Parashat Eikev: With respect for the past
Moses shattered the Tablets, yet their fragments were preserved beside the new ones. Their message endures, what appears broken can still carry holiness, meaning, and strength.
Moses shattered the Tablets, yet their fragments were preserved beside the new ones. Their message endures, what appears broken can still carry holiness, meaning, and strength.
At Sinai, the people were instructed to remain outside the boundary. In the Sanctuary, the holiest place stood behind a curtain.
The Torah remains unchanged, yet its message can be expressed anew in the language, challenges, and circumstances of every generation.
Public debate has become louder, more bitter, and less capable of self-correction because opinions have hardened into identities.
The most important movement is not always what is visible externally, but what takes place within a person.
We often encounter people who seem to be pursuing the very same path on which we hope to succeed, and naturally, we may sometimes fear that their success will diminish our own opportunities.
The Three Weeks do not ask us to despair. They ask us to remember what we lost, why we lost it, and, above all, that God has never stopped remembering us.
In a highly integrated world, the isolation of the State of Israel is itself a strategic risk. Some voices in Israel deride this issue or dismiss concerns about how we are viewed.
Jewish tradition values personal modesty and meaningful inner growth that is not displayed for public attention. Such conduct is fitting for a people who serve God.
The conclusion is clear: a nation that attacks another in an attempt to annihilate it forfeits its claims to protection. Israel did not conquer out of ambition. It defended itself.
We strive to understand divine will, but when our understanding falls short, we do not walk away from obedience. Commitment to divine command remains the bedrock of religious life.