Online Torah Classes with Rabbi Mendy Goldberg

VAYAKHEL - PEKUDEI Are We There Yet People have forever been preoccupied with the search for G-d. A divine entity that transcends, supersedes, and surpasses all limitations. Most of these quests have returned with answers of removed and detached spiritual beings which hardly – if ever- interact with the mundane. The spiritual and the material are pitted against one another in a perpetual state of...

BookSmart:  Lesson 6 Kabbalah and Chasidism Kabbalah is the Torah’s mystical dimension, containing its most powerful and empowering ideas. But for many centuries, the teachings of Kabbalah were carefully guarded secrets, transcribed only in the guise of esoteric terminology and metaphors, and taught only to a small, exclusive circle of mystics in each generation. Chasidism is both an extensio...

ZACHOR Question v/s Doubt. Is There A Difference? The mitzvah of Zachor, which we will read this week in Shul, always raises eyebrows: Why are we still stuck on an enemy long gone? Amalek hasn’t walked the face of this planet for several millennia by now, so what’s the burning passion we still have today to stomp it out wherever we might find it? Amalek today is more than a nation, it’s a conditio...

Lesson 5 Musar and Jewish Philosophy Musar is the body of Torah teachings that deals with ethics, character development, and spiritual self-improvement. The field of Jewish philosophy, also known as “ Chakirah ,” includes works devoted to discussing the philosophy and ideology of Judaism. While these constitute two distinct areas of Torah literature, there is also a certain degree of overlap betwe...

Lesson 4 Halachah Halachah is the “bottom line” of Torah, where the biblical commandments, rabbinical ordinances, and Talmudic deliberations translate into the dos and don’ts of daily life. Halachah addresses every part of a Jew’s life, from waking to bedtime, from birth to burial, from everyday activities to the most extraordinary situations. In this lesson, we explore the history of Halachah, fr...

Lesson 3 The Talmud More than any other work, the Talmud defines “Jewish learning.” In this lesson, we review the history of the Talmud, explore the structure of this intricate and fascinating work, with its 63 volumes of teachings and deliberations by hundreds of sages over a period of six centuries on virtually every subject under the sun. We also engage in the in-depth study of a Talmudic sugya...

Lesson 2 The Midrash “Midrash” is both a methodology and a body of literature. In this lesson, we explore both aspects of Midrash. We study the various methods by which additional layers of meaning contained within the words—or between the lines—of the Torah are expounded. We also acquaint ourselves with some of the major Midrashic works that record the expositional teachings by the sages of the T...

ADAR - TERUMA Joy is the Pre-requisite to Life There is a classic Chassidic saying that goes something like this: ‘Joy is not itself a mitzvah, but it brings to fulfilling many mitzvos. Conversely, melancholy is not itself a sin, but it brings to many sins.’  Joy is the fuel that nourishes our soul. If we are to go about life productively and usefully, we must have a fundamental degree of joy...

MISHPATIM Differences, Are The Things we Most Have In Common. In our age of extreme division in society, political polarization, religious fanaticism and many other ‘isms’ which cause strife, animosity and tension, it’s hard to imagine what upside there might be to arguing.  Wouldn’t it all be much better if we all just got along? Of course, it would. But like most other things in life, delib...

YITRO What Are "Segulot"? Mitzvah Remedies Do We Believe In Those? It’s no secret that being a Jew is full of do’s and don’ts. What is less known, though, is why that is.   In this week’s Parsha the Jews are crowned by Hashem as His ‘am segulah’ His treasure, and we are then given the Torah which of course enjoins us with all the dos and don’ts. Why does Hashem need us to fulfill so many mitz...

Book Smart: Course through Judaism’s Most Important Titles, and the Authors Who Inscribed Them Lesson One - The Torah We begin by addressing the question, “What is the Torah?” We discover how the whole of Jewish teaching (“the Torah” in its broader meaning) derives from the Chumash (“the Torah” in its narrower meaning). We also discuss the relationship between the “Written Torah” and the “Oral Tor...

BESHALACH Your Place Your Mission As the Jews leave their former enslavers behind, taking along their wealth and their pride, we find an interesting injunction by the Torah to the newly liberated people. They must never again live in Egypt. What’s the Torah’s issue with Egypt? Is Egyptian soil any more soaked with Jewish blood than Poland, medieval Spain, or Germany? If the Egyptians were the firs...

BO Education Is An Experience Are you Children just not interested?  What's the difference of a Teacher v/s an instructor? Why is it that Passover is one of the most celebrated Jewish holidays by secular and observant alike?  With looking deeper in this week's Torah reading we will come to appreciate the great teacher Moshe was, and the tools he gave us to make education moe effective an...

VAEIRA Fear of the Unknown In this class, we will examine the differences between the various names of Hashem employed at different times, and how they teach us how to truly be in control of our life, and not panic when we are not, or feel like we are not.

SHEMOS Why the Suffering? As the Jews come into the land of Egypt, their suffering intensifies with the hardships and slavery imposed on them. Why? What did they do wrong? Why wasn't getting easier?  These were Moses's questions to Hashem as well, and the question of many throughout the ages. As the story unfolds we will see the steps that were needed for the Salvation of the Jewish people. T...

VAYECHI Your Struggles Are Your Greatest Assets Far more people than you think, struggle with persistent feelings of inadequacy. Many who on the outside may appear fulfilled and leading a happy life, are actually battling inner voices that tell them they’re not enough. Not successful enough, not religious enough, not a good enough spouse or parent, or sibling or child. As we will come to learn, Ro...

VAYIGASH The Secret to the Endurance of Judaism This week's Torah portion tells us of two personalities colliding, Yosef and Yehuda. From this moment, we continuously juxtaposed these two, from waging on Amalek to the spies and the first two kings the Jews had a nation. in all of these, the two tribes' decedents were with each other. In all scenarios, Yosef is first, with Yehuda coming in next but...

CHANUKAH Greeks V/S Jews; The Real War If we look at the details of the story, we immediately notice that the Greeks did not destroy the Beis Hamikdash, did not attempt to kill us like Haman, and didn’t even attempt to banish Yiddishkeit, quite the contrary: the Greeks were the first to translate the Torah into a foreign language for study. So what’s the fuss about? We will learn that the real war...

My G-d: Defining the Divine  Lesson 6 Our Relationship Let’s deepen our understanding of our relationship with G-d: Why can’t we see G-d? Because we can’t see Him, can we reconcile His existence with science? Why is Judaism so obsessed with idolatry—is G-d jealous? Last of all: I’m a spiritual person; do I need to follow the Torah’s “system” to have a relationship with G-d?

VAYEISHEV You CAN Make a Difference Reuven’s Missed Opportunity. We can’t fix all problems, but we can fix the ones we can. This week’s Parsha presents us with a tragic story of missed opportunities.  Reuven is the first firstborn of the Torah with whom we can closely identify; he is Yaakov’s son. He’s gentle and dedicated to his mother’s well-being. A deferential person, who is sensitive to...

My G-d: Defining the Divine  Lesson 5 His Paradoxes Let’s delve into some of the deeper Divine mysteries and enigmas:  Can G-d create a rock that He can’t lift? Does His foreknowledge of events preclude my free choice? Is there anything that G-d finds difficult to do? And if G-d has decided to do something, can I change His mind?

VAYISHLACH Doing the Right Thing. It’s no secret that power corrupts. How do we make sure that when we engage in a confrontation, we don’t allow the darkest impulses of man to take over, transforming us into the very thing we were waging against? This week’s Parsha discusses the episode of Dinah and Shchem. Her brothers’ response to her abuser is perplexed by their father's acknowledgment and lack...

My G-d: Defining the Divine Lesson 4 His Expectations Let’s discuss G-d’s expectations of us: Do I have to believe in G-d to be Jewish? What if I have doubts about G-d? Do I need to fear G-d? That doesn’t sound very appealing! Lastly, I’m okay with believing in G-d, but I’m not religious. Can I still have a relationship with Him?

VAYETZEI When Jealousy is a Good Thing We’ve all experienced it at some point: you see the person who seems to have it all; happy family, stable job, popular on the social scene, and just perfect looks. And the inevitable happens; we feel jealous that this isn’t us. Looking at Mr. Perfect invariably invites feelings of inadequacy and resentment. We will understand this by diving into the story of...

TOLDOT Passion V/S Discipline In the Torah this week we find a puzzling incident: how could Rivka, a doting mother, decide to deceive her son? How could a kind and loving woman act to prevent any blessing from befalling her own child?! Are blessings transferrable? Yitzchok was bestowing blessings with Esav in mind, can one hijack a Blessing by a mere disguise? Learning the differences between Yakk...