TZEDAKAH AND GEMILUTH CHASADIM,ALMS AND CHARITYצדקה וגמילות חסדיםIf there be among you a poor man of one of thy brethren, within any of thy gates, in thy land which the Lord thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not harden thy heart, nor shut thy hand from thy poor brother: but thou shalt surely open thy…

The Gate of Self-Accounting demands that a person stop lying to himself. Not about grand ideals, but about daily conduct—how he lives among others, what he expects from the world, and how he interprets existence itself. The work confronts two areas people routinely evade: responsibility toward others, and sustained awareness of the order embedded in…

What the Jewish Festivals Teachand What Resolution They Aim to Evoke— Samson Raphael HirschPesachTeachingsGeneral:God rules over both Nature and the history of nations, separating day from night, life from death. In particular, the One God is Israel’s Creator and Saviour—Israel is God’s property, God’s servant.Resolution:To remain loyal as a rock to the One God in…

The need for special abstinenceIt is necessary for adherents to the Torah to practice abstinence, since the Torah’s aim is to enable the intellect to rule and prevail over all selfish desires. It is known that the predominance of desire over intellect is the beginning of all sin and the source of all disgrace.People incline…

Testing Gd by Giving Away Main source: Malachi 3:9–10Verse 9“You are cursed with a curse, yet you [continue to] steal from Me — the entire nation.”What the theft is (not metaphorical)Rashi:The theft is concrete: withholding ma‘aser and terumah owed to the Kohanim and Levites.Result: a curse on human effort — work continues, output collapses.Radak:This curse…

1.They traveled southward and reached the city close to the border, Be’er Sheva, which was sanctified by the memory of his fathers. There he offered זבחים.2.We do not find elsewhere that our patriarchs offered זבחים. Like all the other descendants of Noach, they offered only עולות. Whereas עולה expresses complete personal devotion to God, זבח…

Yaakov at Be’er Sheva: The Holiness of Family Life“They traveled southward and reached the city close to the border, Be’er Sheva, which was sanctified by the memory of his fathers. There he offered זבחים.”“We do not find elsewhere that our patriarchs offered זבחים. Like all the other descendants of Noach, they offered only עולות.”“Whereas עולה…

Chazal teach a hard truth: destruction happens in a moment; building takes years. One brick removed can bring down an entire wall, but rebuilding that wall requires patience, strength, and persistence. The same is true of a human being. A single sin, chosen willingly, can undo years of spiritual construction. Desire is fast. Repair is…

No one knows the true wisdom behind creation.Anyone who claims otherwise is speaking poetry or selling religion to the unsophisticated.An infinite, perfect Being lacks nothing. He does not need a world, worshippers, or praise. The question itself — why would God create anything — already breaks logic, because need cannot apply to infinity.What we are…

Most arguments never needed to happen. They weren’t caused by real disagreement, but by bad timing. If a person would simply wait — not argue, not explain, not justify — the fight would dissolve before it ever formed.Chazal state this bluntly:“Al tiratzeh et chaveircha b’sha’at ka’aso” — do not try to appease your fellow while…