Weekly Dvar Torah By Rabbi Yitzchak Gettinger

Parshas Noach spans two periods of time- before the destructive flood and after- and depicts Noach’s role of facilitating the transition between the pre-flood world and the post-flood world.  Noach is uniquely defined by this rebuilding task, as we do not find other characters in the Torah who are given such a mission.  In order to better understand Noach’s role in this job, we can look back to Parshas Bereishis to the naming of...Read more...

The conclusion of the Parsha discusses the concept of "egla arufa," the scenario when a dead body is found between two cities and there is no evidence of the cause of death.  The Torah rules that the city closest to the body is held "accountable" for the death, and the city as a whole must undergo a unique atonement process of beheading a calf and declaring that they have no hand in this death and are not...Read more...

Parshas Eikev revisits the tragedy of the Golden Calf from Moshe’s perspective, and Moshe shares his experiences of carrying the nation through their mistake, his monumental decision to break the Luchos, and his extended prayers for God’s forgiveness.  While most of the points of the story are a review, one novel point is that when Moshe was instructed to carve new Luchos, he was also instructed to make an Aron to house the...Read more...

In beginning his “last lecture” with the nation, one of the first issues that Moshe discusses is his struggle with being a solitary leader and how the challenge of being unaided in carrying the vast burdens of the Jewish people caused him to appoint other men to direct, judge, and guide the nation under Moshe’s general jurisdiction.  The Midrash explains this to be a reference to the story in...Read more...

The events of Parshas Pinchas are the culmination of the experiences that the Jews had in their forty year journey through the desert together with their leader Moshe.  Pinchas’s zealous act of striking a Jewish leader together with a Midanite woman spurred a command from God that the Jews should act with hostility towards the Midaanites and kill them.  The Parshas also contains one last national census of the nation, as well as...Read more...

Parshas Chukas is particularly unique in the sense that its content spans the entire duration of B’nei Yisrael’s 40 year stay in the desert.  The opening topic of the Parsha, the detailed laws of spiritual impurity, was actually presented to the Jews during their second year in the wilderness, on the day the Mishkan was erected, (Gittin 60a) even preceding the mistake of sending spies to Israel.  From there,...Read more...

The bookends of the Parsha are the infamous sin of the miraglim portraying Eretz Yisrael in a negative light and the mitzva of tziztis.  Besides the obvious connection in terms of juxtaposition, there is a unique verb that is used both in regard to the miraglim and the idea of tzitzis that further connects the two topics.  The point of tzitzis is "to remember all the mitzvos of God and to keep them, not straying...Read more...

Parshas Naso introduces the Pesukim of Birchas Kohanim- a most famous liturgy that the Kohanim transfer from God to the people and that has customarily become a blessing from parent to child.  Made up of three stanzas, Birchas Kohanim opens with the simple words of: “May God bless you and guard you.”  It is hard to understand the direct flow between “bless you” and “guard you,” and this choppy wording is the cause for...Read more...

The Parsha opens with God’s assurance that our observance of mitzvos will be rewarded with many physical returns, the foremost of which being rain in the right time.  For the middle-eastern agricultural society, rain is the empirical idea that Man's efforts need help from God, and that we must believe and trust in His help.  The Midrash notes that the Pasuk’s wording of “your rains” implies a sense of entitlement for rain,...Read more...

This week’s Parsha contains the mitzvah that currently engages us, the mitzvah of Sefiras Haomer.  The word Sefira is rooted in the Shoresh of Samech, Pheh, Reish, and while it is loosely translated as counting, its precise definition remains somewhat elusive.  What is the variance between the actions of counting and saying?  Moreover, we find contexts where counting connotes a mental exercise, such as the imperative of...Read more...

Jewish thought suggests that there are two factors that govern holiness- time and place- with each of these variables having their own ability to create and affect holiness.  Although both time and place control holiness, the relationship between time and holiness differs greatly from the relationship of place and holiness.  Time and holiness stem from Creation itself, when upon completing...Read more...

The main topic of the Parsha is the punishment of Tzar’as for speaking Lashon Harah and other similar problems.  Both the Chisudhei Harim and Sefas Emes, leaders of the Gur dynasty, point out that the words Negah, an affliction (used in the context of Tzaras), and Oneg, the Hebrew word for delight, are actually anagrams.  The key difference in the words Oneg and Nega is where the...Read more...

Parshas Tzav discusses the specifics of many Korabos, including the Shelamim and Toda.  Korban Shelamim is a general category of voluntary Korbanos that have parts offered on the Altar, parts given to the Kohanim, and parts eaten by the owner of the Korban.  As a subcategory of Korban Shelamim, the Torah introduces the Korban Toda, which differs from a Shelamim in several ways.  Firstly, the Korban Toda is accompanied by 40...Read more...

One of the Kohen Gadol’s garments was the Tzitz, a golden forehead-plate that had the words “Holy to God” inscribed on its face.  In discussion of the Kohen Gadol’s outfit, the Gemara in Eruchin teaches that each one of the eight garments correlated to a specific flaw or sin that it represented and atoned for.  The Tzitz was associated with “Azus Meitzach”- literally brazen facedness- and the Kohen Gadol atoned for this...Read more...

The concluding verses in the Torah depict Moshe Rabbeinu’s unparalleled greatness as both a prophet and leader for the Jewish people, and this description ends with the words: “with all the strength of hand and great awe, which Moshe performed in front of all of Israel.”  In elaboration of the words, “in front of all of Israel,” Rashi explains that this references the spontaneous decision Moshe made in destroying the Luchos...Read more...