The Blessing of Jerusalem
Our parsha opens with Moshe presenting the Jewish people with a dramatic choice: Behold, I set before you today a…
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Yerushalayim and the Sequence of Birkat HaMazon
Our parsha stirringly describes the beauty and resources of the Land of Israel, emphasizing that the Jewish people must properly…
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The Redemptions of Iyov and Zion
A powerful midrash describes that when Yirmiyahu returned to Yerushalayim after the destruction, he met a woman who was crying…
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Connected to the Center
This week’s haftorah, the second of the special haftorot for the three weeks, is Yirmiyahu’s first prophecy of rebuke. The…
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Leadership: Jerusalem Style
When Moshe asks God to appoint his sucessor he describes the ideal Jewish leader: “Let the Lord, the God of…
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The Eternal Hope Of Jerusalem
The Parah Adumah is the classic “chok” or mitzvah that is not comprehendible to even the wisest humans. It is…
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Korach: The Opposite of Yerushalayim
Korach’s rebellion was a complex affair. While other negative episodes in the desert focused on a single complaint (lack of…
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Seeing the Good of Jerusalem
All of life is a mixture of good, bad and the neutral. Before the sin of Adam and Chavah eating…
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Fearing and Seeing God
At the end of this weeks’s parsha we read about the uniqueness of Moshe Rabbeinu’s prophecy: “With him I speak…
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Jerusalem: City of Tzedek and Shalom
The laws of the Sotah are a vehicle to achieve “tzedek” (justice) and “shalom” (peace). It is the absence of…
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