Blessings of Anticipation by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine In this week’s parsha, the Torah describes the mitzvah of shemitah. We are told that the farmer is not permitted to plant, to prune, or to harvest the produce of his field. This is a tremendous demand to make of the farmer, and of a society that depended more »

Staying on Track by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine The Parsha begins by telling us that the mitzvos that follow were given at Sinai. Rashi wonders what the significance of this statement is, and explains: The Torah is teaching us that the details of all mitzvos are also from Sinai (i.e. from G-d’s revelation). This, indeed, is more »

by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine In this week’s portion we learn about a most interesting type of slavery: the slavery of the Jewish slave. The Torah describes how a poor Jew decides to sell himself as a slave to another Jew. The Torah allows him to do it. But it is a slavery unlike any other. more »