Vayeitzei: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Liars gonna lie, cheaters gonna cheat. Deception is as old as man himself. It’s a bad trait, but is it sometimes necessary? When dealing with an inveterate deceiver we may be required to outplay them at their own game.
Toldot: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study The eternal struggle between Yaakov and Esau began while still in the womb, and continues to this day. The irrational but explosive hatred called antisemitism is the ever reappearing expression of this never ending enmity.
Chayei Sara: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study “And these are the years of the life of Ishmael: one hundred years and thirty years and seven years… In the presence of all of his brothers he fell.” Thus closes parashat Chayei Sara and thus begins the history of the Ishmaelites who some 2,500 years later …
Chayei Sara: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Read More »
Vayera: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study “Will You even destroy the righteous with the wicked?” Avraham asks of G-d, concerning Sodom. The same question, in slightly different terms, is being put before Israel today, as the IDF continues to pound Gaza following the inhuman atrocities perpetrated by Hamas on 1,400 innocent Israeli men, women, …
Vayera: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Author: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer Read More »
Lech Lecha: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study The war currently waging in and about the land of Israel has its ancient origins in this week’s Torah reading. From his birth, Yishmael, the son of Avraham and Hagar, was destined to be a thorn in the sides of all the nations.
Noach: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study There is a trajectory in human history that bends to the will of G-d, something we call fate. At the same time there is another kind of fate, a personal fate, also known as hashgacha pratit, determined by HaShem, out of compassion for His creation.
Bereshit: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Light, darkness, good, bad, life, death – it’s all part of G-d’s creation which, upon completion, He blessed as “very good!” Just what is it about creation that it earns such high praise from the Creator Himself?
Zot Habracha: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study No sooner does HaShem grant Moshe a glimpse into the future events that will take place in the land that he, himself, will never enter, than we begin again at the beginning – reading of the first six days of creation and Shabbat -in the opening verses …
Zot Habracha: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Read More »
The Festival of Sukkot: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Sitting in a temporary hut, exposed to the wind and the rain, the cool night air and the hot midday sun may not seem like a particularly spiritual experience. But observing the seven day festival of Sukkot in this way is, indeed, deeply spiritual.
Ha’azinu: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Divine justice – the good being rewarded and the bad paying the price, isn’t always so crystal clear and presents a real stumbling block for many. Ha’azinu, the parasha long poem, however, harbors no doubts and emphatically insists on Divine justice, whether we perceive it or not.
Rosh HaShana: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Are our lives predetermined? Or do we have a say in our lives trajectories? Does G-d really decide on Rosh HaShana who will live and who will die? And if so, do we have any say in the matter? The answer to all these questions is yes. …
Rosh HaShana: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Read More »
Nitzavim-Vayelech: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study The future is who we are tomorrow, and there is no other option than to prepare for tomorrow today. HaShem commands us to all stand before Him today, equipped with the knowledge that teshuvah – the ability to redirect our paths, to draw nearer to G-d – is …
Nitzavim-Vayelech: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Read More »
Ki Tavo: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study The past: more enduring than the present and less obscure than the future, the past is the very ground upon which we stand. It is the first fruits of who we are, and without the past we have no path to the future.
Ki Teitzei: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study “A man’s attire shall not be on a woman, nor may a man wear a woman’s garment because whoever does these things is an abomination to HaShem, your G-d.” Western secular society may be way past the issue of cross dressing, but cross dressing is definitely where …
Ki Teitzei: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Read More »
Re’eh: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study How do we perceive life? Simple or complex? We all make plans but plans can go awry. We all hope for the best, but none of us know what tomorrow will bring. Parashat Re’eh presents us with a clear cut path and a clear cut choice: A blessing …
Devarim: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Justice! Just what is it? Is it attainable? What do righteousness and judgment have to do with justice? We are commanded to pursue justice, but justice itself can only be attained with the help of G-d.
Matot-Masei: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study In parashat Matot-Masei we learn of the borders of the land of Israel that G-d has determined, even before Israel has entered into the land. Would Israel have been able to successfully return to her land after suffering a two thousand year old exile, had G-d not personally …
Matot-Masei: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Read More »
Pinchas: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study The laws of inheritance are so basic and so self explanatory that they go unquestioned even today. But precisely during the final days in the wilderness, five sisters stood before Moshe and demanded their share of their father’s portion in the land. Their claim was confirmed by none …
Pinchas: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Read More »
Balak: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study We each possess the power to change our own fate and even the fate of others. But as Balak would learn, we can only change our fate, (or the fate of others), for better or for worse, if G-d gives us the green light.
Chukat: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Fight fire with fire and fight snakes with a copper snake emblazoned on a pole. This seems to have been G-d’s strategy for saving Israel from the poisonous snakes that He, Himself sent to quiet their complaining. Was there something truly curative about this copper image of a …
Chukat: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Read More »
Korach: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Nothing says Ego like Korach. So full of obstinance and pride, Korach nearly dragged the entire nation of Israel down with him into the pit of his own stubborn, overblown sense of self importance. We all have bouts of pride and we all find it tough to admit …
Korach: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Read More »
Shelach: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study The unexpected in life by definition takes us by surprise. What preparations, what precautions can we take to soften the blow of the unexpected? Moshe made a change so minor before sending the twelve spies to Canaan we hardly notice it. But small as it was, Moshe’s tweaking …
Shelach: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Read More »
Beha’alotcha: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Sometimes we just throw up our hands and give up. We don’t like it. It’s frustrating, even humiliating, but it happens. When Israel unjustly pressed Moshe for meat in the wilderness he hit his “I can’t do this anymore” moment. Fortunately G-d stepped in and saved the day. …
Beha’alotcha: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Read More »
Naso: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study We humans run hot and cold; we’re up and we’re down, inspired and disillusioned, filled with holy fervor one moment and sinning the next. The case of the nazir, discussed in this week’s parashat Naso, takes all this into consideration.
Bamidbar: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study It is the mystery inherent in life, the inexplicable and unexplainable, that affords us a glimpse into a world that modern science cannot even admit to. The desert Tabernacle and its sacred vessels, made by man, are invested by G-d with a parallel dimension beyond our ability to …
Bamidbar: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Read More »
Behar-Bechukotai: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Acts of kindness express an intrinsic desire within the human soul to infuse one’s life with meaning. The Torah mandates laws intended to encourage this noble inclination, to bring out the best in mankind.
Emor: Rabbi Gedalia Meyer’s Weekly Torah Study Rav Gedaliah focuses on the popular holiday of Lag B’Omer, which occurs this coming week on Monday evening – Tuesday. Lag B’Omer is a holiday whose origins are shrouded in mystery, and celebrates the life and passing of Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai, to whom the Zohar, Judaism’s most …