Ancient Connection – Modern Pioneers
The Gemara Makkot (19b) has a lengthy discussion regarding the laws of ma’aser sheni. Farmers would separate this tithe, an obligation in four out of six years of the shemittah cycle, and bring the produce to Jerusalem to be eaten. The produce possessed a sanctified status akin to meat of sacrifices and could only be […]
On Shabbat HaGadol there is a custom to read the chapter of Malachi as the haftorah instead of the standard haftorah for the parsha. The classic explanation for this is that the final verses of the final chapter of Malachi describe the coming of Eliyahu HaNavi to herald the future redemption and therefore it is […]
After many decades of waiting, our parsha tells the story of Yitzhak’s birth. This miracle was met with great joy on the part of Avraham and Sarah and the Torah details that on the day that Yitzhak was weaned his parents celebrated with a “great feast.” At the early stages in Yitzhak’s life, though, we […]
