Stephen Zelcer Listen to this shiur · 12 min The parsha has many mitzvos. Amongst them is the issur to have false, or contradictory weights. {יג} לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ בְּכִיסְךָ אֶבֶן וָאָבֶן גְּדוֹלָה וּקְטַנָּה: {יד} לֹא יִהְיֶה לְךָ בְּבֵיתְךָ אֵיפָה וְאֵיפָה גְּדוֹלָה וּקְטַנָּה: Devarim 25:13–14 Seemingly this issur is a variation of the classic issur of theft. … Read more
Who am I? – The “Ani” Every individual shares a name with G-d. In Hebrew, the word “Ani” means “I.” The word “Ani” is also one of the names of G-d, “Ani”, the infinite “I”. This shared name is hinting to a deep connection between man & G-d. One’s own existence is hinting to the … Read more
The Egg of Tisha B’Av & Pesach The Rema (O”C 476:2) makes an odd association between Tisha B’Av and Pesach: הגה: נוֹהֲגִים בִּקְצָת מְקוֹמוֹת לֶאֱכֹל בַּסְּעֻדָּה בֵּיצִים, זֵכֶר לַאֲבֵלוּת, וְנִרְאֶה לִי הַטַּעַם מִשּׁוּם שֶׁלֵּיל (ג) תִּשְׁעָה בְּאָב נִקְבַּע בְּלֵיל פֶּסַח The reason we eat eggs on the Seder Night (Pesach), is because the Seder night is somehow connected … Read more
Middah kneged Middah: At the most basic level, Middah kneged Middah shows there’s a system of justice, tit for tat. Furthermore, it obviously demonstrates that Hashem is paying attention and keeping a cheshbon. But let’s look deeper. Middah kneged Middah as the framework for Reward & Punishment: The Mishna in chelek speaks about those … Read more