As the Torah progresses with the building of the mishkan (tabernacle), we find the instructions of chapters 25–31 coming to life, culminating with Moshe telling Bezalel, “Do your … more

Parasha Vayakel begins with the construction of the mishkan (the portable desert sanctuary): “Moses called the whole community of the children of Israel to assemble, and he said to them: … more

In the fall of 2012, Israel was again preparing for war in response to the thousands of missiles being fired indiscriminately from the Gaza strip onto the population centers of southern Israel. As … more

Lying on a hill not 400 yards from two terrorists who were firing indiscriminately on the local Jewish civilians behind us, it should have been simple. It’s you or them, on top of which you are … more

There is a famous machloket between Rashi and the Ramban as to whether the Mishkan (tabernacle) was created before or after the horrific incident found in our parasha of the Chet Haegel Hazahav (the … more

This week one of modern Israel’s greatest war heroes, Yanosh ben Gal, was laid to rest in the military cemetery in Givat Shaul. To honor his memory, this story is excerpted from a 2011 … more

Prior to describing each of the garments of the priests, the Torah tells us, “These are the vestments that they shall make: a breastplate, an ephod, a robe, a knitted tunic, a turban, … more

The second Beit Hamikdash was destroyed over 1,900 years ago. Thereafter, with prophetic insight, Chazal established the blessing of Boneh Yerushalayim  (Rebuild Jerusalem) in the Shemoneh … more

The radio squawked with commands. I took out my pen and pad out to write down a list of code words for map locations that I would need to translate into coordinates for our impromptu mission. This … more

As the Torah depicts the instructions for the vessels of the Mishkan, each item has very detailed instruction pertaining to its particular structure. The Ark, for example, is relatively easy to … more