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Sep 5, 2026, 10:00 AM

First, stand. Then, go.

What Nitzavim-Vayeilech taught me about finding my voice, standing still, and knowing when it's time to move

Sep 4, 2026, 3:47 PM

It is a chilling prophecy. The brutality of its truth is written across the tear-stained pages of Jewish history. All nations will ask, “Why did God do this to this land? Why the (sheer) wrath of this great anger?” They...

Sep 4, 2026, 4:57 AM

To Renew Our Days (Nitzavim-Vayelech, Covenant & Conversation)

The moment had come. Moses was about to die. He had seen his sister Miriam and brother Aaron pre-decease him. He had prayed to God – not to live forever, not even to live longer, but simply, ‘Please let...

Ben-Tzion Spitz

Sep 3, 2026, 6:22 PM

‘That Could Never Happen to Me’ (Nitzavim-Vayelech)

"Accident" (AI image by author)

“A man is his own easiest dupe, for what he wishes to be true he generally believes to be true.” –Demosthenes There is a certain uneasy curiosity in the suffering of others. One of the most familiar examples is the...

Sep 3, 2026, 5:07 AM

Noach Haftarah: Jews Return to Yerushalyim / Israel

personal pix. Dr. Major (Rav Seren) Arie Pelta

Where did the dove יונה find the olive leaf when left Noah's Ark? He took it from a tree in Eretz Yisrael on the Mount of Olives; since the flood did not affect Eretz Yisrael (Midrash). However, there are...

Sharona Margolin Halickman

Sep 2, 2026, 9:10 PM

Stomping on our enemies

The days between Tu B’Av and Sukkot have always been considered the wine pressing season in the Land of Israel. The farmers would be out in the vineyards harvesting the grapes which would then be brought to the winepress...

Sep 2, 2026, 8:51 PM

Nitzavim–Vayelech: No Violence in the Name of Torah or the Land

Near the end of Parashat Nitzavim, Moses makes an enigmatic statement: “The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and to our children forever, to fulfill all the words of this Torah”...

Sep 2, 2026, 8:08 PM

‘Landing in the Wind’ Parashat Nitzavim-Vayelech 5786

As Moshe prepares to take leave of the Jewish People, he paints a vivid picture of the future. The nation will be exiled from its land, suffer greatly, reflect upon its fate, and ultimately return to G-d. Then comes...

Aug 28, 2026, 10:29 AM

The Altneu Beginning

The Jews stood on the cusp of the realization of a dream, first envisioned over a quarter of a millennium earlier. Whether as drifting strangers in the Land of Canaan, beaten slaves in Egypt, or weary wanderers in the...

Aug 28, 2026, 6:31 AM

A Sense of History (Ki Tavo, Covenant & Conversation)

Ki Tavo begins with the ceremony of bringing first-fruits to the Temple. The Mishnah gives a detailed account of what happened: Those that were near to Jerusalem brought fresh figs and grapes, and those that were far away brought dried...

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