MHA-FYOS Dean's Blog

In this week’s parasha , Parashat Bo (Shemot 12:2), Hashem commands Moshe and Aharon, hachodesh ha’ze la’chem rosh chodashim – this new moon is to you, the head of the months. In this verse, Hashem reveals to b’nei yisrael the mitzvah of kiddush hachodesh – the sanctification of the new month. Hashem also fixes Nissan – chodesh ha’geulah – as the first of the months. That Nissan is fixed as the first of the months is puzzling. After all, the first of Tishre is Rosh HaShana – the New Year. Is Tishre  not the first of the months? Why does the year have two beginnings? This “dual-beginning” phenomenon is not unique to the Jewish year. Indeed, a Jewish day also has a dual-beginning. The Jewish day begins at night. Shabbat and holidays begin at night. However, sunrise is also a meaningful halachic event. It also marks the beginning of a day. In the Beit HaMikdash, two korbanot were brought daily – one in the morning and one in the afternoon. Korbanot were not offered at...

Last week, we welcomed our teachers back to school and, this week, we welcomed our students back to school. A fresh beginning, new teachers, new classmates, new ideas. The first day back is so exciting! This year, there was even more excitement than usual as we began using our newly remodeled and transformed Cooper Yeshiva High School Beis Midrash. The sefarim waiting to be opened. The intricate stone-work. The magnificent wooden shelving and furniture. The bright lighting. The warmth conveyed by the new windows. The tile floor and welcoming arch – reminiscent of Yerushalayim. In a word, the beis midrash is stunning. It is the product of a vision to create a showcase for Torah and to project to our students and families the high value that our community places on Torah learning and davening . This project is even more special because it is the result of a cooperative effort between multiple donors and multiple volunteers – each contributing to this holy endeavor. At the end of thi...

Kedusha , holiness, refers to the identity that an object has of being associated with or designated for service of Hashem. Items in the Temple, a kohen and a sefer Torah all have kedusha as each one is designated for serving G-d. Tahara , halachic purity refers to the state of being prepared to encounter the Almighty in the Temple. Specifically, one must be in a state of tahara prior to entering the Temple. Note that the halachic state of impurity is not bad or a sin. Most people in history were regularly in a state of impurity. The beginning of this week’s parasha deals with these two concepts – holiness and purity – as they relate to giving birth. The Torah explains that when a woman gives birth, she is tameh – halachically impure – for a period of time. The Torah explains that if she has a boy, she is tameh for seven days. On the eighth day, her son is circumcised and she continues to be tameh from that eighth day for another thirty-three days - a grand total of forty days. ...

This week’s parasha , VaYigash, presents the story of the reunification of Ya’akov’s sons and the family’s move from the Land of Cana’an to Egypt. At the end of last week’s parasha , Yosef set up a ruse in which Binyamin was accused of stealing a royal goblet. Our parasha opens with Yehuda’s plea to Yosef on behalf of Binyamin in the moments before Yosef’s revelation of his true identity to his brothers. In this moment, Yosef and Yehuda demonstrate that they have become the leaders of b’nei yisrael – Yosef through his position of power in Egyptian society and Yehuda through his commitment to responsibility for Binyamin’s safety and his follow through on that commitment. This week’s haftarah – a passage from Sefer Yechezkel – relates a prophecy that describes a future time for b’nei yisrael . In this famous prophecy, Hashem commands Ezekiel to make a demonstration to the people involving two wooden tablets. On one tablet, Ezekiel is to inscribe, “For Yehuda and the Children of Israel,...

In this week’s parasha, the Torah presents the story of the dor haflaga – the Generation of the Division – what is known colloquially as the story of the Tower of Bavel. Approximately 400 years after the flood, families began to settle in one locale. These families shared a common language, culture and outlook and decided to become more industrially advanced. The Torah tells us, “they then decided to build a city and a tower with its top in the heavens and to make for themselves a name lest they become dispersed across the whole earth.” The Torah continues and tells us that Hashem descended to see the city and the tower. Upon seeing that they had one culture and had decided to construct this tower, Hashem confuses their language and causes them to become spread across the whole earth. Apparently, Hashem punished this generation. At first glance, however, it is unclear what the people did wrong. On the contrary, this generation seems to have acted quite rationally. Upon settling ...

At the opening of this week’s parasha , Vayetze, Ya’akov is leaving eretz Yisrael to find refuge in Charan from his brother, Esav. He arrives at HaMakom – The Place – to sleep for the night – the place of Ya’akov’s famous ladder dream. Morning comes. Yaakov takes the stone that he slept on, makes a monument to Hashem with it and anoints it with oil. He renames the place Beit E-l – House of Hashem. The Torah then records that Ya’akov made a neder – a vow. “If the Lord will be with me and will guard me on this path that I am going and will give me bread to eat and clothes to wear and will return me in peace to the house of my father … then I will give one-tenth of all that I have to Hashem.” At first glance, the fact that Ya’akov made a vow seems inappropriate. In general, the Torah looks down on vows. Our chachamim say noder nikra cho’te – one who makes a vow is treated like a sinner. What is wrong with making a vow? Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch explains that at worst a vow elevates tr...