Category: Divrei Torah: General

“Vayakel” means gather the people together… and that’s what we are doing this week at KBR! Participating in NJOP’s Shabbat Across America program is a wonderful way to join with our Jewish brothers and sisters, all across the US and Canada, to celebrate Shabbat.  To bask in the glow of candlelight and enjoy a festive… Continue reading Thoughts on Parshat Vayakhel & Shabbat Across America 2016

Many years ago, when I was in high school, I gave someone a loan.  It was not a large loan, only 10 shekel, ~$5 at the time. When he returned the money to me, it was in the form of small change. This really annoyed me and I made sure to make him aware of… Continue reading Thoughts on Parshat Ki Tisa – 5776

I am often amazed at the different types of olive oil that are available in stores today.  There are different levels of purity, acidity; there are dark ones, light ones. Which should you pick? It depends on how you want to use the oil. A lighter variety is often used for cooking, darker for salads.… Continue reading Thoughts on Parshat Tetzaveh – 5776

When one observes a fellow in need of help, there is a natural tendency to offer assistance.  If, however, one dislikes the person in need, our desire to help them lessens significantly. We find in our Parsha that the verse states, “When you see the donkey of your enemy collapsing under a heavy burden, you… Continue reading Thoughts for Parshat Mishpatim – 5776

In this week’s Parsha, we read the first seven plagues that smote Egypt.  Regarding the second plague, tzefarde’ah, frogs, we find an interesting grammatical nuance. The Torah generally describes this plague as tzefarde’im – frogs (in the plural). But at the onset of this plague it is described, as we generally call it (see the… Continue reading Thoughts for Parshat Va’era 5776

Moshe’s revelation at the burning bush is quite well-known. At second glance, however, this revelation seems unnecessary. In other situations, we don’t find Moshe needing physical symbolism to be part of his prophecy. It is also unusual for other prophets to experience this type of vision. Usually, communication from Hashem is clearer. To the simple… Continue reading Thoughts on Parshat Shemot – 5776

When a person casually asks, “How are you?”, they are usually just being polite. They are not really interested in hearing about your nighttime cough, your foot pain, your work aggravations. It is often a rhetorical question. [Unless it is (rarely) being asked sincerely.] With this in mind, we look at an odd conversation in… Continue reading Thoughts on Parshat Vayigash – 5776

We see in this week’s Torah portion that Yaakov is very frightened of Esav. But this fear doesn’t paralyze him. Rather, he prepares himself in three ways: spiritually (with prayer), diplomatically (by sending Esav gifts), and militarily (defensively, by splitting up his family into two camps). When this meeting actually takes place, Esav is overcome… Continue reading A Missed Opportunity: Thoughts on Parshat Vayishlach – 5776