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Render to God (Avot 3:8) Rabbi Elazar of Bartota said: Render to Him that which is His, for you and all that you have are His, as David said [I Chronicles 29:14]: “For all things come from You, and of Your own have we given you.” (m.Avot 3:8) In his commentary on this passage, Rabbi Marc Angel associates this mishnah with a passage from a midrashic commentary called Yalkut Shimoni. It says: The world was created in the merit of three things: in the merit of [the mitzvot of] halla, tithes, and first fruits (Yalkut Shimoni, Gen. 1:2). read more »	Parashat Chukat - Numbers 19:1-22:1 Unreasonable Reason This week’s Torah portion is called Chukat, because it opens by describing the chok (statute or ordinance) of the parah adumah (the red heifer), a critical element used to cleanse a person from corpse contamination. Our parashah begins: Now the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “This is the statute of the law that the LORD has commanded: Tell the people of Israel to bring you a red heifer without defect.” (Numbers 19:1–2) read more »
Inviting the Shechinah Rabbi Chalafta ben Dosa of Kefar Chanania used to say: If ten men sit together and occupy themselves with the Torah, the Divine Presence rests among them as it is written (Psalm 82:1) “God has taken his place in the divine council.” And from where do we learn that this applies even to five? Because it is written (Amos 9:6) “And founds his vault upon the earth.” And how do we learn that this applies even to three? Because it is written (Psalm 82:1) “In the midst of the gods he holds judgment.” And from where can it be shown that the same applies even to two? Because it is written (Malachi 3:16) “Then those who revered the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD took note and listened.” And from where even of one? Because it is written (Exodus 20:24) “In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.” (m.Avot 3:7) read more »	The Yoke of the World Rabbi Nechunya ben Hakanah said: Whoever takes upon himself the yoke of Torah, from him will be taken away the yoke of government and the yoke of worldly care; but whoever throws off the yoke of Torah, upon him will be laid the yoke of government and the yoke of worldly care. (m.Avot 3:6) A common reaction by many people after reading this is that of skepticism. Will studying Torah really remove the yokes of both the government and worldly care from you? Will the IRS magically disappear and Publisher’s Clearing House show up on your doorstep because you study Torah? No. Of course not. But is that what our mishnah promises? Let’s take a closer look. read more »
Parashat Behar-Bechukotai - Leviticus 25:1-27:34 The double parashah Behar-Bechukotai is filled primarily with the laws concerning the Shemitah (the Sabbath year), the Yovel (Jubilee), and the laws of redemption, although many other topics are covered as well. While detailing the laws of the Yovel (25:8–22), the Torah gives us a broad commandment: You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the LORD your God. (Leviticus 25:17) read more »	Emet HaTorah Update 15 October, 2015 Shalom, everyone! I hope you all were blessed during the High Holy Days. There have been so many things going on with Emet HaTorah the last few months that I thought I would take a few minutes to review and try and catch everyone up on what all is going on. You may be asking, "What happened to the newsletter?" And rightly so. Since even before the Patterns of Praise conference in August, we have been running non-stop. There was a lot of preparation involved in putting together our first conference and it took a lot out of us. However, in my estimation, it was a huge success. I am still hearing reports of the life-changing impact it had on those who attended. Joe and Debbie Good did such an excellent job of helping us to understand Jewish prayer and giving us details on using the siddur (prayer book). I believe everyone in attendance was blessed and walked away with a challenge to begin a life of prayer. read more »

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