Online Torah Classes with Rabbi Mendy Goldberg

PESACH / TZAV 4 Cups of Wine, 3 Matzot. It's Meaning & Message. The structure of the Seder raises an intriguing question: why does the Seder revolve around the number four, while the most important element — the matzah — specifically comes in a set of three? Four cups of wine… Four different verses command the telling of the Haggadah and teach that the explanation should be directed toward...

VAYIKRA Does G-d Care About My Prayers? As the book of Leviticus begins with and and mostly discusses Sacrifices that were brought daily in the Holy Temple. Today we pray in place of the Sacrifices. How does prayer really take its place? Does prayer really work? Does G-d really care if I pray?

PEKUDEI/ HACHODESH Make Time Count The Previous Rebbe once said: "The clock is a silent moral preacher." Without uttering a word, the clock pierces the soul and awakens a sense of the elevated life one can live and ofthe fleeting moment that will never return. To learn to listen to the voice of the clock, we will need to dwell on the first question raised in the Torah: How did the mitzvah of sanct...

Lesson 6The Talmud until Today Decoding the Talmud: Inside the Story, Substance, and Significance of the Book that Defines Judaism Talmudic literature and fifteen centuries of constant study. See how and why the Talmud became the core of Jewish law and discover the vast literature of responsa, legal codes, and commentaries that continue the conversation until today.

VAYAKHEL An Oasis in Time Why does Shabbat take precedence over building the Mishkan? Why was resting more urgent than constructing a home for Hashem and atoning for the sin of the Golden Calf? Especially since the ongoing service in the Mishkan—such as offering sacrifices and lighting the menorah—does override Shabbat, yet its construction did not. Another paradox: The 39 prohibited melachot (lab...

Decoding the Talmud Inside the Story, Substance, and Significance of the Book that Defines Judaism How the Talmud Thinks A unique method of logic—and why it matters. Understand the Babylonian Talmud’s rigorous mode of legal reasoning, how it balances dueling principles to arrive at clear legal boundaries, and how its elegant logic fuels deeper learning.

PURIM It's Time To Step Up The first miracle of Megillas Esther is Esther herself. Nowhere else in the Torah do we find a story quite like hers: a woman dragged against her will into a gilded cage, who in a single moment overturns her fate and takes command of her people. When Mordechai rouses her to rise and fight against the decree, she reacts with astonishment? The orphan who never knew her...

TETZAVEH What You Wear, Matters The entire world watched in astonishment at the confrontation between Trump and Zelensky over the weekend. Media reports indicated that one of the reasons for Trump’s anger was the attire Zelensky wore to the White House. Instead of a suit and tie, as befitting a high-level diplomatic meeting, Zelensky arrived in the black shirt he has worn since the beginning of th...

Decoding the Talmud Inside the Story, Substance, and Significance of the Book that Defines Judaism Lesson 4 To Create the Talmud How the sages shaped its structure and substance. Meet the pivotal sages in the Talmud’s story—from Rav and Shmuel’s first academies to Rav Ashi and Ravina’s final text—and see how they wove in stories as well as ethical and philosophical teachings.

TERUMAH What the Holiest Thing You Can Do? Some may say, to be holy, you need to pray all day, learn Torah all day and night or spend the maximum amount of time in the Synagogue. While this may be true this week we discover another and of equal importance way of being holy and bringing holiness in this world. As G-d ask us to build the Tabernacle, with a laundry list of items to contribute. Why do...

Decoding the Talmud Inside the Story, Substance, and Significance of the Book that Defines Judaism Decrypting the Mishnah How the sages studied, debated, and understood the Mishnah. Discover the tools, methods, and principles the sages employed in the centuries-long effort to unpack the Mishnah’s full practical implications.

MISHPATIM Opposites Attract What is the issue with cooking meat and milk together? After all, these are two strictly kosher, healthy, and nutritious foods, each perfect on its own—so why does mixing them make them forbidden? On the other hand, alongside the prohibition of meat and milk, there is a similar prohibition where the halachic ruling is different: Although it is forbidden to weave wool an...

Decoding the Talmud Inside the Story, Substance, and Significance of the Book that Defines Judaism The Mishnah The origins, authors, and contents of Judaism’s first legal code. See how Jewish law shifted from oral tradition to written code and encounter the Mishnah’s precise style, tight structure, and tolerance for debate—and its spiritual significance in Jewish life.

TU BESHVAT It's What You Don't See, That Matter Most. Climbing to a higher level requires disconnecting from the previous place and declaring that we no longer desire it. One cannot ascend to a new level while remaining full of the previous one. Only after emptying oneself of the old way of life can one become a vessel for the new way of life. This is a powerful and essential message for e...

Decoding the Talmud Inside the Story, Substance, and Significance of the Book that Defines Judaism Lesson 1 Why Jewish life orbits a book of law. Jewish law’s ultimate record is the Talmud, but what is Jewish law? Explore its nature, scope, and roots in the written Torah and Oral Law—and see learning’s central role in Jewish practice and culture.

BESHALACH Taking a Risk The world belongs to those who take risks and take action. To those who believe that a person must do their utmost, and Hashem adds His utmost. They do not seek certainty and statistics; rather, they create the small medium, that will contain the great miracle. But those who wish to know everything in advance and live in a world without risks – they get nowhere. Because suc...

BO Mindfulness Nurture a Healthy State of Mind How can we reach the lofty goal – to subjugate the mind and heart to Hashem and to control impulses and desires? Is the heart truly under our control, acting in accordance with directed orders?! After all, we must not only be refraining from doing wrong but not even wanting wrong. It requires mastery over the stirrings of the heart, not even desiring...

VAEIARA The Frog Phenomenon Much like physical ailments, in the spiritual realm too, there is a "silent killer"—a mindset that may not appear overtly as insidious like other negative thoughts, but is no less dangerous. This refers to "silent heresy" the feeling of disconnection from the greater meaning of life. A person who sees themselves as a "random number" lacking...

SHEMOS It's All About Trust There are two paths in the journey of life. One can travel the natural path, living a life according to the laws of nature. However, one also has the ability to ascend to the path of trust (bitachon), relying on the goodness of the Almighty, and then matters align in that direction against all odds. Thus, instead of following the course of fate, one can recreate fate th...

VAYECHI First in or Last Out Parents and educators carry two responsibilities: to present to their children or pupils a goal that needs to be reached and to manage the path to it. In other words, they must connect the destination with the current point where the student stands and make the student understand that the goal is relevant and attainable. How could Yaakov not believe Yosef? How can we u...

The Art of Forgiveness: Restoring Relationships through Reconciliation How can we rebuild after hurt? Explore a realistic approach to forgiveness that addresses wrongs while overcoming resentment, rescuing connections, and rebuilding relationships.

VAYIGASH The Antidote to Life’s Hardships What if you could find a switch, a hidden key, that would enable you to bypass all of life’s hardships, and end up safely on the other side? The idea is that a Jew must rise above and beyond themselves. Hashem does not compromise on fulfilling our purpose and demands that each of us live and breathe our life mission. Therefore, the more a person elevates t...

CHANUKAH Combating Darkness, How? On Chanukah we kindle the Menorah, each lighting one candle more than the day before. Why not light the entire Menorah every night? The talmud debates this method? We look at the various opinions and glean some very practical lessons in how we combat the darkness in us and the world around us.

The Art of Influence: Guiding Others with Love and Effectiveness Learn the limits of “live and let live.” See how Jewish texts chart a kind, considerate, and effective path for offering critique and guidance grounded in genuine love and respect.

VAYEISHEV Follow Your Dreams Yoseph’s path to greatness is paved with dreams: he dreams dreams, he interprets dreams, and he brings dreams to fruition. At first, he dreams on his own; then, he interprets the dreams of the chief cupbearer and chief baker and advances them toward fulfillment; and finally, he actively becomes the person who brings Pharaoh’s dreams to reality, thus beginning to fulfil...