Torah Thoughts, Stories, and Inspiration on the weekly Parsha
The Number Eight It is interesting that the root of the word shemen, oil, is the same as shemonah, eight. Is it a coincidence, then, that we celebrate eight days of Chanukah due to the oil that lasted eight days? Of course not! The number eight has great significance. It is considered I’ma’alah min hateva,…
What is Chanukah? The Rabbanim learned… (Shabbos 21b) Although there are many lessons learned from the miracles that occurred on Chanukah, the Sefer Torah Tavlin Al HaMoadim quotes the Nesivos Shalom, Rav Shalom Berezovsky zt”l, who writes that the essence of Chanukah is simchah (happiness). He notes that it is customary for Jews to wish…
Dwelling in the SukkahThe Gemara (Sukkah 26a) derives from the passuk, …בסוכות תשבו that a person should dwell in his sukkah for the seven days of Yom Tov just as one dwells in his house all year – but it goes both ways, writes the Satmar Rebbe, Rav Yoel Teitelbaum: A person must always remember…
The Meal on Erev Yom Kippur The Sfas Emes brings down the Gemara in Tannis (26b) that says, “There never was a greater Yom Tov than Yom Kippur,” for that was the day on which Moshe brought the second Luchos (Tablet) down from Heaven. Since we cannot make a festive meal on Yom Kippur, we…
