The Library

Vayikov ben ha'isha ha'yisroelis es Hashem vaykalel..... v'shem imo Shelomis bas Divri l'mateh Dan. (24:11) It is brought down in various Sefarim that bris Hamaor (shemiras habris) is dependent on Bris Halashon. Maybe a source can be found in this posuk. Rashi says that S...

We are standing at the door of Lag B'Omer. Many of us will be heading to Meron. What is the message of this hidden Yom Tov? How do we, who struggle with the Yetzer Hara, gain chizuk and apply it in a practical way? My zayde, the Kedushas Levy, has the answer. It says in t...

"Daber el kol adas bnei yisroel v'amarta aleihem kedoshim tiyhu - Speak to the entire gathering of bnei yisroel and tell them to be holy." (19:2) The Pasuk in Mishlei says: "Leta'aveh yevakesh nifrad", or as I recently heard, this can be paraphrased as L'nifrad yevakesh t...

Rashi: Kol makom she'ata motzei geder ervah, sham ata motzei kedusha. The Viener Rav Shlita explains: Every place that a person sets for himself a boundary & a fence before the ervah, That is where he will find kedusha. It is the small steps that a person takes to kee...

"Daber el kol adas bnei yisroel v'amarta aleihem kedoshim tiyhu ki Kadosh ani Hashem Elokeichem" "Speak to the entire gathering of Bnei Yisroel and tell them to be holy, for I Hashem your G-d, am Holy." This week's parsha really addresses the issues we struggle with.The P...

"V'hizhartem es Bnei Yisroel mitumasam v'lo yamusu b'timasam. (15:31) And you shall warn the Bnei Yisroel about their impurities, that they should not die in their impurities." I heard from Harav Naftalie Jeager Shlita, Rosh Yeshiva of Yeshiva Sho'or Yoshuv: V'hizartem c...

"V'nasati negah tzora'as b'veis eretz achizaschem. (14:34) - And I will place a Nega Tzara'as in a house in the land of your inheritance." Rashi says that this is good news, because the Emori'im hid golden treasures in the walls of their houses prior to Bnei Yisroel's con...

"V'ish ki seitzei mimeno shichvas zerah veruochatz besoro bemayim v'tamei ad ha'erev.(15:16) - And a man who has a seinal emission should wash his flesh in water and he will be impure until the evening (erev)." After someone falls, he must get out of the depressed mode. A...

In this weeks Parsha, we find the dinim of nega'im in all their details.In the process of the Tahara for a mitzorah, we find that the person must bring two doves, a piece of cedar wood and some 'ezov' grass.We are all familiar with the concept that the haughty person who ...

"Commando" wrote to someone who was talking about gradually cutting down, rather than stopping cold-turkey: Some people claim that masturbation is just a natural desire, just like eating and sleeping. I agree that it's very natural. But a natural lifestyle would be NOT ...

Normally making vows is frowned upon by our sages as with someone playing with fire, but when it comes to girding oneself from sexual temptation, we find that making vows is praised by the Torah and by Chazal. The Ohr Hachayim (whose Yartzeit was yesterday) writes in this...

The Kohen who burned the Parah Adumah was first made tamei prior to his preparing it. He was not allowed to do the full system of being metaher himself. He was only given an opportunity for tevila in the mikva (He'erav Shemesh- waiting for sunset, was not allowed.) Th...

Following the loss within two weeks of three gedolei Torah, Rav Yitzchok Dov Koppelman, Rav Michel Yehudah Lefkowitz and Rav Chaim Stein, zichronam livracha, many Yidden have wondered what the proper reaction of a Torah Yid should be. Rashi in Parshas Chukas brings a Cha...

The Pasuk says that the children of Korach didn't die. The Medrash says that as the children of Korach were falling into 'she'ol' they said to Hashem, "Hashem, it is known that Klal Yisrael won't achieve redemption until they 'hit bottom'. We have hit bottom, PLEASE SAVE ...

V'hinai parach matei Aharon... vayotzei perach vayatzeitz tzitz vayigmol shkeidim. (17:23) Quote from: Harav Moshe Feinstein Zt"l, Sefer Darash Moshe: "The blossoms stayed on Aharon's staff even after it was laden with almonds! (Usually, the blossom falls off & the fr...

Towards the end of the parsha, there is the section of arayos. In the pasuk about not having relations with a sister, the torah calls it a "chesed". Obviously this is a word that requires an explanation. The Radak says that this word has 2 meanings - kindness and disgrace...

"Any yid can reach to a point where any 'not good' is acharey, behind him. Then his avoda can be in the realm of kedoshim" Other one-liners that Yosef C. sent me: It's a high anxiety time of year... I'm a gonner without Hashem"s help, and I'm beyond grateful that He's 10...

This week's parsha discusses the inyanim of "arayos". The Ohr HaChayim on the parsha writes the secret to recovery for those who have stumbled in these areas. Click here to see the Ohr Hachayim in Hebrew. Click here to download a PDF of translation and explanation.