Divrei Chaim

The haftarah of Shabbos Shuvah comes from Hoshe'a.  Chazal famously comment:  אמר לו הקב״ה לראובן מעולם לא חטא אדם לפני ועשה תשובה ואתה ...

In our parsha we have the very last mitzvah in the Torah, "v'Atah kisvu lachem es ha'shirah ha'zos... sima b'PIHEM,...

1) To explain why we don't blow shofar on Erev Rosh haShana, the Vilna Gaon in his commentary to Yonah (3:3) quotes the gemara (Gittin)...

 וְהָיָה֙ כִּֽי־תָב֣וֹא אֶל־הָאָ֔רֶץ אֲשֶׁר֙ הֹ׳ אֱלֹקיךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ נַחֲלָ֑ה  Chazal tell us that  וְהָיָה֙ at the start of a parsha conn...

Some Achronim write that if someone makes a pruzbul, he should make a small loan to a friend and allow shemita to cancel it  in order to ful...

Rashi (21:11) explains the smichus ha'parshiyos of topics at the beginning of our parsha: if you take a yefat to'ar in battle, even ...

I noticed an ad for a Labor Day program featuring some prominant Roshei Yeshiva and Rabbonim speaking on the topic of "Can We Survive i...

The gemara interprets the final pasuk in the parsha of eglah arufah, וְאַתָּ֗ה תְּבַעֵ֛ר הַדָּ֥ם הַנָּקִ֖י מִקִּרְבֶּ֑ךָ כִּֽי־תַעֲשֶׂ֥ה הַי...

There are two opinions Rashi quotes to define יָּרֵא֙ וְרַ֣ךְ הַלֵּבָ֔ב in the pasuk  וְיָסְפ֣וּ הַשֹּׁטְרִים֮ לְדַבֵּ֣ר אֶל־הָעָם֒ וְאָמְר֗...

I think in every shul or yeshiva I have ever davened in on the Yamim Noraim or aseres ymei teshuvah, when the shat"z got to the spot wh...

1. From Tablet Magazine : In New York, street harassment, minor assaults, and even full-on beatings of visible Jews are almost a banality no...

Even though the superficial reading of the parsha of shemitas kesafim sounds like a windfall for borrowers who have overextended themselves ...

One of the interpretations Rashi offers of " lo taasun kein l'Hashem Elokeichem " is that we should not be like the aku"m...

 וְהָיָ֗ה כִּ֤י יְבִֽיאֲךָ֙ הֹ׳ אֱלֹקיךָ אֶל־הָאָ֕רֶץ אֲשֶׁר־אַתָּ֥ה בָא־שָׁ֖מָּה לְרִשְׁתָּ֑הּ וְנָתַתָּ֤ה אֶת־הַבְּרָכָה֙ עַל־הַ֣ר גְּרִזִ...

Rambam Shegagos 7:6 writes עשה תולדה של אב זה ותולדה של אב זה בהעלם אחת. יראה לי שהוא חייב שתי חטאות: Why does the Rambam need to write ...

At the end of the parsha (11:6) special mention is made of Dasan and Aviram having been swallowed up by the earth:  וַאֲשֶׁ֨ר עָשָׂ֜ה לְדָתָ...

The Midrash Tanchuma opens out parsha as follows: וְהָיָה עֵקֶב – זֶה שֶׁאָמַר הַכָּתוּב: לָמָּה אִירָא בִּימֵי רָע, עֲוֹן עֲקֵבַי יְסוּבֵּנ...

I saw something that struck me as very hard to understand in R' Moshe Shternbruch's teshuvos (vol 1 #18).  Without getting into the ...

My wife and I have been learning Mishlei with the GR"A and when I came across the GR"A's comments to the pasuk (1:24)  יַ֣עַן...

We end off Eichah with the pesukim  לָ֤מָּה לָנֶ֙צַח֙ תִּשְׁכָּחֵ֔נוּ תַּֽעַזְבֵ֖נוּ לְאֹ֥רֶךְ יָמִֽים הֲשִׁיבֵ֨נוּ הֹ׳  אֵלֶ֙יךָ֙ וְֽנָשׁ֔ו...