This short psalm praises Hashem’s connection to Tzion. In order to express God’s love for Yerushalayim, the psalmist writes: “Hashem loves the gates of Tzion, more than all the dwellings of Yaakov.” The wall currently surrounding Jerusalem’s Old City, built in 1538 by the Ottoman sultan Suleiman the Magnificent, has several gates around its perimeter,… Read more »
In the midst of the speeches, the Christian organization did something that went beyond just good intentions. Eagles Wings donated $10,000 to Meir Panim, a Jewish soup kitchen that helps Holocaust survivors lead happy and meaningful lives.
Grapes, like each of the other seven special agricultural species for which the Land of Israel is praised (Deuteronomy 8:8), are a symbol of the People of Israel. The Sages teach that the vine is the weakest and lowliest of trees, lacking even a trunk. To produce wine, which is served at royal banquets, grapes… Read more »
Jerusalem’s famous Holocaust museum, Yad Vashem (‘a monument and a name’), takes its name from this biblical verse. Yeshayahu articulates Hashem’s promise that even those who are unable to have sons and daughters will be memorialized in Yerushalayim by their “everlasting name.” According to its mission statement, the museum “safeguards the memory of the past… Read more »
As the People of Israel stand at the plains of Moab, ready to enter the Promised Land, Moshe leads them in reaffirming their covenant with Hashem for all generations. The Hebrew name for ‘plains of Moab,’ Arvot Moav (ערבות מואב), has a dual meaning, as the word Arvot is related to the term areivut (ערבות),… Read more »
During the Messianic age, non-Jews will play an essential role in helping the Jewish people settle the Land of Israel through agriculture, as this verse states, and they will also partner with the Jews in spiritual pursuits. Rabbi Israel Lipschitz (1782-1860), in his commentary Tiferet Yisrael, quotes this verse to prove that non-Jews will participate… Read more »
Metzudat David explains that the prophetess Avigail is warning David that he should kill only if necessary as part of Hashem’s wars against enemies such as the Philistines, but not in order to exact revenge. This is one of the foundations of Jewish military ethics: The people of Israel are required to fight wars only… Read more »
Metzudat David explains that the prophetess Avigail is warning David that he should kill only if necessary as part of Hashem’s wars against enemies such as the Philistines, but not in order to exact revenge. This is one of the foundations of Jewish military ethics: The people of Israel are required to fight wars only… Read more »
The Hebrew language includes many words used to describe various forms of happiness. According to former British Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, the term osher (אושר) refers to a type of personal happiness that one experiences when engaging in an activity such as listening to music or observing something spectacular in nature. Simcha (שמחה), on the… Read more »
This psalm speaks of the coronation of a king, possibly David. It includes praises and blessings to the king of Israel who rules from Tzion, who will judge the nation, lead the army, and follow in the ways of Hashem. God sees the king as a kind of priest, as he serves the people and… Read more »
Avraham is commanded to travel to a land unknown to him. To assuage his fears that he would not find friends or supporters in his new home, Hashem promises that He will remain on Avraham’s side by blessing those who bless him and cursing those who curse him. He concludes with the promise that Avraham… Read more »
The dean of the yeshiva, Rabbi Shlomo Vilk, said that Sorek was “a kind and gentle person” who was concerned for the environment and was kind to “every living thing.”
The Shabbat (שבת), ‘Sabbath,’ is designated as a sign between Hashem and the Children of Israel that Hashem created the world, and resting from work on Shabbat is the sign that the Jewish Nation recognizes God as the Creator. Each week, Jews reaffirm their submission to Hashem by sanctifying the Shabbat, and they recite this… Read more »
And just as Rivka suffered during her death, her family is left suffering while living. That’s because although their loved ones are gone, the pain still remains,
What is the meaning the Hebrew word maalot (מעלות), translated here as ‘ascents,’ which appears in the opening phrases of the next fifteen psalms? According to Rashi, it is a reference to the fifteen steps in the Beit Hamikdash upon which the Leviim stood while reciting these fifteen psalms. Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch explains the… Read more »
