Last week the Torah gave a detailed account of the structure of the Temple. This week, the Torah portion of Tetzaveh further discusses different elements relating to the Temple and its service. Primarily, the parshah describes the garments of the high priest (also including the garments of the ordin...

In this week’s parshah, we learn about the construction of the Tabernacle that the Jews were commanded to build in the desert. It is a well known concept in Jewish life that there exists a direct link between the Tabernacle and the day of Shabbos: Every single creative activity that was needed in ...

Near the end of this week’s parshah we come upon the well-known words of “Na’aseh Venishmah� (“We will do and we will hear�) that the Jewish nation expressed concerning their commitment to God and to following His commandments. The verse writes as follows: “…and they (the Jewish nati...

In this week’s Torah portion, we read about the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. Within the Torah’s description of that untimely event, the parshah lists the “Ten Commandments� that were passed down to us from God. Let us focus on one of those commandments; that of Shabbos (the Sabbath). ...

Namen          Exodus. 1:1 - 6:1   RABBI SHIMON BAR JOCHAI   DE GOEDE KANTEN VAN SLAVERNIJ   ZOHAR II, P. 14b   “En de Egyptenaren dwongen de Israëlieten hard werk te verrichtten.” (Exodus. 1:13) Rabbi Elazar vroeg Rabbi Shimon [bar Jochai], zijn vader, “Waarom bescho...

In this week’s Torah portion, we come across the story of Joseph and his descent into Egypt. Before being sold as a slave, Joseph was thrown into a pit by his brothers and the Torah depicts this event as follows: “…they cast him into the pit; and the pit was empty, no water was in it&#...

Normal 0 At the beginning of this week’s parshah, we learn about the confrontation between Jacob and Esau, his brother. To recall the history between them: Jacob had received blessings from his father, Isaac, when these blessings were originally meant for Esau. Esau, convinced that Jacob had stole...

I heard a wonderful Dvar Torah over Shabbat that originated from the "Tzohar" weekly pamphlet. Unfortunately, the pamphlet isn't available on-line yet, nor do I have a copy of it, but I hope to find it and post it online soon and will quote accordingly) In the meantime, the jist of it was as follows...

Korach Numeri. 16:1 - 18:32 Rabbi Shimon bar Jochai Het geven van dank in harde tijden Zohar. p. 176b Rabbi Jehoeda opent zijn verhandeling met [een vers van waar Elihoe, de jongste onder de vrienden van Job, zijn woorden van troost over het rouwen van Job begint door te zeggen:] “Luister, wij...

Today’s parashat is about the intricacies of building the traveling tabernacle in the desert. A seemingly benign and boring parashat has a strange underlying theme. If G-d is every where in Heaven and Earth why do the Israelites have to build a space to house the relationship with G-d. As with the...