Mar 9, 2023
Ki Tisa | Inspiration: Day by Day, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom
The Parashiot of the Mishkan direct us how to construct a dwelling place for Hashem. This ideal is introduced at the outset of the commands as its goal: "They shall fashion a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them" (25:8) - but is also reiterated, with...
Feb 16, 2023
The Arba Parashiot: More than Meets the Eye, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom
The annual cycle of Keriat haTorah is punctuated in the weeks before Pesach with the addition of the "Arba Parashiot" - four special readings read as the Maftir on those weeks. We analyze the historic-halakhic reality of this practice, along with...
Feb 9, 2023
Yitro | On The Third Day: Echoes of Moriah at Sinai, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom
Why the three-day waiting period before the theophany at Sinai?
The exciting, frightening preparatory period before the great theophany at Sinai is defined by the Divine Command: "Be ready for the third day..." We explore the motif of the...
Feb 2, 2023
Beshalach | Moshe: Catalyst for Redemption, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom
The text interrupts the narrative of the Exodus to highlight Moshe's taking Yosef's bones up from Egypt, per the oath that was administered by Yosef to his brothers at his deathbed. We explore both the explicit mention as well as the unusual placement...
Jan 19, 2023
Vaera | The Surprising Genealogy, by Rav Yitzchak Etshalom
Just as Hashem's magnificent promises and ominous threats are about to be broadcast by Moshe, both to B'nei Yisrael as well as to Pharaoh, the text interrupts with a most unusual mini-genealogical list. We are told, all so briefly, about the families of Reuven...