The Library

A lesson we can take from Sisera (that you probably never heard it Yeshiva). If you analyze it, it would appear that Sisera was a sex addict. Thus, when the women were comforting the mother of Sisera as to why her son was late, they told her don't worry, "רַחַם רַחֲמָתַי...

Haym ra'ah vayanos.Mah ra'ah? Arono shel Yosef ra'ah.(Midrash)Is that what the sea was afraid of? A few old bones in a box?The see was afraid of Atzmas Yosef - that atzmius of Yosef - the essence of Yosef! The sexual purity of Yosef Hatzadik that Klal Yisroel had within t...

I remember hearing a powerful story about Reb Moshe Leib M'Sosov who's yartzeit was this past week I think. It was on a Parshas Bo that Reb Moishe Leib was in Lizensk for shabbos as a guest of R' Elimelech. During the seuda he got up to say a vort on the parsha. The off...

ליל שימורים הוא להשם Amalek is determined to destroy klal yisrael. One of his primary weapons is to contaminate their personal holiness, the os bris kodesh. אשר קרך בדרך, from the same root as קרי, as Rashi says on that pasuk. Hashem says אין השם שלם ואין הכסא שלם, His Na...

The sedra starts with 'come to pharoh because I have hardened his heart.' Wouldn't it have been better to say 'go' rather than 'come.' And why is the hardening of the heart a reason to go, surely it's a reason to not bother?! The word 'oilam' comes from the word 'ne'elom'...

In Parshas Shemos, the Degel Machaneh Ephraim taught that a person should elevate the machshavos zaros (strange and evil thoughts) that come to him. Regarding this topic, one commenter asked how we should practically go about elevating these thoughts. Last night, I learne...

"God's angel appeared to Moses in the heart of a fire, in the midst of a thorn-bush." (Ex. 3:2) Why did God choose a sneh, a thorn-bush to reveal Himself to Moses? A Cure for Fever The Talmud (Shabbat 67a) prescribes a peculiar procedure for those suffering from a high fe...

"Ubnei Yisrael paru vayishritzu vayirbu vyatsmu." The passuk uses many terms to describe Bnei Yisrael's growth. The Bostoner Rebbe zt"l, Reb Levi Yitzchak Howoritz, in his sefer Shaar Levi, asks: Why does the passuk need to describe this so deeply, to go so far as to us...

The Ohr Hachayim on Parshas Shemos (3:8) writes that before Moshiach's time, the Jewish nation will be subjected to the 50th level of impurity. But he also writes there, that before the Redemption the Jewish people will garner the strength to enter into the very "mouth" o...

Lama harei'osa la'am hazeh ki may'az basi ledaber bishmecha hayra la'am hazehThe Midrash gives a mashal ofto a king whose subjects acted disrespectfully to him and incurred his wrath. The king's faithful minister, seeing how angry he was at the people, went and slighted t...

Hashem tells Moshe rabbainu Tell the yidden pakod pakaditi Zuggt rashi This was a mesora that the eventual savior will say the code words pakod pakadti we are all in mitzrayim Metzer yam we are all enslaved and we serve our different levels...

Hashem says to Moshe Rabeinu, “Tell the Yidden, my name is “Eh-yeh asher Eh-yeh” - I will be with them during this golus, and I will be with them during future goluyos. And Moshe complained “Why mention future problems. Enough to deal with those when they arrive.” And Has...

There are no stories in the Torah for story's sake. So if the Torah tells us ויקם מלך חדש אשר לא ידע את יוסף, the Torah is teaching us a lesson. The meforshim explain that each Yid has his own personal obligation to go from מצרים. That is we each have little of מצרים with...

It is written, "[Yaakov] blessed [Efraim and Menasheh] on that day…" (48:20). Wecan explain, Yaakov blessed them that they should always focus 'on thatday.' They shouldn’t think about the past, nor about the future.It says, 'tfochois nosato yomai' - 'like handbreadths (...

*Venishmarta mikol davar ra, mikan shelo yeharhar adam bayom veyavo lidei tumah balailah. Why does the Torah tell us the prohibition of being motzei zera levatala in a roundabout way, venishmarta etc.? why doesn't it say it in a direct fashion, exactly what is assur? The ...

וַיָּשָׁב יוֹסֵף מִצְרַיְמָה הוּא וְאֶחָיו וְכָל-הָעֹלִים אִתּוֹ Rashi says that on the way back from Canaan the Mitzriyim honored Yosef's brothers and let them travel ahead of them as a sign of respect. On the way to Canaan the Mitzriyim went ahead of his brothers and di...

Rashi explains why Vayechi is a parsha s'tumah, a 'closed' parsha, lacking the usual space before the beginning of the parsha. Klal Yisrael's eyes and hearts were 'closed' and clogged because Yaakov Avinu was niftar. Another reason is because Yaakov wanted to reveal when ...

L'fi shek'shemes yaakov nistemu eineihem v'libam shel Yisroel mitzoras hashibud.(Rashi)Nistemu eineihem v'libam shel Yisroel is the ideal that we all strive for! Ayin Ro'eh, haLev chomeid....... the result is unwanted. :-[ While the great & holy Yaakov Avinu was aliv...