Vayikra

Have you ever heard an old Jewish Bubby (Yiddish for “grandmother”) refer to wild kids as chayot or behemot? Do you know what she’s...

Vayikra כַּפָּרָה: atonement כּוֹפֶר: redemption payment כַּפֹּרֶת: the cover of the Ark כּוֹפֶר: pitch כְּפִיר: young lion כְּפוֹר:...

Tzav This week's Torah Portion describes the procedure for the sacrifice of birds to as implemented by the Kohen, namely to nip off its...

Tzav מְרֻצֶה: pleasing, desirable רָצוֹן: desire/will רוּץ: run שֶׁרֶץ: rodent אֶרֶץ: earth רְצֵה: accept מְרֻצֶה: Pleasing, Desirable...

Share this: WhatsApp More Telegram Email Print Share on Tumblr

In the aftermath of the Ten Spies fiasco, the Jewish people were doomed to remain in the wilderness for forty years until the rise of the...

חוֹזֶר: return, renege, seek out חַזֶרֶת: lettuce מַחְזוֹר:machzor חַזִיר: pig חוֹזֶר: Return, Renege, Seek Out Besides for its plain...

Article Abstract: The root גבח appears in all of Scripture only in this week’s Torah portion, Tazria, in connection with the “leprosy”...

This Shabbat we read Parshat HaChodesh, the last of four special Torah readings before Pesach. Parshat HaChodesh establishes Nissan as...

Edmund Burke (1729-1797), the father of contemporary conservatism, purportedly said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is...

שְׂעִיר: goat שְׂעוֹרָה: barley שֵׂעָר: hair שְׂעָרָה: tempest חוּט הַשַׂעַר: hairsbreadth וְשֵׂעָר בַּנֶּגַע הָפַךְ לָבָן/And the hair...

Article abstract for Metzora: As part of the leper’s purification process following his affliction with tazraat, this week’s portion...

זְבוּב: fly דַּבְּרוּ אֶל בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל וַאֲמַרְתֶּם אֲלֵהֶם אִישׁ אִישׁ כִּי יִהְיֶה זָב מִבְּשָׂרוֹ זוֹבוֹ טָמֵא הוּא Speak to the...

The word “tevel”(תבל) appears once in Parashat Acharei Mot and once in Parshat Kedoshim, and nowhere else in the Pentateuch. In both...

The Torah introduces the laws of the sacrificial services of Yom Kippur by noting that G-d relayed them to Moses after the...

חוֹרֶף: winter חֶרְפָּה: disgrace, shameful, detested חַרִיף: sharp, strong, biting נֶחֶרֶפֶת: designated, singled out וְאִישׁ כִּי...

Edmund Burke (1729-1797), the father of contemporary conservatism, purportedly said, “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is...

A discussion of the rare scriptural word פגול (abominable, loathsome), and its relationship with the range of other words containing the...

In this essay we will explore the different words for gehinnom (commonly translated as “hell” or “purgatory”). The Talmud (Eruvin 19a)...

אנו מתנצלים על ההפוגה בפרסום המאמרים בשבועות האחרונים עקב פטירתה של אמו האהובה ע"ה של הרב שטיינברג. אצילותה, רוחה ונשמתה האיתנה, ואהבתה...

The Torah commands us to count the days and weeks from Passover until Shavuot (Lev. 23:15-16). Interestingly, the Torah portion which...

The common word for a tombstone in spoken Hebrew is a matzeivah (literally, “monument”), and, indeed, when Yaakov buried his wife Rachel,...

Parshasאֶמֹר The Road Less Traveled עַם קוֹדֶשׁ: holy nation קְדֵישָׁה: prostitute קִדוּשׁ: Kiddush שַׁבָּת קוֹדֶשׁ: Shabbos Kodesh...

What is the connection between נמוך (low, short) and הכאה (hitting) and ניכוי (diminishment)? Also, what does the verse (Ps. 106:43)...

The end of Leviticus speaks about different forms of redemption in the legal sense. It mentions the rights — or even commandments — of...

Parshasבְּהַר Climb Every Mountain יוֹבֵל: jubilee יוּבַל: brook יְבוּלָה: produce יוֹבֵל: Jubilee InParshasבְּהַר, Hashem gives us the...

The root יסף denotes addition / expansion, as do many other words containing the two-letter ס-פ string. By contrast, other words...

The Torah says, “A judge you shall not curse and a prince/king in your nation shall you not curse” (Ex. 22:27). This passage forbids...

Parshas בְּחֻקֹתַי The River of Light Illuminating the Eyes יוֹרֶה: cast down יוֹרֶה: satisfies יוֹרֶה: instruct, teach, to show תּוֹרָה:...