Mining The Riches Of The Parsha

We can pray in any language, using any words, at any time, from any place. Yet the fixed prayers many of us say every day contain a hidden danger: repetition can become routine. The weekday Amidah is nearly identical three times a day, with only slight changes depending on the season or the nature of the day. And at least for me, there are far too many times when I suddenly realize I said the wron...

This evening we search for how we will make it through hearing (the second half of) this week's Torah portion, BeChhukotai, and what saves us are the first three words. We then explore the final, climactic blessing God bestows on us, with three brief explanations from The Rav, Rabbi Yosef Soloveitchik, Rabbi Yitzchak Hutner, and Bailey Newman quoting Mr. Rogers. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi...

The common translation in this week’s Parsha, Behar, is to support our fellow in need. But Rashi understands the Torah differently: not merely to support someone after they fall, but to strengthen them before they fall. Sivan Rahav Meir explains that when we notice someone beginning to decline - that is precisely the moment we are called to help. In finances, relationships, raising children, and e...

I recently started watching "The Pitt," and I am deeply impressed. The acting, writing, and storylines are exceptional. What especially stayed with me is how human the show feels. Noah Wyle seems to have grown into the perfect role - experienced, compassionate, exhausted, imperfect, and believable. The series manages to be both entertaining and thoughtful, especially in its treatment of mental hea...

10@9 Why the Torah Supports Free Markets - But Doesn’t Trust Them - 2026.05.04 by Rabbi Michael Whitman

Yirmiyahu and Zecharia both prophesized about the Geula, the final redemption. In some cases even their language is almost identical. We analyze a passage from each and note how Yirmiyahu's words were changed in the Brachah we make for Sheva Brachot at a Jewish wedding. We examine how Rabbi Akiva comforted his colleagues with the prosaic words of Zecharia. We explore the dialectic in every step of...

Today is Lag B’Omer. We are taught that we celebrate because there was a pause in the deaths of Rabbi Akiva’s 24,000 students. But why would we celebrate that nothing terrible happened? Rabbi Yaakov Ruderman reveals a deeper meaning. Rabbi Akiva, already an old man, lost everything - his students, his life’s work, his entire legacy. In the face of unimaginable grief, he made a decision that change...

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks spent decades thinking deeply about economics. Across his writings and teachings, he articulated a Torah worldview that both affirms free markets - and places deep limits on them. In a thoughtful essay in Lehrhaus, Jared Rutner surveys this vision, much of which emerges from this week’s Torah portion, Behar. The Torah supports competition, private ownership, and wealth creatio...

Today I want to share a conversation I haven’t been able to shake. Shlomo Katz, a beloved musician in Israel, was told something many of us hear: yes, antisemitism outside Israel is frightening - but Israel itself is more dangerous. HIs response was not political. It was not statistical. It was something deeper - something spiritual, something almost impossible to fully grasp from the outside. In...

Today is Pesach Sheni - the “second Passover,” an often overlooked moment in the Jewish calendar. Though it is no longer practiced today, its message is as urgent as ever. In the Torah, Pesach Sheni emerges in a way unlike any other mitzvah. A group of Jews, unable to bring the Korban Pesach, refuse to accept their loss. They cry out: “Why should we miss out?” In response, God does something extra...

This evening we discuss the general Mitzvah of helping those in need, expressed in our Parsha by "Peah" - leaving the corners of your field for the needy to harvest for themselves. A peculiar detail of this Mitzvah teaches us a magnificent lesson about when not helping is really helping. We discuss Pesach Sheni, the second-chance Pesach, which is tonight and tomorrow, 14 Iyar. The main point for u...

There are many names we have used to describe ourselves throughout Jewish history - Children of Israel, People of Israel, Nation of Israel, and many more. Each name reflects not only who we were in a particular moment, but something eternal about who we are. Rabbi Moshe Taragin explores these different identities and explains why today, more than ever, “Am Yisroel” - the Nation of Israel - capture...

A teacher of very limited means suddenly realized, in the middle of teaching his class, that something his wife had just thrown away contained a huge sum of cash - money that wasn’t even his. Moments later, he confirmed the worst: it had already been taken by the garbage truck. The money was gone. And yet, he calmly returned to his classroom and continued teaching. When asked how he was able to go...

Ben Sasse, former U.S. Senator, is facing pancreatic cancer - and speaking with unusual clarity about what truly matters. In a thoughtful conversation with Ross Douthat, Sasse reflects on AI, repentance, honoring the Sabbath, prayer, and even gratitude in the face of illness. This video asks a simple but startling question: What if we learned how to live from those who know their time is limited?...

An apparently redundant word in this week’s Parsha, Emor, opens the door to a profound insight into how we teach children. Through a close reading of the text, we uncover a powerful approach for parents, grandparents, teachers, and anyone who serves as a role model - not just what to teach, but how to teach it in a way that builds, uplifts, and endures. This is a message about shaping not only wha...

Here is an unexpected and deeply moving example of what it truly means to “love your neighbor as yourself” - emerging from Israel in a time of war. Israeli women have created a breast milk bank for the babies of mothers who have left their homes to help protect and defend the country - ensuring that even in their absence, their children are nourished and cared for in the most intimate way. This is...

There are two purposes behind the beautiful, widespread practice of lighting Shabbat lights each Friday night: To create Shalom Bayit - a home filled with peace, warmth, and harmony - and to elevate the moment through blessing, intention, and heartfelt prayer. Rabbi Moshe Sherer, who devoted his life to serving the Jewish people, never forgot a moment from his childhood - when he quietly listened...

This evening we analyze the little-known Mitzvah of Kisui HaDam (please look it up) and derive a very relevant lesson for each of us not only to do Mitzvot, but how to do them. Then we analyze the justice of judging others favorably, with a great story from Rabbi Meilech Biderman about how often the most unlikely explanation is actually the truth. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congr...

Several days ago, two Israeli soldiers serving in Southern Lebanon committed a deeply offensive act - desecrating a Christian statue. There is no excuse, no justification, and no minimizing what they did. What followed matters just as much: swift, unequivocal condemnation from Israel’s leadership, including the Prime Minister and the IDF. The soldiers were arrested, the statue was replaced by the...

Many ask: how can we celebrate Yom HaAtzmaut, Israel’s Independence Day, amid struggle, uncertainty, and fatigue? Rabbi Moshe Taragin offers a powerful perspective - travel back to 1948, and imagine how that generation would see us today. Despite everything, they would want us to feel deep pride in what has been built. Rabbi Chaim Sabato adds a poetic insight: we may be too close to the moment to...

Today is Yom HaZikaron, Israel’s Memorial Day for fallen soldiers. Israel commemorates its fallen with an intensity that is difficult to fully grasp from the outside - a national experience of grief, gratitude, and memory that touches every life. Few works capture this more powerfully than “The Silver Platter” by Natan Alterman. Each time I read it, I am moved to tears of gratitude and awe for the...

Is there spiritual value in doing what God asks - even if we only do it partially? Does God measure us by a single standard, or does God see each person differently? In this video, Rabbi Yosef Rimon presents a perspective that may challenge your assumptions - and leave you feeling seen, not judged. An emotional story shared by Rabbi Herschel Schachter captures this idea in a way that may move you...

The Secret of Rashi’s Greatness: He Said "I Don’t Know" | 10@9 | 2026.04.19 by Rabbi Michael Whitman

A significant shift may be emerging from within the Religious Zionist movement in Israel. In recent months, respected Israeli Religious Zionist voices - many of them strong supporters of the settlement movement in Yehuda and Shomron - have begun speaking out against Jewish violence toward Arabs. This video briefly addresses the rise in such violence, but focuses on this new and potentially importa...

This evening we find the connection between last week's Parsha and this week's through two stories about putting as much care into what comes out of our mouths as what we put into them. We examine the opportunity of being alone (not lonely), and see this as one of the magnificent goals of Shabbat, the purpose of pauses, and letting things sink in. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congr...