The war was reductive, stripping away externals of Jewish identity and exposing the common core of what unites every Jew. It endowed us with unity, but it also heightened our communal identity.
What is it about these two things, anything leavened and sweet fruits, that causes their prohibition as offerings?
Some people have seen their homes consumed by fire or shattered by bombs, their loved ones taken captive or fallen in battle as a “kapparah,” giving their lives up for all Israel.
Man is not required to do what is beyond his abilities, but he is also not exempt from doing what is possible for him – and the rest we leave to the creator of the world to accomplish.
The prohibition of work on Shabbat for the construction of the Mishkan underscores the importance and elevation of Shabbat.
We must learn to better calibrate our voices between faith and uncertainty. We don’t have all the answers.
A person seeking a religious experience may resort to ecstatic experiences that lead him to a feeling of divine attainment. But this is a mistake.
The same object – gold donated by the nation – can bring the divine presence to rest among us, or it can lead us to the brink of religious annihilation.
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