Weekly Parsha

Parshas Ki Sisa

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Parshas Ki Sisa (5774)
by Mordechai Dolinsky

The greatest ‘peleh’ is the sin of the Aigel. The answer is that Moshe Rabeinu in every way had no connection with derech hateva. It was simply impossible for Klal Yisroel to consider a leader of ‘basar v’dam’. We must let that sink in, that we are l’maalah min hateva’. The miracles of Purim were completely l’maalah min hatevah. The more we believe and connect ourselves and commit ourselves, the more we shall see.

Have a wonderful Shabbos, with nissim and yeshuos and simcha.

Parshas Tetzaveh

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Parshas Tetzaveh (5774)
by Mordechai Dolinsky

The avodas hakohanim manifested in their clothing is a tremendous lesson for us that there is a avoda in clothing. This is manifested today is appreciating that Hashem has bestowed upon us the blessing of clothing which calls out our uniqueness as humans, the only creation that has clothing and reminds us that we have free will and a soul. It also brings to our consciousness that we have to thank Hashem for our clothing and that we have responsibility to glorify Hashem with clothing that is neat and is worthy for those that represent the will of Hashem in this generation.

Have a wonderful Shabbos.

Parsha Terumah

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Parshas Termuah (5774)
by Mordechai Dolinsky

There is an aspect of the binyan haMishkan in our sedra of tremendous importance that is greatly overlooked. The idea and concept of a Mishkan or Bais HaMikdash is that it sits on the top of the Shaar HaShomayim, on Har HaBayis, that demands the various places and boundaries; the Azara, the Kodesh HaKodshim, the place of the aron. The kedusha stems from the place and accordingly we build and place the Mishkan or Bais Hamikdash. Considering this there should be no concept of a Mishkan that could be built in the Midbar. The greatness of the Mishkan is that through the building with the exact qualifications and specifications the Shchinah comes down and creates a real Ohel Moed, and Kodshai Kodshim. The kedusha that we have today in the Bais Knesses or Bais Medrash is a reflection of this chidush, that the Shchinah comes down and it is imperative that we relate to this in entering these places. It is not just a room that is designated for the use of davening, rather a place that is on a completely different plane of existance, filled with the kedusha of Shchinah and to connect with Hashem there.

We should be zocheh to see the binyan Bais HaMikdash b’karov. Have a wonderful Shabbos and a month of yeshuos and simcha for ourselves and all Klal Yisroel.

Parshas Mishpatim

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Parshas Mishpatim (5774)
by Mordechai Dolinsky

This parsha must inspire us to be sensitive to the many monetary situations which constantly surround us and that demand our awareness of our choshen mishpat obligations and the many pitfalls of very serious transgressions and wrongdoings in the financial arena. There is a tendency to think that this is limited and confined to people who have wicked intent, thieves. However there are countless choshen mishpat situations in our lives with our friends and neighbors that are opened to pitfalls in monetary matters.

In the zchus of our commitment and inspirations to fulfill our monetary obligations we should bring an abundance of bracha to ourselves and Klal Yisroel.

Have a wonderful Shabbos.

Parshas Yisro

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Parshas Yisro (5774)
by Mordechai Dolinsky

The parsha of Matan Torah, the greatest, awesome, most significant event in all of history. What is amazing is that the pasuk just ‘slips’ into Matan Torah without the slightest introduction or fanfare. 19:2-3 “Vayisu Mayrafidim vayavou….u’Moshe oloh…”–the greatest event in the world without fanfare. The limud is that the real, real truth comes this way. We search and yearn for the real truth. We should know that this is how it comes; search and yearn and know in this world of darkness, this is the place of the truth.

Have a wonderful Shabbos

Parshas Bo

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Parshas Yisro (5774)
by Mordechai Dolinsky

The parsha of Matan Torah, the greatest, awesome, most significant event in all of history. What is amazing is that the pasuk just ‘slips’ into Matan Torah without the slightest introduction or fanfare. 19:2-3 “Vayisu Mayrafidim vayavou….u’Moshe oloh…”–the greatest event in the world without fanfare. The limud is that the real, real truth comes this way. We search and yearn for the real truth. We should know that this is how it comes; search and yearn and know in this world of darkness, this is the place of the truth.

Have a wonderful Shabbos

Parshas Shmos

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Parshas Shmos (5774)
by Mordechai Dolinsky

Awesome, Pharaoh is making a great effort to eliminate the savior of Yisrael and Basya, his daughter, brings him to the palace of Pharaoh, to be part of his personal household. Awesome, hakol biyedai Shomayim. Basya had the zchus of giving the name to the Rebbi of Klal Yisroel and the name Moshe was a memorial that she took him from the water, her intention probably being that it should be a constant reminder for him that he was not really part of the Egyptian royalty. We can see its success in where his loyalty lay in the incident of his killing the Egyptian.

2:10 Rashi brings two subtle differences in the meaning of Moshe. In loshon Arami it means taking out, the connotation being just going from one place to another. In Ioshon Ivri it means to remove, the connotation being the evacuation of something from where it doesn’t belong. An insight into the significance of this can be that Moshe, through the giving of the Torah to Klal Yisroel, lifted Klal Yisroel from the life of empty materialism and put them down in a different plane of existence. This may represent two ways of understanding the relationship of the simple materialistic world and the world he brought us to. How much are we connected to or part of it in essence? Did he just put us on a higher plane of existence or remove us from a place that we don’t really belong at all to a new and different level of existence?

Moshe Rabeinu, Moshe Rabeinu; Yismach Moshe b’matnas chelko.

Bracha V’Hatzlacha.