The Torah tells us that after Adam and Chava sinned, Hashem banished them from the Garden of Eden: “Therefore, Hashem sent him out of the Garden of Eden, to till the ground from where he was taken.” (Bereishis 3:23) Yet immediately before describing their banishment, the Torah tells us something surprising: “And Hashem made Adam and his wife coats of skins, and clothed them.” (Bereishis 3:21) The Midrash offers a remarkable interpretation of these garments. By substituting th

The Torah says: “For seven days, you shall bring a fire-offering to Hashem; the eighth day shall be for you a holy assembly, and you shall bring a fire-offering to Hashem. It is an Atzeres—you shall not do any laborious work.” (Vayikra 23:36) The Torah uses the unusual word Atzeres (עצרת) to describe the final day of the Succos holiday. We therefore call this holiday Shemini Atzeres, literally, “the eighth day of assembly.” Why does the Torah use this unusual term to describe

The Torah tells us about the mitzvah of dwelling in a Succah: “You shall dwell in thatched booths for a seven-day period; every native in Israel shall dwell in thatched booths. So that your generations will know that I caused the Children of Israel to dwell in succos when I took them from the land of Egypt. I am Hashem your G-d.”(Vayikra 23:42–43) The Torah provides a reason for the mitzvah: we dwell in Succos because the Children of Israel dwelled in Succos when they left Eg

Moshe opens his final shira, or song, to the Jewish people with the following words: “Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; and may the earth hear the words of my mouth.”(Devarim 32:1) Rashi explains that Moshe called upon the heavens and the earth to serve as witnesses to the covenant between the Jewish people and Hashem. Moshe knew that although he would soon die, the heavens and the earth would remain as eternal witnesses to that covenant. Rashi adds something remarkable.

The Torah actually says remarkably little about Rosh Hashanah: “In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, there shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall do no laborious work; it shall be a day of shofar-sounding (יום תרועה) for you.” (Bamidbar 29:1) The Torah therefore tells us that Rosh Hashanah is a Yom Teruah, a day of shofar sounding. But in Vayikra, the Torah uses a somewhat different expression: “Hashem spoke to Moshe, saying: Speak to the Children of I

BE TRUE TO YOURSELF The Torah in this week’s parsha tells us: “Then all the nations shall say: ‘Why has the Lord done this to this land? What is the meaning of the heat of this great anger?’ Then men shall say because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord G-d of their fathers, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Miżrayim:” (Devarim 29:23-24). Moshe has just concluded a series of curses that would, chas v’Shalom, befall the Jewish people if th

The Torah tells us: “And when you came to this place, Sichon, king of Cheshbon, and Og, king of Bashan, came out against us for battle, and we struck them. We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to Reuven, to Gad, and to half the tribe of Menashe.” (Devarim 29:6–7). Moshe here reminds the Jewish people of their battles against Sichon and Og, their victories over these powerful kings, and the subsequent settlement of their lands by the tribes of Reuven, Gad, and

In this week's parsha, the Torah teaches: “If a man has committed a sin punishable by death and is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, you shall not leave his body overnight upon the tree. Rather, you shall surely bury him on that day, for a hanging person is a disgrace to G-d; and you shall not defile your land that Hashem, your G-d, gives you as an inheritance.” (Devarim 21:22–23) The Torah gives a striking reason why the body may not remain hanging overnight: “for a

In this week’s parsha, the Torah commands the Jewish people to establish cities of refuge for a person who kills another human being unintentionally: “You shall set aside three cities in the land that Hashem, your G-d, is giving you to possess. You shall prepare for yourself the road.” (Devarim 19:2-3) What additional commandment is the Torah teaching by telling us, “You shall prepare for yourself the road”? Rashi, citing the Gemara in Makkos (10b), explains that the roads to

In this week's parsha, the Torah presents the prohibition against eating blood: "Only be strong not to eat the blood, for the blood is the life, and you shall not eat the life with the meat." (Devarim 12:23) This verse is puzzling. Most people naturally find the consumption of blood repulsive. Why, then, does the Torah prohibit something that people would ordinarily avoid anyway? Rashi offers two explanations. In his second, he cites Shimon ben Azzai: "The Torah comes only to