MHA-FYOS Dean's Blog

We read a double parasha this week – Nitzavim-VaYelech. Parashat VaYelech records some of the final words that Moshe conveyed to The Jewish People prior to his demise. At the end of these comments, Hashem shares a prophecy with Moshe in the presence of his successor, Yehoshua. Hashem said, “Behold, you will lie with your fathers, and this nation will rise up and stray after the gods of the foreigners of the Land, in the midst of which the nation is entering. And the nation will leave Me and annul My covenant that I have sealed with it. My anger will flare against the nation on that day and I will leave them; and I will conceal My face from them and they will become prey and many evils and distresses will encounter it. (The nation) will say on that day, ‘It is not because my G-d is not in my midst that these evils have come upon me?’ But I will surely have concealed My face on that day because of all the evil that it did, for it had turned to gods of others.” Rabbi Ovadiah Seforno discu...

This week, we begin reading Sefer Vayikra and its first parasha , Parashat VaYikra. The parasha discusses many of the laws of specific korbanot – sacrifices – including the olah , shlamim, chatat and others. The parasha opens with the following verse, “And He called to Moshe and Hashem spoke to him from the tent of meeting saying …” Our mesorah – oral tradition – teaches that the word, vayikra - and He called – is to be written in the Torah scroll with a particular nuance. The last letter in that word – the letter aleph – is to be written in a significantly smaller font. Our commentators have a number of different explanations and interpretations of this requirement. One explanation is given by the Kli Yakar, Rabbi Shlomo Ephraim Luntschitz. He explains that the letter aleph is associated with learning and education. The letter aleph is the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet – the basis of learning. The root of the word aleph is also associated in Hebrew with training and preparat...

We read a double parasha this week – Parashat Vayakhel-Pekude. Each of these parashiyot describe the building of the mishkan and the construction of the vessels that were housed and used within it. Betzalel was charged with overseeing the construction of the mishkan and its vessels. Parashat Pekude opens with the statement, “And Betzalel the son of Uri the son of Chur of the tribe of Yehudah did everything that Hashem commanded Moshe.” Rashi explains that we would have expected the Torah to say that Betzalel did what Moshe commanded him to do. Instead, the Torah tells us that that Betzalel did everything that Hashem commanded him to do. Based on a passage from Masechet Berachot, Rashi explains that Betzalel did things that did not make sense to Moshe, his teacher. Specifically, Moshe told Betzalel to make the vessels first and then to make the mishkan. Betzalel argued that the way of the world is to first make a house and then to place the vessels inside. Moshe was won over by Betzalel...

This week, we read the first parasha of Sefer Shemot. The parasha describes the increasingly difficult circumstances that bnei yisrael were suffering under the rule of Paroh in Egypt. The parasha also introduces us to Moshe and describes his development into the leader of the Jewish People. In his first prophetic experience, Moshe is shown an angel of Hashem within a burning bush. Moshe saw that the bush was burning but not being consumed. Moshe then says, “I will now turn and I will see this great vision – why is the bush not burning?” The Torah conveys that Hashem saw that Moshe had turned to see (the vision) and He called to Moshe from the midst of the bush, “Moshe, Moshe” to which Moshe responded, “I am here.” After this exchange, Hashem reveals to Moshe the content of the prophecy – that Hashem would redeem the Jewish People from Egypt through the agency of Moshe. Looking more carefully at the details of this – Moshe’s first prophetic experience – we notice a seemingly innocuous ...