Torah Tidbits
Aliya-by-Aliyah - Parashat Ki Tavo
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 Ki Tavo 5770
50th of the 54 sedras;
7th of 11 in D’varim
Written on 233 lines in a Sefer Torah (rank: 13)
Daily vs. Semi-Annual
The overpowering theme of Parshat Ki Tavo is REWARD and PUNISHMENT. The message is not new to us from this sedra; we’ve been hearing variations on the theme throughout the Torah.
Back in Parshat R’ei, we are told about B’RACHA and K’LALA, blessing and curse. Specifically, we are told of the formal presentation the people will be receiving after entering the Land. In Ki Tavo, that topic is reviewed… in great detail.
Parsha Pix -Ki Tavo
The bringer is smiling the ultimate smile, as the Torah commands us to rejoice in all that G-d has given us…
Continue ReadingTowards Better Davening and Torah Reading - Ki Tavo
The Torah tells us of the blessings and curses to be pronounced on Har G’rizim and Har Eival, after entering
the Land. The list of curses contains 12 items. After the first, the format of the verses is the same: Cursed is one who _____, and the entire nation shall say AMEIN.
Divrei Menachem for Parashat Ki Tavo
Ki Tavo - as the name of the Parsha suggests - implies a sense of anticipation. Something is going to change fundamentally when we step into Eretz Yisrael. We will no longer be dependent on the Manna from Heaven; we will toil the land with our bear hands and witness the first buds appearing on those sun-baked saplings.
When the fruits of our labors begin to take shape we are, of course, happy and fulfilled.
Medical Secrets - Treatment for BRCA
Last week we started discussing the relatively common mutation of BRCA [in fact there are two types - Type 1 & Type 2 - but for the purpose of our discussion here we will call them both BRCA]. This mutation raises the risk of certain types of cancer: specific- ally, ovarian and breast cancer.
Continue ReadingPortion from the Portion- Parshat Ki Tavo
Prayer is an introspective process. A process of discovering who one is, what one could be, and how to achieve that transformation. By improving ourselves with prayer, we become capable of absorbing G-d’s blessing.
Continue ReadingParsha Points to Ponder for Parshat Ki Tavo
1) Why does the Torah first describe our settling in Israel as a NACHALA and then, in the same verse describe it as a YERUSHA (26:1)? What is the significance of these terms and this shift?
Continue ReadingChizuk & Idid - Parashat Ki Tavo
The Mitzva of Bikurim is intimately tied up with appreciating the Land of Israel. For Olim Chadashim, it is a mitzva that resonates and instructs.
Bikurim is accompanied by a unique verbal declaration. The farmer offering his Bikurim, begins with a historical account of the People of Israel culminating with their entrance into a fertile land “flowing with milk and honey.” He expresses his gratitude for being able to bring the first fruit of the land that Hashem has given him. According to the Rambam, this verbal declaration is a separate mitzva (Hilchot Bikurim 3:10).
CHIZUK and IDUD for Olim & not-yet-Olim respectively
There is no other Parsha in the Torah that contains as many Mitzvot as Ki Teitzei. These mitzvot cover the entire spectrum of human experience, ritual acts and civic duties, mitzvot that relate to Man’s relationship to Hashem as well as those to his fellow man. In the midst of all these, there appears a strange mitzva regarding warfare that seems terribly mundane, almost unnecessary - that of keeping the camp clean and hygienic.
Continue ReadingWisdom and Wit - Parashat Ki Tavo
[During Elul and] on Rosh HaShana, it is customary for Jews to wish one another SHANA TOVA UMTUKA - a good and sweet year. R’ Shlomo of Lechna asked: “Why add “a sweet year?” If the year is a good year, doesn’t that imply it will be a sweet one?”
Continue ReadingVebbe Rebbe
Question: We have a local goy shel Shabbat (Shabbos goy). I do not know how and when I am supposed to use him for things other than emergencies. Is it sufficient just to hint to him, and then he can do whatever I want?
Continue ReadingThe Challenge of Money: Wages and Labor; Employer and Employee [part 5]
Theoretically, employer and employee are equal players in determining wages and working conditions, but in real life the individual employee is disadvantaged and his bargaining power is weaker. Employers normally are able to sustain long periods of negotiations or downturns in the market place, unlike the employee who is dependent on wages for his existence and so more vulnerable. Workers have therefore sought to improve their situation and their protection against exploitation or economic upheavals through unionization and collective bargaining. Is unionization and all that it entails legitimate in Judaism and under what conditions?
Continue ReadingLesson # 531 A Background to Halacha
have been asked questions over the years by the readers of these lessons to show some background material to how at Sinai (1312 B.C.E.) halacha has been transmitted from teacher to student. This tradition has perpetuated Jewish law as the property of the Jewish people. In former years the public teachings and discussion occupied a prominent place in Jewish culture.
Continue ReadingWord of the Month - Parshat Ki Tavo
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…
Continue ReadingIn This Issue of Torah Tidbits
- Lead Tidbit
- Candle A Day
- Jewish Law
- Wisdom & Wit
- Aliya-by-Aliya Sedra Summary
- Sedra Stats
- Vebbe Rebbe
- Portion of the Portion
- Parsha Points to Ponder
- ParshaPix Explanations
- TTriddles "Report"
- Person In The Parsha
- Word of the Month
- Praying With Passion
- Ethical Teachings of the Torah
- Chizuk and Idud
- Towards Better Davening and Torah Reading
- Divrei Menachem
- "From Machon Puah"
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Candle Lighting and Havdala
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Sedra Stats
50th of the 54 sedras;
7th of 11 in D’varim
Written on 233 lines in a Sefer Torah (rank: 13)
Word of the Month
5770 which is winding down (or up) is a P’shuta (12 months), Shaleim (Cheshvan and Kislev both 30 days), that began on Shabbat. Such a year type is always followed by a year that begins on a Thursday, of which there are four different year-types. 5771 will begin on Thursday (given) and it will be a M’UBERET (13 months), and also a Shaleim. Consecutive SHALEIM years are not so common (stats not available) because of the way that Shaleim, K’Seder, and Chaseir years help average the years out properly.
18 Elul is the 401st yahrzeit of the Maharal of Prague - Rabbi Yehuda Loew ben Betzalel