Torah Tidbits
Aliya-by-Aliyah - Parashat Re'i
SDT: stands for Short D’var Torah, and is a long-standing feature of Torah Tidbits. Usually interdispersed within the Aliya-by-Aliya Sedra Summary, they make a short point about a single issue in the sedra. Many an SDT have been shared at Shabbat tables throughout Israel (and abroad, via the internet) for many years. Here is one for Parshat Eikev
Continue ReadingSedra Stats - Parashat Re'i
47th of the 54 sedras;
4th of 11 in D’varim
Written on 257.8 lines in a Torah (rank: 4th)
The Law of the Excluded Middle - MitzvaWatch
The Law of the Excluded Middle is a principle of logic whereby a proposition is either true or false but cannot be both true and false. Also known as principle of dichotomy.
At Israel Center Shabbatonim, we often conduct a survey of the participants which includes questions such as, “For whom is this their first Shabbaton?”, “How many people were born in Brooklyn?”, “Who had the geilte fish and who had the moussaka?” .....
Mental Illness and Shidduchim
We continue this week with the subject of mental illness and shidduchim: must a person reveal information regarding mental illness before entering into a shidduch?
Continue ReadingPortion from the Portion- Parshat Re'i
A month of summer vacation has passed, but there is still the whole month of August to go. Parents try to find meaningful activities to do with their children. Families can take the opportunity of having the kids home during the summer to travel in our land and make verses of the Torah come to life. This week’s portion gives us just that opportunity.
Continue ReadingParsha Points to Ponder for Parshat Re'i
1) The Torah commands us regarding the Korban Pesach, eating matza, and not eating chameitz on Pesach. Why does it conclude the section by teaching IN ORDER TO REMEMBER THE DAY YOU LEFT EGYPT ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE (16:2). How will observing these laws on these seven days enable us to remember our leaving Egypt ALL THE DAYS OF YOUR LIFE?
Continue ReadingChizuk & Idud - Parashat Re'i
Parshat R’ei opens with a reminder to Am Yisrael that they are about to enter the Land of Israel, where they will be obligated in a series of seminal commandments. First and foremost is a command to locate two mountains, Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Eival, and to pronounce a b’racha and a k’lala - a blessing and a curse. This command- ment is expanded upon later on in D’varim (ch. 27), and, in fact, fulfilled in the Book of Yehoshua (ch. 8) after the successful capture of Yericho and Ai.
Continue ReadingVebbe Rebbe
CASE: The plaintiff (=P) approached his neighbor, the defendant (=D), with information that acquaintances wanted to buy D’s apartment, which was being rented out. After consultations, D agreed to the sale. P, a registered real estate agent, demands a 2% fee from D (he is not demanding from the buyers for personal reasons). He presented himself as a friend, not an agent, and purposely did not raise the issue of a fee so as to not sour the deal
Continue ReadingThe Challenge of Money: Wages and Labor; Employer and Employee [part 3]
n view of the human element involved in labor relations over and above the economic and legal aspects, Judaism has taken special steps to protect workers; steps that are relevant to present-day discussions world-wide concerning health costs, job security, severance pay and pensions. For the first three-quarters of the 20th century, most social thought centered on these issues resulting in various forms of socialism.
Continue ReadingWord of the Month - Parshat Re'i
A weekly feature of Torah Tidbits to help clarify practical and conceptual aspects of the Jewish Calendar, thereby better fulfilling the mitzva of HaChodesh HaZeh Lachem…
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Lesson # 529- To Remove Dangerous Conditions
In our Kolel, I was giving a series of lectures about the development of halacha, when one of the students asked what is the very last chapter of the entire Shulhan Aruch. I told him it was “To remove Dangerous conditions”.
There are two Torah commandments involved in these laws. A positive commandment to remove sources of danger from our homes (including making a parapet on one’s roof) and a negative commandment (prohibition) not to leave obstacles that may injure people on public or private property.
In This Issue of Torah Tidbits
- Lead Tidbit
- Candle A Day
- Jewish Law
- Aliya-by-Aliya Sedra Summary
- Sedra Stats
- Vebbe Rebbe
- Portion of the Portion
- Parsha Points to Ponder
- Person In The Parsha
- Word of the Month
- Praying With Passion
- Ethical Teachings of the Torah
- Chizuk and Idud
- "From Machon Puah"
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Candle Lighting and Havdala
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Sedra Stats
47th of the 54 sedras;
4th of 11 in D’varim
Written on 257.8 lines in a Torah (rank: 4th)
Word of the Month
AV, spelled ALEF-BET, can be the Rashei Teivot (initials) of ELUL BA, Elul is coming. And so it is. On this last Shabbat of AV, we announce the coming month of Elul, whose Rosh Chodesh will be on Tuesday and Wednesday.
ROSH CHODESH ELUL YIY-HEH B’YOM SHLISHI UV’YOM RVII HABA ALEINU V’AL KOL YISRAEL L’TOVA:
The molad is TUE Aug 10, 6h 52m 0p, 7:31am (actual: 6:08am)
HAMOLAD YIY-HEH B’YOM SHLISHI, B’SHAA SHEISH BABOKER, CHAMISHIM USHTAYIM DAKOT.
Tuesday night, the eve of the first of Elul, we start saying T’hilim 27 (L’David) at the end of Maariv, and on Tuesday morning, at the end of Shacharit. Standard practice for Nusach S’fard is not to say it after Maariv, but at Mincha instead