Rabbi Dr. Avraham Twerski

Vayikra “The Kohen shall provide him atonement before G-d, and it shall be forgiven him for any of all the things he might do to incur guilt” (5:26) The Seer of Lublin commented that after a person achieves forgiveness for a particular sin, he is then in a position to discover that there were oth...

Every so often there is a news item that research shows promise of a drug that can cure alcohol or drug addiction. Thus far, nothing like a cure has materialized. The possibility of a drug that will cure behavioral addictions such as compulsive gambling or sex addiction is even more remote. ; Bu...

These portions of the Torah complete the account of the building of the Mishkan. The work in the construction of the mishkan and its appurtenances required exceptional skills. For examples, the curtains were woven so that one side had cherubim and the other side had animals. This was not embroide...

This portion of the Torah narrates a tragic event. Within weeks of the greatest spiritual event of history, the Divine revelation at Sinai, the Jews, who had reached a level of angelic holiness, fell precipitously into the idolatry of the Golden Calf. How could so radical a change occur? Rabbi Ch...

This portion of Torah dictates the mitzvah of kindling the menorah. Lighting the menorah in the Sanctuary, lighting the Chanukah candles and lighting the Shabbos candles are all important mitzvos. Lighting a candle is symbolic. If you light a candle to provide light for yourself, others may benef...

“Speak to the Children of Israel and let them take for Me…” This verse refers to the donations to build the Sanctuary. But then, shouldn’t it have said “give for Me?” Giving is an important mitzvah, but one must also know how to take. A woman who completed her first year in recovery confided to ...

When Hashem gave the Jews the Torah, they said, "naaseh v'nishma", we will do and we will listen. The commentaries ask, "How can they do before they hear?" At an AA meeting, a prominent lawyer, who was celebrating his 40th year of sobriety, said, "When I first joined AA, I was making meetings, bu...

Yisro said to Moses, “What you are doing is not good. Being the sole judge for a population of millions is sure to exhaust you. Therefore, develop various levels of judges to assist you.” The Midrash says that because Yisro advised Moses to select capable people as judges, he was rewarded by havi...

The Torah relates that the Israelites came to Marah, "...but they could not drink the waters of Marah because they were bitter" (Exodus 15:23,25). We understand the verse to mean that the water was bitter. The Baal Shem Tov said that "they" refers to the Israelites, not the water. Because the Isr...

G-d tells Moses to instruct the Israelites on the mitzvah of redeeming the first-born. Instead of doing so, Moses tells them to always remember the enslavement in Egypt and the Exodus, and only thereafter dictates the mitzvah of redeeming the first-born (Exodus13:1-15). ; The Jerusalem Talmud sa...