Archive for the Achrei Mos Category

Before detailing the list of forbidden relationships the Torah instructs us: “Do not perform the practices of the land of Egypt in which you dwelled; and do not perform the practices of the land of Canaan to which I bring you..[1]”  Rashi writes that Mitzrayim and Canaan were the most morally decadent nations and in particular those

“For on this day he shall provide atonement for you to cleanse you; from all your sins before Hashem shall you be cleansed.” Vaykira 16:30  Once a year, a Jew’s[1] sins are wiped clean. It is the holy day of Yom Kippur. On that day lots are cast,

In the midst of the Parsha’s outline of various Mitzvos, the Torah exhorts us with regard to our observance of the Torah in a general sense: “Perform My Laws, and guard My Statutes , to go in them, I am HaShem.”[1]  The meaning of the words, “to go in

The Talmud (Sotah 14a) instructs us in the Mitzvah of imitating God in all His ways. Just as God clothes the naked, visits the sick, comforts mourners and buries the dead, so should you emulate His example. Maimonides (Mourning 14:1) mentions all the above Mitzvot, but gives

Kol Yaakov by Rabbi Boruch Leff Do animals have rights? “We condemn totally the infliction of suffering upon our brother animals, and the curtailment of their enjoyment, unless it be necessary for their own individual benefit. We declare our belief that all sentient creatures have rights to life, liberty, and

Are all men created equal? At Mount Sinai, God described the Jewish People as a holy nation (Shemot 19:6). But it sounds too difficult and lofty a concept for us to handle. How do we attain holiness? A Torah portion with the name “Kedoshim,” which means “holy,”

Closeness to Hashem We have in the beginning of the parsha the halachos of how the Kohein Gadol would be able to enter into the Kodesh Hakadoshim. The gemora in the beginning of Yoma (9a) says that during the 2nd Bais Hamikdosh there were over 300 Kohanim

There was a paratrooper who participated in the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem in the six-day war who broke down crying when they captured the Western Wall. He was with two other paratroopers at the time, one religious and one not. He himself was non-observant.

16:2 The Vilna Gaon said that if Aaron brought on any day all the sacrifices to be brought on Yom Kippur he would have been allowed to enter the Holy of Holies as he did on Yom Kippur. Rav K. explains that the Grah learnt this from the gemara Gittin 60a, that says eight sections of the Torah were said on the