Torah Insights

Shabbat Shalom: Naso (Numbers 4:21-7:89)By Rabbi Shlomo RiskinEfrat, Israel – Few passages in the Bible are as well-known as the Priestly Benediction.In Israel, the kohanim (priests) rise to bless the...

Episode 19: “Jerusalem in our Hearts: Near and Far” What caused a small group of Jewish warriors in the Golan Heights, so far away from Jerusalem, to put their lives...

Parshat Beha’alotcha: Insights to Inner LightsRabbi David and Tirtza Benchlouch are Straus-Amiel shlichim in Seattle, Washington, where David serves as the rabbi of Congregation Ezra BessarothParshat Beha’alotcha highlights themes central to the...

Episode 18: “What is God’s Role in the Halakhic Process” An angel appears to you and teaches you Torah. Would you rule on matters of Jewish law in accordance to...

Shabbat Shalom: Shavuot By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – Our calendar moves from the spring festivals of Passover and Shavuot to the fall festivals of universal redemption and plenty,...

Parshat Naso: The Nazirite According to Rabbi Elia Benamozegh’s Em laMikraRabbanit Malka and Rabbi Eliezer Shai Di Martino are Straus-Amiel shlichim serving as the community rabbinical couple in Lausanne, SwitzerlandThe...

Shabbat Shalom: Bamidbar (Numbers 1:1 - 4:20) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – "Count the heads of the entire witness-congregation of Israel” (Numbers 1:2). The Book of Numbers opens...

Episode 17: “The Chamber of Silent Gifts” How many of us think of the Beit HaMikdash as a place of chessed and acts of kindness? In this week’s episode of...

Parshat Bamidbar: Constantly on the Road Rabbi Yedidya and Ahuva Toyber are Straus-Amiel shlichim in Caracas Venezuela, where Yedidya is the rabbi of the Sephardic community and head of the...

Episode 16: “Visioning What Others Don’t See” True Jewish leadership is leadership with a vision. Leadership that sees beyond the here and now. What is the important message that Rabbi...

Parshat Behar-Bechukotai: The Slippery Slope Rachel and Evyatar HaCohen are former Beren-Amiel shlichim at the South Peninsula Hebrew Day School in Palo Alto, California, USA The portion of Behar focuses...

Shabbat Shalom: Behar-Bechukotai 5783 (Leviticus 25:1-27: 34) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – "The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you reside in...

Episode 15: “Why the Rabbi Wrote on Shabbat” Why did Rabbi Kalonymus insist on being buried outside of the Jewish cemetery – and without a tombstone? How is his request...

Shabbat Shalom: Emor 5783 (Leviticus 21:1-24:23) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – "Remove the blasphemer to the outside of the camp” (Leviticus 24:14) Our Biblical portion of Emor concludes...

Parshat Emor: Jewish Festivals and Daily Routine Rabbanit Batya and Rabbi Yehuda Strul are Straus-Amiel shlichim in Tucuman, Argentina, where Yehuda is the community's deputy rabbi and Batya is the...