Deeper Look At The Parsha

Rabbi Dunner debates radio talkshow host Dennis Prager on the topic “Are Humans Inherently Good?” An invigorating discussion, moderated by Rabbi David Baron of Temple of the Arts, at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills. The event was held on June 8, 2022.

Did you know that complaining is not just annoying, it's actually bad for you? Chronic complaining has been scientifically proven to decrease your brain capacity -- even listening to complaints is bad! Rabbi Dunner delves into the story of the "complainers" in Parshat Behaalotecha, and shares insights that reveal what this ancient story has to teach.

If Aaron the High Priest was so upset about being excluded from giving a gift on behalf of his tribe, why didn't he just give it anyway? And what kind of consolation is preparing and lighting the Temple menorah? Rabbi Dunner answers these and various other Behaalotecha-related questions, using his grandfather's sefer, Mikdash Halevi.

Following his debate with Dennis Prager on whether humans are inherently good, Rabbi Dunner ponders the question of the existence of evil, and how it is possible that people can perpetrate evil if they were born good. A beautiful Midrash in Parshat Nasso offers an insight into why part of the rabbinic tradition disparages the Nazirite vow, with the story of the handsome Nazirite and Simeon the Jus...

In a world full of challenging problems, one of the most difficult challenges is loneliness. Rabbi Dunner focuses on this difficult topic, and connects it both to Shavuot and to the Yizkor service that we say on yomtov.

Rabbi Dunner shares some remarkable facts about deserts, and the life they support, offering us a glimpse into why the Book of Bamidbar begins with the desert reference that gives it its name. An incredible insight into the power of Torah also offers us a message for Shavuot.

The history of Manhattan Island in New York is both intriguing and revealing. Before emerging as one of the world's urban economic engines, it was a swampy island principally populated by beavers. Sold to the Dutch for a pittance in 1626, and then exchanged with the British for a spice island in 1667, it seemed destined for continued oblivion. Rabbi Dunner considers how New York would react if the...

Tucked away at the end of Sefer Vayikra, Parshat Bechukotai is known for the litany of "curses" listed for those who won't observe the Torah's commandments. But rather than focusing on the negative, Rabbi Dunner instead focuses on the blessings that kick off the parsha. Using his grandfather's Mikdash Halevi commentary, Rabbi Dunner reveals the incredible messages contained in the opening verses o...

How do we know if a "cohen" is a "cohen"? The answer is we can't know and we don' know. And yet, if someone self-identifies as a "cohen" we accept him as one. Rabbi Dunner charts a course through this fascinating halakhic topic, shedding light on a variety of related issues.

Rabbi Dunner recalls a foundational memory of his early childhood, involving the late Prime Minister of Israel, Menachem Begin. Inspired by an omission in the new documentary about Begin's life, Rabbi Dunner ties in a unique aspect of Begin's personality with a core ideal of Jewish identity found at the beginning of Parshat Kedoshim.

Why was the instruction to "be holy" deliberately given to the entire Jewish nation? Why do the directives that follow this instruction relate to the most ordinary aspects of civil and religious life? Rabbi Dunner shares some wonderful ideas from his grandfather's sefer, Mikdash Halevi, on the opening verses of Parshat Kedoshim

What does the heinous genocide atrocity, The Rape of Nanking, have to teach us about current genocides and the world's reaction? Rabbi Dunner, fresh from his participation at the Yom Hashoah event in Yad Vashem, offers his own perspective, particularly as the world watches unfolding atrocities in Ukraine. The opening verse of Acharei Mot contains a powerful lesson for us all.

Oscar Wilde's most famous novel is The Picture of Dorian Gray, about a hedonistic, handsome young man pursuing all the pleasures of life. Gray wishes for his perfect appearance to remain unaffected by this lifestyle, and instead for a portrait image of him to age and wither. Rabbi Dunner uses this remarkable narrative to illustrate a moral lesson regarding the Pharaoh of ancient Egypt, in a messag...

In 1775, Rav Yaakov Emden published his Shabbat Hagadol Drasha originally delivered in 1730, when he was the rabbi in Emden, Germany. Why did the B'nei Beteira forget a basic halakha relating to Korban Pesach? And why did this episode result in the appointment of Hillel Habavli as head of the Sanhedrin? Rabbi Dunner summarizes Rav Yaakov Emden's tour-de-force Talmudic discourse in this fabulous sh...

Ancient Egypt dominated world culture for millennia before being confined to history, with no contemporary traces. Rabbi Dunner explores this curious phenomenon, and offers a wonderful insight as to why the Passover lamb was such an important part of the process of driving a wedge between the Jewish nation and its pagan inclinations.

Rabbi Dunner shares a wonderful piece from Nesivos Sholom describing the power of faith - "emunah" - and its close association with the month of Nissan in general, and with Seder night in particular. Find out why the first night of Pesach is the "Rosh Hashana of Emunah."

With alarms, devices and apps to monitor every aspect of our lives, and to warn us when we are straying off target, it comes as no surprise that the Torah describes an illness known as "tzara'at" that was triggered by a spiritual deficiency. Nowadays "tzara'at" no longer exists, but, as Rabbi Dunner explains, the message of "tzara'at" lives on.

Parshat Tazria describes the malady known as "tzara'at" in great detail. Rabbi Dunner shares some inspiring ideas regarding "tzara'at" in particular, and ritual impurity in general, all drawn from his grandfather's sefer, Mikdash HaLevi.

Rabbi Dunner describes the unique experience of harvesting snow for a mikvah. His trip to Utah to collect snow for the new mikva in Beverly Hills is an inspirational moment, and Rabbi Dunner reveals every aspect of his incredible journey -- not just to Utah, but going back many years. But it is no accident that this journey ended in the week we read Parshat Shemini.

On the "eighth day", the Mishkan, which was the first-ever Jewish Temple, was inaugurated in the wilderness, under the leadership of Moses, and the priestly guidance of his brother Aaron. The Torah doesn't specify what "eighth day" it was, and the Midrash steps in to fill in the gap. Rabbi Dunner shares inspiring and insightful insights from his grandfather's sefer, Mikdash Halevi, shedding light...

There is an interesting disagreement between Rabbi Moshe Sofer and Rabbi Meir Simcha HaCohen of Dvinsk regarding the festive meal for Purim that makes up for the seudah one has to miss on a Purim that falls on Shabbat. According to Rabbi Meir Simcha one can have the Seudah on Saturday night, while according to the Chatam Sofer one has to wait until Sunday, as the Purim feast must be during the day...

The military and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine has shocked the world. But could it have been avoided? Rabbi Dunner has some interesting lessons from history for you to consider, including the first battle fought by the Jewish nation after they left Egyptian slavery.

The book of Vayikra, beginning with Parshat Vayikra, focuses on the ritual sacrifices that were a central feature of Jewish life starting with the Sinai revelation, right up until the destruction of the second Jerusalem Temple some 1,500 years later. Rabbi Dunner delves into the concepts behind ritual sacrifice, honed and refined by the sages of the Talmud in the years after the destruction, here...

A full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine was a remote possibility even as recently as a couple of months ago. And yet, we are now a week into the most devastating war in Europe since the Second World War, with a refugee crisis to match. How are we to make sense of it all. Rabbi Dunner cites an insightful interpretation of the first verse in Pekudei to shed light on the mistake the world made with...

Once again Rabbi Dunner focuses on his grandfather's sefer, Mikdash Halevi, addressing the strange wording in the first verse of Parshat Vayakhel. If this is the verse that is the source for the 39 prohibitions associated with Shabbat observance, why does it end with an instruction to "do them"? As you will discover, this verse contains an important message that transcends the prohibitions, cuttin...