וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָֽׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם And they shall make Me a MIKDASH and I will dwell in their midst. Day 50 is Cheirus – Freedom! Dear Friends, For the last fifty days we’ve journeyed together, from the slavery in Mitzrayim in parshas Shemos, through kriyas Yam Suf, Kabbalas Hatorah and the building of the Mikdash in parshas Terumah. The number 50…
וְזֹאת֙ הַתְּרוּמָ֔ה אֲשֶׁ֥ר תִּקְח֖וּ מֵֽאִתָּ֑ם זָהָ֥ב וָכֶ֖סֶף וּנְחֽשֶׁת And this is the offering that you shall take from them: gold, silver, and copper. Imagine you’re on the way from your house to shul and you slip and fall on the ice. Does the fall cause you to slide all the way back home? Of…
וְנֽוֹעַדְתִּ֣י לְךָ֘ שָׁם֒ וְדִבַּרְתִּ֨י אִתְּךָ֜ מֵעַ֣ל הַכַּפֹּ֗רֶת מִבֵּין֙ שְׁנֵ֣י הַכְּרֻבִ֔ים I will arrange My meetings with you there, and I will speak with you from atop the ark cover from between the two cherubim We generally use the words “shame” and “guilt” interchangeably. Technically, however, the two terms are very different. Guilt is about…
וְהָי֣וּ הַכְּרֻבִים֩ פֹּֽרְשֵׂ֨י כְנָפַ֜יִם לְמַ֗עְלָה סֹֽכְכִ֤ים בְּכַנְפֵיהֶם֙ עַל־הַכַּפֹּ֔רֶת The cherubim shall have their wings spread upwards, shielding the ark cover with their wings Many people think that urges get stronger and stronger until you give in, but in reality, urges come in waves that grow and peak, before gradually subsiding. “Urge Surfing” is about…
וְנָֽתַתָּ֖ אֶל־הָֽאָרֹ֑ן אֵ֚ת הָֽעֵדֻ֔ת אֲשֶׁ֥ר אֶתֵּ֖ן אֵלֶֽיךָ And you shall place into the ark the testimony, which I will give you. Hakadosh Baruch Hu created the world in such a way that men and women are attracted to one another and, because of this, people get married, have children and populate the Earth. If it…
מֵאֵ֤ת כָּל־אִישׁ֙ אֲשֶׁ֣ר יִדְּבֶ֣נּוּ לִבּ֔וֹ תִּקְח֖וּ אֶת־תְּרֽוּמָתִֽי From every person whose heart inspires him to generosity, you shall take My offering. While the Torah teaches us to avoid purposely fantasizing, Chazal recognize that these thoughts are part of being human, and they are difficult to escape them for even a single day (Bava Basra 164b)….
וְנָשָׂ֣א אַֽ֠הֲרֹ֠ן אֶת־מִשְׁפַּ֨ט בְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֧ל עַל־לִבּ֛וֹ And Aaron will carry the judgment of the children of Israel over his heart. Part of the avodah of shmiras habris is maintaining pure thoughts during the day in order to avoid causing ourselves to see keri (nocturnal emissions) in our sleep. It is important to point out, however, that preventing keri isn’t always in our…
וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָֽׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם And they shall make Me a sanctuary and I will dwell in their midst Chazal call the makom habris an “eiver chai” (alive) when it is aroused and an “eiver meis” (dead) when it is at rest. Why do Chazal describe the bris in such peculiar terms? Why are the concepts…
וַֽאֲשֶׁר֙ לֹ֣א צָדָ֔ה וְהָֽאֱלֹקים אִנָּ֣ה לְיָד֑וֹ But one who did not stalk [him], but Hashem brought [it] about into his hand Although we must always try our very best in the present moment, it is important to realize that we may not always have had free will in the past. This can prevent the guilt from dragging…
