Online Torah Classes with Rabbi Mendy Goldberg

KI TAVO Starting off on the Right Foot Why is it so important to get it right from the very beginning beyond the obvious reasons? The beginning is a seed that contains all the details, and the more positive the beginning, the better the chances for what follows. This has significant implications for the days of Elul and Tishrei. These days are much greater than themselves; they determine the fate...

KI TEITZEI Tips for an Everlasting Relationships Relationships are tricky, and marriage is perhaps the most delicate and crucial of those relationships. Anyone and everyone has tips for a good marriage. Some of it is sound, but much of it is not. Book stores are awash with literature by ‘mavens’ and ‘experts’ of all sorts…but what does Torah have to share on this oh-so-sensitive topic? In this wee...

SHOFTIM What's Your Horoscope? Many scholars believed that astrology is true. The works of our Sages and even the rulings of Jewish law are filled with references that consider astrological influences. Our Sages argue that reality itself proves the existence of astrological influence, as there are people whose lives seem to go smoothly, while others struggle. Some individuals seem to enjoy suc...

R'EEH DOING THE RIGHT THING The Torah reading begins Moshe seemingly giving the Jewish People a choice. To Follow and get blessing and or not and suffer the consequences (the opposite of blessings). Is it really that easy to "choose" to do the right thing. We are animals of routine, how do we just change, or make the choice to change? As the month of Elul approaches it gives us the o...

EIKEV Food For Thought Eating evokes a myriad of emotions: pleasure, desire, loss of control, and disappointment. We yearn for our meals, fantasize of those all-you-can-eat buffets, spend big money, drive long distances for delicate cuisine; yet, despite all our love for food, feelings of regret and self-reproach often follow: Why did I eat so much? and Where does this insatiable craving for food...

VAETCHANAN The Authenticity of the Torah Do you ever wonder “What if?” What if this whole Judaism thing is one big grandma tale? After all it’s one religion of hundreds, and who’s to say what’s true anyway? All religions begin with a story of divine revelation from the heavens, commanding the worship of the gods in a specific way, and any other form of worship is considered idolatry punishable by...

DEVARIM From a Passive Reader, To Being a Great Leader. Though in the scientific realm, knowledge is constantly evolving, in Judaism, the concept of "descent of the generations" emphasizes that while knowledge accumulates, the closeness to the Divine diminishes. This is seen as a paradox, as the darkness of exile seems to grow stronger as time passes, with fewer manifestations of the Div...

MATOS - MASSEI Anger Management 101 Anger is a dominant emotion, as it stems from our fundamental need for self-preservation. In the grip of anger, we lose control of rational judgment and cease to see the bigger picture or consider the consequences of our actions. There is a well-known saying, "What love builds, anger destroys." Let us explore this further through one of the most severe...

PINCHUS Advocating Women's Rights How should women demand what is rightfully theirs without violating the order of halakha? From a broader perspective, the question is also relevant to men and the entire community: What should a person do when they feel a claim against the conduct of Hashem? In what manner is it permissible to raise a complaint against the laws of God? The inspiration for this...

CHUKAS - BALAK The Immortality of a Tzaddik - Defining Jewish Leaders An intriguing discussion found in the final pages of the Gemara. It is a profound and brilliant dialogue between Rabbi Yehoshua ben Chananiah, and a group of exiles who left the Land of Israel for Alexandria in Egypt and regretted their ill-advised choice. How did the first section of the parsha, from which the entire parsha der...

KORACH Dealing With Opposition Some of the more challenging moments in life are when we encounter people who try to belittle us. No matter how kind and patient one may be, he or she can nonetheless cross paths with individuals with interests that aim to weaken us. Not competitors, or people with a different view or approach; rather individuals who seem bent on our destruction for its own sake, not...

Para & Normal Most people believe in some version of a soul. Do souls continue to exist after death? Can they see us? In this lesson, we will explore what we know about angels, spirits, and extraterrestrial life for insights into our own soul’s nature.

SHLACH Give Some Dough What is this special mitzvah, why is it indeed so special, and -most interestingly – how does it land at the tail end of our Parsha? We will uncover a deeper layer in this seemingly symbolic mitzvah, that teaches and reinforces in us the knowledge that everything, even that which seems man made, truly comes from Hashem and His kindness. Which is why we owe all to Him, and th...

BAHALOSECHA The Strength in Humility The value of humility of Moshe as described in this weeks Parsha. What is it that G-d vouched for him and praised him with that quality? Learn how we can harness our G-d given talents with humility and pride.

Jinx & The Evil Eye Can telling someone about my good fortune make it go bad? Can their jealousy create problems for my success? It may sound superstitious, but in Jewish thought, there’s a logical reason to be concerned about “the Evil Eye,” and there’s a practical way to ward it off.

Stars & Signs Judaism insists we can always influence our destiny for the better. Yet, the popular “Mazel tov” wish literally means “good astrology”! What role does destiny play in a tradition that believes humans have free choice?

Dreams & Direction When should we follow our dreams, and when do we say it’s “just a dream”? Let’s explore where inspiration from a lifelike dream can take us. Plus: a time-honored Jewish routine for keeping nightmares at bay.

SHAVUOT Got to Kill Some Time? We squander time, taking our next second, or day or year, for granted. But they are not granted. They are not at all guaranteed. The secret of a live well lived lies in appreciating this. In truly harnessing each moment of time that we have, infusing each instant with value and meaning. Including – and especially – those pockets of “lost time” during carpool, at the...

BAMIDBAR Avoiding the Evil Eye The fourth book of the Torah, which we begin this week, (the Book of Numbers). It is named after the great census that opens it. After the construction of the Mishkan, Hashem commanded to count the Jews from the age of twenty to the age of sixty. What even is Evil Eye? And more importantly, where is the justice in Evil Eye? How can a disgruntled and dissatisfied pers...

BEHAR BECHUKOTAI A Life Worth Living We are living in an interesting time. People now live twice as long as they did during the time of the Mishnah, if not longer. However, life can sometimes feel dull, empty, and even painful. Some even question the purpose of life and wonder why they should bother with all the effort. But it is important to understand that G-d values and loves life. Life is intr...

EMOR Instilling Values in our Children The great educational challenge of our era is to provide a Jewish education that is meaningful and relevant to the younger generation. While this generation is not afraid or intimidated by threats, they seek growth and want to be part of something that is real and life-changing. The future of education depends on our ability to transmit love and appreciation...

ACHAREI Teaming up with Evil. How is it that on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year, about which we read in this week’s Parsha, the holiest man in the nation spends considerable time and effort with an offering to Azazel, which is understood to mean the Satan and his agents?! What worth does the archetype of evil have on this day? Why pay him any attention at all?

TAZRIA - METZORAH Be a Good Communicator Well, you certainly don’t get to choose what happens around you, but you do get to choose what you speak about. And when you make a concerted effort to deliberately speak well of people, of things, of stories - you are not merely recounting something of the past, but you are actually breathing life into that goodness and allowing it to capture the imaginati...

PESACH So why the deceit? What's the Rush? At the heart of the Passover story, a peculiar detail seems to get lost in the noise. Multiple references seem to indicate that the Jews escaped or fled, as though breaking through a prison’s chain link fence. When in truth we know they departed triumphantly at noon’s high sun, without anybody being able to do a thing about it. We also find that Moshe...

VAYIKRA Is living with regret a good thing? Many will tell you things like ‘regret nothing’ or ‘never look back’ but is that a healthy attitude to past mistakes? On the flip side, we all know that person who’s never been able to move past that professional blunder or a faux pas several years ago, and they seem to wallow in never-ending misery and agony. So, what is a healthy approach to handling m...