Mining The Riches Of The Parsha

One of the most puzzling subjects in the Bible is "tumah" and "taharah" — often translated (inadequately) as ritual impurity and purity. At its core is a profound spiritual claim: our true identity is the soul, the divine spark connected to God. The body is its garment, the vessel through which the soul acts during life. After death, the soul separates from the body. What remains is the garment th...

How do we celebrate the joy of Purim while Israel is at war and under attack? Rabbi Yosef Rimon suggests a crucial distinction: between true joy — recognizing the strengths we have and the miracles unfolding even now — and mere frivolity or silliness. This year, perhaps Purim asks more of us. The Talmud speaks of “joy with trembling.” Not denial of darkness. Not surrender to it either. But holding...

What can we, here, do for people in Israel during this painful conflict? And what can we do for people in Iran who long to live in peace — with their neighbors and with their own government? The Iranian people are not the Iranian regime. And ordinary Israelis are not looking for endless war. Rabbi David Stav, drawing on the Book of Esther, suggests a radical shift in perspective: we are not separa...

One of the ways we celebrate Purim is by sending Mishloach Manot—gifts of food to friends. But what if the real purpose of this practice is not simply generosity, but reconciliation? This year, suggests Sivan Rahav Meir, consider sending Mishloach Manot to someone with whom you’ve had a falling out. It may feel uncomfortable. That may be the point. In doing so, we fulfill Esther’s deeper strategy:...

This evening I share an expanded version of a wonderful and brilliant presentation given last Shabbat at ADATH by Professor Shawn Aster. He traces the narrative arc of the Book of Esther which precisely parallels what is happening to Israel and the Jewish world today. And Esther holds the key to winning this internal and external battle. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in...

What does it mean when a name disappears? Using a moment from the Torah and real-life encounters with people in pain, this video reflects on why the deepest listening—and the deepest intimacy—often begins when we stop focusing on names and start hearing the human voice in front of us. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congregation in Hampstead, Quebec, and an adjunct professor at McGill...

We tell the story of IDF officer Elkana Bar Eitan, who was seriously wounded in 2006. Living with constant, severe pain, he declined surgery and other treatment and carried on as if nothing was wrong. In 2023, he was called up again and returned to combat—afraid that if a medical committee knew the truth, they would stop him. Thousands of Israelis, and millions of people around the world, say the...

Bruno Goppian designs display cases and exhibits for some of the world’s leading museums. He says that whenever he enters a space, he asks a simple question: What story is this place trying to tell about its history, meaning, or purpose? Is the space welcoming the visitor—or leaving them to search for a connection? The Torah applies this same idea to the Mishkan (Sanctuary). Every object, measurem...

We explore the surprising origins of the now-universal system of Bible chapters and verses—and why it was adopted in the first place. The history behind this system is unexpected, and its underlying logic is captured by a commonly misunderstood phrase: Occam’s Razor. Once you understand this, you may never look up a Bible verse the same way again. Michael Whitman is the senior rabbi of ADATH Congr...

Last Friday at McGill Law School, I co-led a luncheon and public discussion with an Islamic Law scholar on Jewish and Islamic Law. What unfolded exceeded my expectations: a serious, animated, and deeply respectful exchange among people eager to understand one another. In this video, I reflect on that event - and on my lifelong effort to bring Jews and Muslims into meaningful conversation. There ha...

While most Israelis fly to India to travel, two reservists are flying there to bring broken souls home. This morning I share part of an interview Daniel Gordis recently did with Tamar Friedman and Hezi Shohat, both IDF reservists, and social workers focusing on trauma. They saw the need to travel to India, which now receives more than 100,000 Israeli visitors a year, and provide immediate mental h...

This evening we fail to identify the Tachash, whose skin covered the Mishkan (Sanctuary), but nonetheless derive a magnificent lesson according to Rabbi Moshe Sternbuch, about the multiple ways God wants to be served. We examine the financial and moral value of the precious gems donated by the Nesiim (the princes or heads of each tribe). And we derive the meaning of Shalom (peace) from the non-ide...

One of the strangest Torah lessons is that the moment you give something away, you often discover you’ve actually received far more. This morning we share important sources and practical examples showing the truth at the beginning of our Torah portion, Teruma, that when we give, we often receive much more. Ruth expresses this when she says she helped Boaz, when in fact it was Boaz who gave to her...

The Torah uses the word take when God clearly means give - and that single word changed how I understand generosity forever. This morning I point out the Torah's verb problem. When God tells the Jewish people to give material to build the Mishkan (Sanctuary), the text uses the word that means "take" when the context clearly means to give. I share an unforgettable experience in my life over 45 year...

Why Small Things Trigger So Much Stress | 10@9 | 2026.02.17 by Rabbi Michael Whitman

If modesty were only about how we dress, the Torah would not devote five entire sections to describing a Sanctuary. This morning we examine the level of detail with which the Torah describes the Mishkan (the modular Sanctuary that travelled with the Jewish People). Why does the Torah take five Torah portions to describe in minute detail every material, every object, and every dimension of every ob...

For nearly a thousand years, the closest a Jew could come to God was through an altar of fire — and today, that altar lives inside the human heart. This morning we provide an overture to the large next section of Torah, which begins about 800 years of Jewish service to God through sacrifices, though it is hard for us to understand today how that would be meaningful. But it was, until it wasn't, an...

When something precious is taken from us suddenly, it is a tragedy - but Jewish law asks us to first ask a much harder question: was it ever truly ours? This morning we analyze the rather technical laws of an object given to another for safekeeping, including not misusing the object or ignoring the directions of the owner. The Rav, Rabbi Yosef Soloveitchik, brilliantly widens this to include every...

This evening I share my spectacular experience teaching last May, 2025, at Bar Ilan University Law School, and the exhilarating exchange I had with my students on the (then theoretical) question of capital punishment for terrorists. This issue is now being debated in the Knesset, with strong support from the current Israeli government. We explore both sides of this complex issue from the military,...

Most people think Herzl’s story ends with politics—but if you read his last work carefully, it ends with something much more spiritual. This morning we examine a little-known but crucial fact of Theodor Herzl's spiritual growth from his essay, "The Jewish State, published on February 14, 1896, to his novel "Altneuland," published in 1902, especially its closing scene and the last word. According t...

Israel’s deepest problem isn’t external enemies — it’s that two forces meant to build the nation together have drifted apart. This morning I share part of a speech given by Rabbi Avraham Kook, just two months after he arrived in Israel as Chief Rabbi of Jaffo (and later Chief Rabbi of Israel). This is a magnificent expression of R. Kook's worldview of Religious Zionism and his intense love for eve...

If you underpay your taxes, Jewish law says you’re not just breaking the law - you’re taking money from your own family and neighbors. This morning we unpack the basic obligation for every Jew to give at least a minimal amount to Tzedakah (charity) to those in need, even if one has to beg or borrow for it. And this command is in the form of a tax. We survey the opinion of Rabbi Herschel Schachter...

Is giving to someone in need just about doing the right thing—or does the Torah care just as much about how you feel while doing it? This morning we analyze an ambiguous word in the Torah which could either mean lending money to a person in need is voluntary or obligatory - why the lack of clarity? According to Or HaChaim it is to give us the proper attitude when being generous and sharing with ot...

If prayer alone were enough, the Torah would never have commanded doctors to heal. This morning we survey the complexity of the Biblical injunction, 'And the physician shall surely heal.' We discuss the theological implications, that we may not rely on God for healing but we must follow medical advice. And yet prayer is a component of all healing. Then we quote the Rav, Rabbi Yosef Soloveitchik wh...

If murder is so obvious, why did God need to say it out loud? This morning we share one answer based on a touching story from Rabbi Paysach Krohn that expresses how embarrassing another in public is akin to murder. And we repeat the prohibition against MAID (medical assistance in dying) which Jewish Law considers to be murder, even though for a person in terrible pain it is understandable, and the...