This week’s parsha introduces the 613 th , final mitzvah of the Torah: Hakhel (some count it as the 612th): “ Moshe commanded them, saying: ‘At the end of seven years, at the conclusion of the Sabbatical year, during the festival of Succos, when all Israel comes to appear before Hashem your God in the place that He will choose, you shall read this Torah before all Israel in their ears. Gather together the people—the men, the women, and the small children, and the stranger i

As we approach Rosh Hashanah, the Torah speaks to us about teshuvah , the process of returning to Hashem: “It will be that when all...

This week’s parsha describes a dramatic ceremony the Jewish people were to perform upon entering the Land of Israel. Six tribes would ascend Har Gerizim, and six would ascend Har Eival. From the valley below, the Kohanim and Levi’im would proclaim a series of blessings and curses. Each time they faced Har Gerizim, they declared a blessing, and the people responded “Amen.” Then they turned to Har Eival and proclaimed the corresponding curse, and again the people answered “Amen

In this week’s parsha, the Torah commands: “Take heed in the plague of tzara῾at, that thou observe diligently, and do according to all that the priests the Levites shall teach you: as I commanded them, so you shall observe to do. Remember what Hashem your G-d did to Miriam by the way, after you had come out of Egypt.” (Devarim 24:7-8). It is significant that these two verses are written in the Torah as one complete paragraph, set apart from the surrounding text. What is