MHA-FYOS Dean's Blog

Among the many mitzvot described in this week’s parasha , Parashat Ki Tetze, is the law of the ma’ake – a fence. “When you build a new house, you shall make a guard rail for your roof, so that you shall not cause blood to be spilled in your house, that the one who falls should fall from it.” In this verse, the Torah commands us to build a fence around any exposed high area, such as a flat roof or deck, that is commonly used by human beings. Viewing this law as a positive commandment, the Rambam teaches that one must make a blessing when constructing a ma’ake . The law of the ma’ake is one of many Torah laws that teach us to protect human life. Positive commandments such as ve’nishmartem me’od et nafshotechem (and you shall greatly guard your physical life) and ve’rapo yerape (and you shall surely heal) reveal the Torah’s appreciation of man’s vulnerability and the lengths that we must go to foster human safety. Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik extends this concept of bui...

Welcome back to school, MHA-FYOS Community! Baruch She’hechiyanu VeKiyemanu VeHigiyanu Ba’zeman Ha’ze . After a full week of teacher in-service training, we began classes this past Wednesday. There is so much enthusiasm in the building as we welcomed our returning students, as well as 35 new students. We anticipate an outstanding year! One of the many topics presented in this week’s parasha , Parashat Shoftim, is the law of the Jewish king. The Torah presents an ambivalent view of the king. On one hand, this king is authorized by Hashem: When you come to the Land that Hashem, your G-d, gives you, and possess it, and settle in it, and you will say, ‘I will set a king over myself, like all of the nations that are around me.’ You shall surely set over yourself a king whom Hashem, your G-d, shall choose; from among your brethren shall you set a king over yourself; you cannot place over yourself a foreign man, who is not your brother. ( Devarim 17:14-15) On the other hand, ...

This week’s parasha , Parashat Beha’alotecha, records the transition of b’nei yisrael from ascendant nation on the cusp of entering the Land of Israel to a nation beset by self-inflicted challenges blocked in its path to inheritance of the Land and speedy redemption. This transition is marked by the well-known passage, “It came to pass, when the Ark journeyed forth, that Moshe said: Arise, O G-d, so that Your enemies may be scattered and those that hate You flee from before Your Countenance. And when it gently came to rest, he said: Return, O G-d, to the myriads of the thousands of Israel.” These passages are set off from the text by the presence of one “inverted letter nun ” before and after. In the first section of the parasha – the ascendant section – the Torah renews its description of the mitzvah of the menorah , the candelabra. The menorah was (and will be in the time of the third Temple) a central light connected to a base and accompanied, in two directions, by six bra...

This week’s parasha , Parashat Nasso, presents the law of the sotah – a wife whose husband has become suspicious that she has had an extra-marital affair. The Torah teaches, in summary, that such a husband would bring his wife to the kohen and offer a korban-a minchat kena’ot . Subsequently, the kohen has the woman drink this offering together with other ingredients to miraculously test the woman’s fidelity: if she had been unfaithful, she and her paramour would die. If, however, she had been faithful, she would be blessed to conceive a child from her husband. One interpretive technique that our chachamim use in service of understanding the Chumash is semichoot haparshiyot – lessons to be learned from the juxtaposition of sections of the Torah. Often, particularly in the more narrative sections of the Torah, the connection between one section of the Torah and the next requires no explanation. For example, the episode surrounding the destruction of Sedom is immediately prece...

This coming week is the holiday of Shavuot. Shavuot celebrates matan Torah – the gift of the Torah which Hashem gave the Jewish People. Akiva ben Yoseph was one of the greatest Rabbis who ever lived. He was born about 17 years before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans. His father Yoseph was poor and uneducated, as his father had been before him and his grandfather before him. As a child, Akiva received no education; instead of attending school, the boy helped to support his family by taking care of their sheep. As a young man, Akiva worked as a shepherd for Kalba Savua, one of the richest men in Eretz Yisrael, the land of Israel. Kalba Savua had a beautiful daughter name Rachel. Akiva asked Rachel to marry him and she replied that she would marry him only if he agreed to study Torah and get a Jewish education. Akiva was sad as lamented his station in life. He was too old and how would it be possible for him to study Torah when he did not even know how to read and w...

The first of this week’s double parasha is Parashat BeHar which introduces the institution of  shemita  – the seventh year of a seven year cycle. The laws of s hemita  touch two areas of life: karka  (agriculture) and kesafim  (money).             From an agricultural perspective, shemita  demands that we allow our land to remain fallow. Planting, commercial harvesting and tilling the soil are all prohibited. People are permitted to harvest from other’s fields for personal use. These laws apply only to the land of Israel and are in force even today.     From a monetary perspective,  shemita  demands that we cancel loans. These laws apply today even outside of the land of Israel.    What messages should one take away from experiencing a  shemita ? What enduring understandings does the Torah teach through the laws of  shemita ?   The most obvious un...