Deeper Look At The Parsha

Rabbi Dunner pays tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II, whose passing has engendered an incredible outpouring of affection and mourning around the world. What does the ritual blessing that we pronounce over a monarch mean in modernity, and what special lesson can the life of Queen Elizabeth teach us all?

Rabbi Dunner presents an array of beautiful insights regarding two of the mitzvot in Ki Teitzei using his grandfather's sefer, Mikdash Halevi. The first mitzva addresses the desire of an active combat soldier to marry a captive girl encountered in the midst of war. The second is about a wayward child. What are the lessons of these obsolete mitzvot for us today?

Rabbi Dunner delves into the life of Rabbi Yose Hagalili ("the Galilean"), one of the towering rabbinic luminaries of the Talmud. An outsider who became a major player, his views were often at odds with Rabbi Akiva. In Parshat Shoftim, the two rabbis debate the meaning of the final exemption offered to military conscripts. But as Rabbi Dunner explains, their debate may not be a debate after all.

Rabbi Dunner shares some wonderful ideas on Shoftim from his grandfather’s sefer, Mikdash Halevi, including a captivating look at the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Torah commissioned by the Egyptian king, Ptolemy II Philadelphus, in the third century BCE. The Talmud in tractate Megillah reveals that all the seventy-two translators, despite being separated from each other, miraculously a...

After watching a Holocaust documentary that examines Polish collaboration with the Nazis in the genocide against Jews during the Second World War, Rabbi Dunner notes that one of the documentary's central figures - a budding Polish gentile historian - has trouble accepting the overwhelming evidence of the Polish support for Jew-killing. A warning at the beginning of Parshat Re'eh reveals that this...

Zeide Meir Schmellner was the scion of a distinguished Hasidic dynasty, and married into a similarly elevated family. Although he was a brilliant rabbinic scholar and a charismatic speaker, his explosion into the field of international peace in 1925 took everyone by surprise. Rabbi Dunner delves into the story of this unusual Romanian rabbi, charting a career that took him from Bukovina, to Paris,...

Until the conquest of Eretz Yisrael, the only meat eaten by the Jewish nation was from ritual "shelamim" sacrifices offered up in the Mishkan. In Parshat Re'eh, Moses informs the Jewish nation that they are allowed to eat non-sacrifice-related meat. What are the implications of this dispensation? Using his grandfather's Mikdash Halevi commentary, Rabbi Dunner presents a remarkable backdrop to the...

He may or may not have said it, but Bertrand Russel's riposte about not being a triangle has become famous. A reference in Parshat Eikev - said twice daily in the Shema prayer - offers the Jewish view on Russell's alleged remark.

The word "eikev" that is used to title the third portion of Sefer Devarim is usually translated as "if" - based on the first verse which reads: "and it will be 'if' you will listen to my laws." But Rashi has a homiletic interpretation which is based on the idea that "e-k-v" is also the root of the Hebrew word for heel. Rabbi Dunner uses his grandfather's Mikdash Halevi to expand on this idea, whic...

At the beginning of Va'etchanan, Moses describes how he prayed to God that he be allowed into Eretz Yisrael. As part of that prayer, he also asked to see the land, not just to be there. But this request seems superfluous -- if he's there, he'll obviously see it. Rabbi Dunner shares a beautiful piece from Mikdash Halevi, his grandfather's sefer, which gives context and offers depth to Moses' reques...

What is the common denominator between King Louis XV of France and King Chizkiyahu of the First Temple in Jerusalem? And how exactly do they differ? Rabbi Dunner explains that the answer can be found in the Haftora for Parshat Va'etchanan, which begins with God's incredible declaration: "Nachamu Nachamu Ami".

Rabbi Dunner weighs in on the Alex Jones defamation trial in Texas. Jones spent years claiming that the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre never took place. The trial has been a cathartic moment for voices of reason, underscored by a desire to look evil in the eye and face it off. The theme of Devarim coincides with this idea, which runs all the way through the fifth book of the Torah.

Rabbi Dunner shares his grandfather's introduction to the final book of the Torah, Devarim. Why repeat elements of the Torah that appear in the previous three books? Why is Devarim also called Mishneh Torah? What lessons are there to be learned? The answers are compelling and gratifying.

What happened during the 38 years between the end of the first year in the wilderness and the beginning of the last year? Why are there no details of the events that occurred during this extended period? Rabbi Dunner cites his grandfather's sefer, Mikdash Halevi, which offers an array of remarkable insights into Parshat Massei.

Rabbi Dunner describes his recent visit to Mexico, where he visited Mount Sinai Congregation, the "oldest synagogue in Mexico City." Surprisingly, the Jewish community in Mexico is barely a century old. Rabbi Dunner explains why, and reveals an epiphany that he had while praying mincha at Mount Sinai. There is a powerful message embedded in Parshat Massei that reflects the success of Jewish immigr...

An article in the New York Times about the entrenched views by many on the right that the 2020 election was stolen prompts Rabbi Dunner to consider the concept of motivated reasoning. A remarkable insight by Rabbi Yechiel Yaakov Weinberg (1884-1966) regarding Moses' act of omission at the beginning of Parshat Pinchas is underpinned by the idea of motivated reasoning, and offers timely guidance for...

After settling a Torah law anomaly regarding inheritance, Moses segues into a discussion with God regarding his as yet unnamed successor. The Midrash explains that he has his own sons in mind for the job, but God has other ideas -- and Joshua is named as Moses' leadership heir. Rabbi Dunner cites his grandfather's sefer, Mikdash Halevi, to explain why Joshua was far better suited to the position t...

Rabbi Pini Dunner once again travels down the side roads and into cul-de-sacs of the Jewish yesteryear with the help of exhaustive research – sharing countless anecdotes and previously unrevealed details. In Part 2 of “Rogues, Rascals, and Rapscallions”, Rabbi Dunner explores the rollercoaster life of a scion of the Nadvorna Hasidic dynasty, Rabbi Yitzchak Leifer, whose brush with the law in 1938...

On the anniversary of his passing, Rabbi Dunner describes the incredible 1939 rescue project of Sir Nicholas Winton -- "Operation Kindertransport" -- and why he thinks that Sir Nicholas Winton was a very great and righteous man. The cryptic clue is in a verse from Micah, that we read in the Haftarah for Balak. Rabbi Dunner's verdict is drawn from Micah -- and it's not what you think!

Rabbi Pini Dunner travels down the side roads and into cul-de-sacs of the Jewish yesteryear with the help of exhaustive research – sharing countless anecdotes and previously unrevealed details. This first episode of "Exploring Jewish History" is titled “Rogues, Rascals, and Rapscallions”, and looks at characters from traditional Jewish society whose personal lives did not quite match up to the nor...

How would Rashi have responded to the countless scholarly rabbinic critics who leveled objections to his interpretations of the Hebrew Scriptures and the Talmud? Rabbi Dunner suggests a solution for Ramban's particularly notorious rejection of Rashi's explanation of Moses' sin during the dried-up wellspring episode in Parshat Chukkat.

From satire to slapstick, and via every available medium, we are constantly surrounded by humor and jokes. But there seems to be a red line that, once crossed, turns humor from funny to harmful, and from innocuous to dangerous. Rabbi Dunner cites a fascinating Midrash that casts Korach as a comedian who used humor to bring down Moses. What lesson can we learn?

The shocking challenge to Moses' authority by his cousin Korach has generated countless explanations and moral lessons. Rabbi Dunner shares some ideas from his grandfather's commentary on the Torah, Mikdash Halevi, which offers some refreshing ideas to explain the flaws in Korach's tactics and character.

A powerful lesson from the powerhouse success of Thomas Jefferson as a founding father of the United States offers us an inspiring insight into a troubling question at the heart of the spies narrative in Parshat Shlach. Rabbi Dunner explores the Jefferson phenomenon and shares a wonderful piece by Shadal.

In Parshat Shlach, Moses changed Joshua's name from "Hoshea" to "Yehoshua". The Talmud teaches that this hinted at a prayer that Moses prayed for God to save Joshua from the influence of the other spies. But why send those other spies in the first place if they were going to be a danger to Joshua, and by extension the Jewish people? And if Moses was willing to pray for Joshua, why not pray for the...