The Thin Red Line: Parashat Chukat describes so many seemingly unrelated events, yet it is the profound fundamental truth contained in the commandment of the red heifer – para aduma – that ties all these events so tightly together. Chukat (Numbers 19:1-22:1) Parashat Chukat is read on Shabbat: Tammuz 7, 5773/June 15, 2013 Temple Institute [...]
Korach was a brilliant man of exceptional abilities. But his I, Me, Mine philosophy of life literally drove him from this world. In truth, we make room for ourselves in G-d’s world by making room for others. This was the gift of Aharon, the High Priest. Korach’s attempt to acquire for himself the priesthood was [...]
Our generation has been blessed by G-d with the unique opportunity to finally fulfill the spiritual potential of the Generation of the Desert, by fully embracing the Land of Israel. By settling the land and loving the land, and living in the land in accordance with Torah, and by building the Holy Temple, where G-d [...]
I can be me for my sake, and suffer from a hunger that can never be satisfied. Or I can be me for G-d’s sake, and never lack fulfillment. Beha’alotcha (Numbers 8:1-12:16) Parashat Beha’alotcha is read on Shabbat: Sivan 16, 5773/May 25, 2013 Temple Institute Links: – Website – Support – Newsletter – Contact Us
Love is in the air as Israel stands at the foot of Mount Sinai, ready to receive Torah and betroth themselves to G-d, a wedding whose anniversary we celebrate this week on Shavuot. This week’s parasha, Naso, makes many a meaningful reference to the happenings at Mount Sinai. Naso (Numbers 4:21-7:89) Parashat Naso is read [...]
G-d knows your name. He’s got your number. Torah is His to share with you. All its paths lead to Him. And all you’ve got to do is ask? No! All you’ve got to do is dedicate your every moment to living a life of Torah, and He will open each and every door. It’s [...]
Wanted: Dead or alive! There is no doubt that G-d loves and wants His people Israel. Either we are alive to His presence, and worthy of the blessings listed in Behar-Bechukotai, or we are dead to His presence, and thus deserving of the horrific admonitions enumerated in Behar-Bechukotai. The choice is ours. Behar-Bechukotai (Leviticus 25:1-27:34) [...]
Eternal life cannot be found in an ointment or lotion, or salve, or cream, or pill, or capsule. It cannot be swallowed or applied. It cannot be purchased or consumed. Eternal life awaits us all and can be experienced in this world via the Divine service of the Holy Temple. Emor (Leviticus 21:1-24:23) Parashat Emor [...]
We merit to live in the land of Israel, promised by G-d to His people, because of the supreme sacrifice of those who defend the land, the people and the Torah of Israel with their lives. “You shall be holy, for I, HaShem, your G-d, am holy.” (Lev. 19:2) Acharei Mot-Kedoshim (Leviticus 16:1-20:27) Parashat Acharei [...]
Try imagining a world where every word counts, where every thought and intention counts. This is the very world that G-d created and intended for His children to sanctify. This is the world described in Tazria-Metzora. It is a world that we can and should aspire to. Tazria-Metzora (Leviticus 12:1-15:33) Parashat Tazria-Metzora is read on [...]
We cannot make eternal the holiness of the moment by abandoning ourselves to it. We master and make eternal the holiness of the moment by infusing the minutiae of our everyday lives with holiness. This is the lesson we take away from the untimely deaths of Nadav and Avihu, the holy sons of Aharon. Shmini [...]
The timeless beauty of the korban – offering – is to draw the man – the adam – the G-dly image implanted within each and every on of us, closer to our Creator. Much misunderstood, the korban sensitizes and enhances our humanity and deepen our understanding of where we fit in the grand scheme of [...]
Inside the Tabernacle we return to Gan Eden and to the pristine, sacred and intimate relationship with G-d that was intended from the very start. Vayikra (Exodus 35:1-40:38) Parashat Vayikra is read on Shabbat: Nisan 5, 5773/March 16, 2013 Temple Institute Links: – Website – Support – Newsletter – Contact Us
“Generous hearted, wise hearted, uplifted heart, inspired heart… “ The building of the Tabernacle is the work of the heart of an entire people to create a heart for the nation, a heart for all mankind, and a heart for the world. Now space, like time (Shabbat), is sanctified, and G-d’s creation is complete. Vayakhel-Pekudei [...]
The worship of the golden calf was a dead end street. Torah is a way of life that believes in life and the eternity of life and the Source of all life. The cult of the golden calf worshiped the comfort of mortality and the death-escape from responsibility Some religions worship the dead and others [...]
Everyone needs clothes. From the first garments that G-d made for Adam and Chava, to the clothes we choose for ourselves today, what we cover ourselves with reflects the essence of our inner beings. But the garments that the Kohen Gadol – High Priest – wears reflect the will of G-d and are provided for [...]
The sublime beauty, limitless embrace and unifying power of the Tabernacle, and later the Holy Temple, are all contained within the first sacred vessel Israel was commanded to build: the Ark of the Covenant. Just 2.5 cubits long, 1.5 cubits wide, and 1.5 cubits high, made of acacia wood and gold, and constructed by the [...]
Two short videos recently made on the Temple Mount. Jewish Prayer on the Temple Mount Jewish Prayer on the Temple Mount is guaranteed by Israeli law. Yet if the Israel police hear a Jew utter a prayer on the Temple Mount he will be arrested, effectively rendering Jewish prayer at Judaism’s holiest site illegal. The [...]
The Sinai revelation takes place in a desert no man’s land, but the entire Sinai experience is a prequel and a dry run to the Daily Tamid Service of the Holy Temple through which the covenant at SInai is renewed, reconfirmed and made eternal each and every day. Mishpatim (Exodus 21:1-24:18) Parashat Mishpatim is read [...]
At Mount Sinai G-d stretched Israel’s capacities to the limit. Her senses turned upside-down, her reality turned inside-out, it was Israel’s unconditional embrace of the new role that G-d assigned her as caretaker of the universe, that gave her the strength to withstand the unbearable closeness of her encounter with G-d and make it through [...]
Election Day in Israel: Like crossing the Sea of Reeds – nothing more and nothing less. An entire nation steps into the unknown, determined to shape its own destiny as one people, guided by their eternal faith in the G-d of Israel. It was breathtaking then, and it’s breathtaking now. Beshalach (Exodus 13:17-17:16) Parashat Beshalach [...]
No direction home? This is the inside-outside story of the Passover offering in Egypt and on which side of the door jamb the blood was spread and why and what’s the reason for. Bo (Exodus 10:1-13:16) Parashat Bo is read on Shabbat: Shvat 8, 5773/January 19, 2013 Temple Institute Links: – Website – Support – [...]
Torah takes great pains to emphasize Moshe’s humanity in this week’s Torah reading. Yes, the great savior of Israel, the man who would speak with G-d face to face, was just that – a man, mortal and fallible like the rest of us. Va’era (Exodus 6:2-9:35) Parashat Va’era is read on Shabbat: Shvat 1, 5773/January [...]
To trust and to trust not. Total trust must exist between a true leader and his people. This is the lesson that G-d choreographed using Yaakov’s final words to his children and Moshe’s initial concern over whether Israel would receive him. Shemot (Exodus 1:1-6:1) Parashat Shemot is read on Shabbat: Tevet 23, 5773/January 5, 2013 [...]
When Yaakov asks of Yosef “Who are these?” it is not because his eyes are dim or that he does not know Yosef’s sons intimately. It is because in his prophetic mind’s eye he see the boys’ greatness in the future redemption of Israel, which is taking place today. His words are not a question [...]