How can we be assured that God will be with us when we go out to war? Why does the Kohen use the phrase ‘Shema Yisrael’ – Hear O Israel – when he introduces his speech to the cavalry? Why is the concept of the heart repeated so many times? What is the concept of…
Read MoreWorth fighting for
My sister in New York shared the following about a Rav and his son who very recently spent time here in Israel. They came to celebrate his Bar Mitzvah, and as part of his trip here, they decided to deliver pizza to the troops fighting in Gaza. As the rabbi and his son were giving…
Read MoreThe Moon and the war – part two
As I was reading the article mentioned in the previous post about the moon, I wondered what the significance is to the phenomenon that the tides and waves are caused by the moon’s gravity. What could the message behind this be? I was נתעורר to some interesting thoughts when I saw a piece from the…
Read MoreThe siren's message
At about one PM today, we here in Ramat Bet Shemesh heard the sound that has become normal for the residents of the south. My four year old daughter and her nursery class were all guided to crouch under their desks, and were told they would receive a candy. They davened together with their Morah.…
Read MoreThe Moon and the war
החודש הזה לכם, ראש חדשים – This [lunar] month is for you, first of the months. These were the words that Hashem said to Moshe, giving the Jewish people its first national mitzvah. Henceforth, the Moon would represent us, having no light of its own, reflecting the light of the Sun. We, the Jewish people,…
Read MoreFeeling their pain
I heard a few interesting stories and thoughts over Shabbos. The one that I got the most from was told by the Rav of my shul. This past week, a couple in Jerusalem came to him with the following scenario. The husband had decided to get his wife something special for her birthday recently. He…
Read MoreFill in the blanks
Guest post by Daniel A teacher I had in yeshiva once said to me that “nothing the Jews do right according to Torah can be used against them by the enemies of Israel.” i.e. That which klal Yisroel fails to do properly can be used against them by the enemies of Israel. This is reflected…
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