by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on January 3, 2013
“And you, go, and I will send you to Pharaoh, and you will take out my nation, the Children of Israel, from Egypt.” (Shemot 3:10). Moshe encounters God at the burning bush and he is commanded by God to be the person, the leader, who will take the people out of Egypt.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on December 28, 2012
I’d like to share with all of you a slightly edited version of a beautiful piece written by my wife, Devorah Zlochower, and delivered by her as the Shabbat Sermon when she served as Scholar-in-Residence at the Young Israel of Hillcrest in 2009.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on December 21, 2012
The Yosef narrative of the last few parshiyot – the longest narrative of Breishit – has been focusing, not surprisingly, on the character of Yosef. But also central to this story is the person of Yehudah, and his growing into the role of a leader.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on December 14, 2012
Clothes, as we have seen, play a major role in the stories of Yaakov and his children. This theme continues and comes to a head in this week’s parasha. Yosef is rushed from the dungeon, and in preparation for his meeting with Pharaoh, he shaves and changes his clothes.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on December 7, 2012
Immediately after Yosef is sold to the Midianites, the Torah interrupts the main Yosef narrative to tell us the story of Yehuda and Tamar. This story is often understood to be Yehuda’s story, and could be entitled “The Moral Education of Yehuda.” Yehuda was a person with true leadership potential. …
by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on November 2, 2012
This Tuesday, in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy, many YCT semikha students went down to the Lower East Side to help those suffering from the effects of the hurricane. Students spent several hours handing out water, batteries and flashlights to elderly people stuck in their apartments with no power.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on October 26, 2012
Why did God choose Avraham? In parashat Noach, we read: “And Noach was a righteous man, perfect in his generations; with God did Noach walk (6:9). It is only after introducing Noach’s greatness that the Torah tell us that God spoke to Noach and chose him to be saved from the flood.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on October 19, 2012
What was the sin of the Generation of the Flood? The verses repeat that they had “corrupted their way”, which the Rabbis tell us refers to idolatry and sexual sin. And yet this is not what had sealed their fate, for the verse states: “The end of all flesh has come before Me, because the land is filled with hamas – understood by the Rabbis as “robbery” – through them.”(6:13).…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on September 14, 2012
Can a relationship survive after one of the parties has gone astray, has been unfaithful, or has just constantly failed to keep up his end, his responsibilities? Parashat Nitzavim and Parashat Bechukotai offer two different answers to this question. Both Nitzavim and Bechukotai describe the aftermath of Israel’s sinning against God, and of their having suffered and been punished as a result.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on September 7, 2012
How do we keep a relationship alive? It starts with not taking the other person for granted, with regularly appreciating what that other person gives to you, what he or she means to you. We must also give expression to them through our words and through our actions, so that these feelings become real for the other person and real for us. …
by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on August 31, 2012
In the Torah we find many many mitzvot, but rarely do we find a clear articulation of the reasons or values behind the mitzvot, what is known as ta’amei ha’mitzvot. We are told that the mitzvot are inherently good and that by doing them we will inherit the land and receive God’s blessings.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer Posted on August 17, 2012
As Moshe prepares the Children of Israel to enter into the Land, he exhorts them not just to live up to individual responsibilities, but to live up to their communal ones, first and foremost. They are going to enter a new land, and they must turn it into a country.…
