Eli Yoggev, at The Blogs

Mar 23, 2023, 10:15 PM

Parsha Vayikra opens up with Hashem calling out to Moshe: “Vayikra el Moshe” (Vayikra 1:1). In the word vayikra there is a small letter aleph. This is a unique occurrence because we only find small letters in eight other...

Mar 16, 2023, 6:55 PM

Making Shabbat Holy

When I initially became more religiously observant, 25 years ago, the laws of Shabbat felt overwhelming for me. There were so many things I was not allowed to do! I vividly recall sitting in yeshivah with a chavruta (study...

Mar 9, 2023, 8:29 PM

Every Bit Counts!

Parsha Ki Tisa opens up mandating a contribution of machatzit hashekel, a half-shekel, toward the construction of the Mishkan (Ex. 30:13). The commentators ask why the Torah demands a half-shekel and no more. Doesn’t Hashem want our full commitment,...

Mar 2, 2023, 10:03 PM

Adar: The Month of Inclusion

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We are in the month of Adar and Purim is just around the corner. What spiritual work should we be focusing on during these special days? The Shem Mishmuel (Pikudei 5) teaches us that the month of Adar is parallel...

Apr 14, 2022, 7:48 PM

Yachatz: God Is With Us in Our Brokenness

One of the main purposes of the Pesach seder is to remind us that HaShem can help us today just like HaShem helped Am Yisrael many years ago in Egypt. The yachatz part of the seder takes this to...

Apr 7, 2022, 6:39 PM

Tips I Learned In Yeshiva to Overcome Lashon Hara

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Parshat Metzora speaks about the healing process of the metzora from their tzara’at skin affliction. The Sages explain that one suffers from this malady due to speaking lashon hara, evil speech, about others. Lashon hara is such a bad...

Mar 31, 2022, 6:30 PM

The Healing Power of Seeing Each Other

This week’s and next week’s Torah portions deal with a skin disease called tzara’at. Our parsha speaks about diagnosing the ailment. The healing process begins with the kohen, the priest, coming and assessing the situation, and deeming the suffering...

Mar 24, 2022, 9:14 PM

Kosher Signs Lead to a Kosher Life

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This week in Parshat Shmini, we learn the signs of a kosher animal. The Torah tells us that we may eat any land animal that has split hooves and chews their cud (Lev. 11:3). We do not know the...

About Me

Rabbi Dr. Eli Yoggev serves as the Associate Rabbi of Baltimore’s Beth Tfiloh Congregation, one of the largest Orthodox Jewish congregations in North America. In addition to Orthodox rabbinic ordination, Rabbi Yoggev received his Ph.D. in Jewish mysticism and Chasidism at Bar-Ilan University.