In this lesson the laws of lashon hara we discuss negative speech of slander and its effects The Hebrew term lashon hara (or loshon hora) (Hebrew לשון הרע; “evil tongue”) is the halakhic...

For the decades we have see a title wave of righteous non-jews embracing Torah and leaving Idol worship. The story of Naaman becomes a prophetic pattern for this post modern phenomenon. Most of the...

I believe by complete faith that the Creator, blessed be His name, is a Unity, and there is no union in any way like Him. He alone is our God, who was, who is,...

Tazria’ (תַזְרִיעַ — Hebrew for “she conceives”, the 13th word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 27th weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and the fourth in the book of Leviticus. It constitutes Leviticus 12:1–13:59.The parashah is...

Strange Fire | Parshat Shemini Rabbi Yaakov Cohen discusses the meaning and implications of the “strange fire” brought as an offering by Nadav and Avihu. In his discussion of this perplexing passage, Rabbi Avigdor...

A Meal Fit for a King | Parshat Shemini Shmini (שְּׁמִינִי) — Hebrew for “eighth,” the third word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah) is the 26th weekly Torah portion (פָּרָשָׁה, parashah) in the annual Jewish cycle of Torah reading and...

Shemini | Haftorah Portion From II Samuel 6:1-19 We will examine Shemini | which is the Haftorah portion for this parsha. Rod Bryant discusses the critical error that King David made in is excitement...

In this lecture “The Eighth Day | Shemini” we discuss the concepts from (Likkutei Sichos, Vol. III, p. 973ff) The number eight shares a connection to the Era of the Redemption, as our Sages...

Purim, which literally means “lots,” is the holiday in which Jews commemorate being saved from persecution in the ancient Persian Empire. According to the Book of Esther in the Bible, the Jews of the...

This week’s reading continues to detail the laws of sacrifice.  Here we shall deal with the connection between sacrifice and prayer, based on the assertion by Rabbi Joshua ben Levi:  “The prayers were instituted...