Bereishis

  1. Zera Shimshon – Vayechi – 5784

    Zera Shimshon - Vayechi - 5784
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  2. Zera Shimshon Noach 5784

    Zera Shimshon Noach 5784
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  3. ZERA SHIMSHON Bereishis 5784 – part 2

    Do it right!
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  4. ZERA SHIMSHON – Breishis 5784

    The sefer everybody’s talking about and yearning to learn – DONE RIGHT
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  5. Parshas Bereishis & the Simchas Torah War started by Hamas

    Dedicated to לעילוי נשמת אמי מורתי שולמית בת הרב דב יהודה ז”ל
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  6. Connecting The Town of Schem and The Holiday of Chanukah!

    Deliveredin Houston at a Melaveh Malka Motzei Shabbos parshas Vayeshev 5783
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  7. Parshas Vayeshev: The Great Sifting of Destiny – A Message for Chanukah

    Delivered 12/15/22 in Congregation Beth Rambam Houston Texas
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  8. Parshas Vayishlach/Chanukah: Saving The Legs

    An address for Parshas Vayishlach & Chanukah delivered in the Mesivta of Cincinnati 12/9/222
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  9. Parshas Vayishlach: The Jekyll and Hyde Twin ship of Yaakov and Eisov

    An address at the  gala STEAK & SPIRITS event Motzei Shabbos Cincinnati 12/10/22
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  10. Parshas Vayishlach: Where Are You

    Given at Cincinnati Community Kollel Thursday night 12/8/22  
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  11. Parsha sheet: Vayetzeh – One way Universality

    Click here to download PDF What’s Lavan doing in the Haggada? In the Hagaddah of Pesach we quote the Pasuk, “Arami Oved Avi vayered Mitzrayma” (Devarim 26:5) which the Baal HaHagaddah explains that Lavan was even worse than Pharaoh. Pharaoh only decreed the extermination of the Jewish males and Lavan wanted to “uproot” the whole .Why ...
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  12. Chayei Sara – Full Years

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  13. Vayera – Future Laugh

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  14. Lech Lecha: Avrohom Avinu: Chessed From Emunah

     
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  15. Parsha sheet: Noach – Exploiting Unity

    Click here to download PDF On the Ruins of the flood “And the whole earth was one language and singular/uniform terms. When they traveled from the east they found a valley in the land of Shinar and they settled there”(11:1-2). Why is it necessary to stress that there was only one language? First of all, that is ...
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  16. Noach – Climate Change

     
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  17. Bereishis – Rebuild & Rebirth

    עילוי נשמת אמי מורתי שולמית בת הרב דב יהודה ז”ל If you’re viewing this on a portable device, such as a phone, and are having difficulty playing the shiur, then try the below YouTube version.  
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  18. Parsha sheet: Bereishis – Mother of Invention

    Click here to download PDF A Tribute to my Mother Z”L on the occasion of her first Yahrtzeit Twenty Generations of Anger “There were ten generations from Adam until Noah to make us aware how much patience Hashem has as all these generations angered him constantly until (after waiting ten generations) He brought upon them the Waters of ...
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  19. Bereishis – Reflections

    Marking the first Yahrtzeit of HaRav Yochanan Bechhofer’s Mother Z”L  
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  20. Parsha sheet: Vayechi – State of Mind

    Click here to download PDF How did Golus start? This week’s Parsha starts without any break separating it from last week’s Parsha. therefore, it’s called a “Parsha Setuma”- a blocked Parsha as there isn’t that traditional space between the Parshas. Rashi addresses the issue and says: “why is this Parsha “Setuma”- blocked? Because Yaakov Avinu passed away ...
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  21. Parsha sheet: Vayigash – Kings & Kingdom

    Click here to download PDF Why frame Binyomin? In course of the end of last week’s Parsha and the beginning of this week’s Parsha We find that Yosef framed his beloved brother Binyomin with the crime of having stolen his goblet. Why frame Binyomin, his full brother, that he loves so much? One would have thought that ...
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  22. Miketz/Chanuka – Legs & Light

    Click here to download PDF Special expanded edition for Shabbos – Chanukah Spies! Now and forever Yosef frames his brothers as being spies. Perhaps that was easiest crime to frame them for, given the circumstances. But is that all there is to it? The ‘Baal HaTurim’ writes something fascinating. ”… and he told them you are spies….” explains ...
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  23. Parsha sheet: Vayeshev – Infowars

    Click here to download PDF He was worried about a Traffic Jam?!? “And Yaakov dwelled…” Rashi brings a Midrash: “This flax dealer came in to town with all his camels laden with flax. The blacksmith wonders where will all this flax will fit. A wise man answered him: ‘one spark comes out from your bellows that ...
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  24. Parsha sheet: Vayishlach – Multi Dimensional Engagement

    Click here to download PDF Eisov makes Drashos?!? Like any good diplomat, Yaakov has a double message for Eisov, a conciliatory even submissive message and a tough one. He says with Lavan “Garti”– I resided. Rashi explains “Garti”- “I resided as a stranger and I was not made nobility or important. It’s not worth your while to ...
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  25. Parsha sheet: Vayetze – Enter the Center

    Click here to download PDF Only Yaakov leaves an impression? In the beginning of this week’s Parsha Rashi comments on what the Pasuk says: “Yaakov exited Be’er Sheva and went to Charan”: “It would have been enough to just say he went to Charan, why did have to mention his exit? this comes to teach ...
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  26. Parsha sheet: Toldos – Yaakov & Eisov: Adam’s Two Forms

    Click here to download PDF Special expanded edition marking the conclusion of Sheloshim for my mother Z”l לע״נ אמי מורתי שולמית בת הרב דב יהודה ז״ל Why didn’t Yitzchak see thru Eisov? Yitzchak had a special affinity for Eisov and had fully intended to give him the special “Brachos” that Yaakov had to get seemingly by trickery. This is ...
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  27. Parsha sheet: Chayei Sarah – Beauty of the Leaves

    Click here to download PDF לע״נ קדושי פיטסברג הי״ד לע״נ אמי מורתי שולמית בת הרב דב יהודה ז״ל Repetition is Beautiful?!? The longest topic in this week’s Parsha is the story of Eliezer going to find Rivka for you Yitzchak. What makes it much larger than any other topic is because Eliezer repeats the whole story play by ...
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  28. Parsha sheet: Vayeira – Justice, Son of Kindness

    Click here to download PDF לע״נ אמי מורתי שולמית בת הרב דוב יהודה ז״ל Why Dayanim? Why sitting? At the beginning of the parsha Avraham Avinu is recovering from Bris Milah and nonetheless sitting at the opening of the tent in the heat of the day, hoping to invite in guests, when Hashem appears to him. Rashi on ...
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  29. Parsha sheet: Lech Lecha – The Stabilizer & The Revolutionary

    Click here to download PDF לע״נ אמי מורתי האשה החשובה שולמית בת הרב דוב יהודה ע״ה Bnei Noach Chazal refer to all good non-Jews as Bnei Noach, while evil goyim are tagged as ovdei cochavim u’mazalot, idol worshippers. This might seem strange seeing as how all of mankind, both Jew and gentile alike, are the descendants  of Noach. ...
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  30. Parsha sheet: Bereishis – The conquest and the Mirror

    Click here to download PDF הדברי תורה בעלון זה מוקדשים לזכות אמי מורתי מרת שולמית בת הרב דב יהודה והרבנית שרה סאשא Bereishis – For the Land of Israel? The first Rashi in the Parsha says as follows: “Rabbi Yitzchak said the Torah did not have to start from any other place than “This month is for you ...
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  31. Vayechi – Breakthrough

    If you’re viewing this on a portable device, such as a phone, and are having difficulty playing the shiur, then try the below YouTube version.  
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  32. Parsha Sheet: Vayechi – The Heel Lives

    Click here to download PDF Dead or Alive? This week’s Parsha opens up with the posuk “Yaakov was alive in Egypt for 17 years…” Hebrew doesn’t use the term “lived” as a synonym for “resided”. What is the Torah telling us? Was Yaakov more alive in Egypt than anywhere he resided? The Midrash Rabbah says that Rav ...
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  33. Parsha Sheet: Vayigash – Restoring the Neck of Am Yisroel

    Click here to download PDF Crying on the “Neck” Following the reunification of the brothers it says that “Yosef cried on the necks (plural!) of Binyomin and Binyomin cried on Yosef’s neck”. Rashi brings the Chazal that raise the question: how many necks did Binyomin have? They answer that it was referring to two Temples that ...
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  34. Parsha Sheet: Miketz – Chanukah: The Nation Sparks

    Click here to download PDF Reflections for the Chanukah after the Petirah of the Godol HaDor Maran HaRav Ahron Yehuda Leib Shteinman ZT”L “Sparks” An interesting phenomenon repeats itself no less than four times in this week’s Parsha. Ever since the Shevatim sold Yosef, Yaakov Avinu is stripped of prophecy. However, in this week’s Parsha prophecy makes a gradual ...
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  35. Parsha Sheet:Vayeshev – Sifting through the ages

    Click here to download PDF Mysterious Metaphor In the opening Rashi to this week’s Parsha, Rashi tells us that after speaking concisely about Eisav’s descendants and how and where they settled, the Torah now turns to discuss Yaakov and his children at length and in great detail. Yaakov and his children are so important to Hashem and ...
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  36. Bad Guys of the Bible 3: The Generation of Enosh – The Beginnings of Idolatry

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  37. Vayishlach – Wives and Vows

    If you’re viewing this on a portable device, such as a phone, and are having difficulty playing the shiur, then try the below YouTube version.  
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  38. Parsha Sheet: Vayishlach – Shechem, The Cosmic Seam

    Click here to download PDF Trouble Town In this week’s Parsha we encounter the place called Shechem.  Rashi tells that Shechem is a place prone to tragedy. It was there that Dinah was raped, it was there that Yosef was sold, and it was there the Kingdom of Israel split off from the kingdom of Yehudah. What ...
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  39. Parsha Sheet: Vayetzei – A Tale of Two Mothers and Two Kings

    Vayetzei : A Tale of Two Mothers and Two Kings Click here to download PDF Rachel vs Leah In this week’s Parsha we have story of Yaakov finding his two wives, our matriarchs, Rachel and Leah. Although they came from the same home, they became Yaakov’s wives in very different ways. Rachel was the wife he was seeking, ...
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  40. Vayeitzei – Bad Grandpa Lavan

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  41. Toldos – How Did Eisav Sell The Birthright

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  42. Parsha sheet: Toldos – What’s with the Wells??

    Click here to download PDF Water fight? Not quite…. In this week’s Parsha we have Yitzchak Avinu’s struggle with Avimelech and his people over Wells. interestingly enough, this was a common struggle he and his father Avraham had with Avimelech. Seemingly Avraham Avinu and Avimelech patched things up at the time. However, we see from this week’s ...
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  43. Parsha sheet: Chayei Sarah – Marriage, Death, and Commerce

    Click here to download PDF First Funeral? There are some standard daily and life cycle events that occur in this parsha for the first time in the Torah. With the description of Sarah’s burial and eulogy we have the first accounts of a death, burial, and eulogy.  Up until this point the Torah simply stated the age ...
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  44. Vayeira – Avimelech and Cosmic Blockage

    If you’re viewing this on a portable device, such as a phone, and are having difficulty playing the shiur, then try the below YouTube version.  
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  45. Parsha Sheet: Vayeira – Divine sense of Humor

    What do the birth of Yitzchak Avinu, the three cardinal sins,and marital relations all have in common? Click here to download PDF When Sarah receives the amazing news that she will give birth to a son at the ripe old age of ninety she reacts with tzchok, laughter. We find that when Avraham Avinu had a similar ...
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  46. HITLER WON! (I’ll explain, hear me out)

    HITLER WON! (I'll explain, hear me out)
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  47. Bad Guys of the Bible 1: The Snake

    If you’re viewing this on a portable device, such as a phone, and are having difficulty playing the shiur, then try the below YouTube version.  
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  48. Noach – Noach and Avraham Avinu – Movement vs Progress

    Noach - Noach and Avraham Avinu - Movement vs Progress
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  49. Parsha Sheet: Lech Lecha – What happened to the first 75 years?

    Click here to download PDF If ever the question should ever be raised what was the most amazing era of Avraham Avinu’s life I’m sure most people, if not all, would answer: How at a young age he figured out the truth for himself, stood up against his family, his society, and the whole world. He ...
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  50. Noach – History Repeating Itself

    Noach - History Repeating Itself
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  51. Parsha Sheet: Noach – The deconstruction of society

    Click here to download PDF A warning from the generations of the flood and the dispersal The Halacha States that when two people agree on a sale of a movable object and the prospective buyer has already given the money, the sale is not final until the movable object has been lifted or pulled. Nonetheless if one ...
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  52. Parshas Breishis and the current events of October 2017

    Parshas Breishis and the current events of October 2017
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  53. Vayechi: The Heel Lives

    If you’re viewing this on a portable device, such as a phone, and are having difficulty playing the shiur, then try the below YouTube version.  
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  54. Vayechi: Daas of Yaakov

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  55. Vayechi: The Block

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  56. Vayigash: Semichas Geula l’Tefillah

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  57. Vayigash: Yosef and Yehuda – The Worker and the Adventurer

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  58. Vayigash: The Neck

    If you’re viewing this on a portable device, such as a phone, and are having difficulty playing the shiur, then try the below YouTube version.  
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  59. Miketz: Crossover Between Shabbos and Chanukah

    If you’re viewing this on a portable device, such as a phone, and are having difficulty playing the shiur, then try the below YouTube version.  
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  60. Miketz: Shabbos Chanukah – Shem Shomayim

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  61. Miketz: Unity – Only in the Good

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  62. Vayeishev: Yosef the Chanuka Candle

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  63. Vayeishev: Sifting Through the Nations

    If you’re viewing this on a portable device, such as a phone, and are having difficulty playing the shiur, then try the below YouTube version.  
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  64. Vayeishev: Yosef and Chanuka-Restoring the Neck of Klal Yisroel

    Delivered last chanukah in the Wilamowsky residence on the occasion of the 44th yahtzeit of HaRav Alter Wilamowsky zt”l If you’re viewing this on a portable device, such as a phone, and are having difficulty playing the shiur, then try the below YouTube version.  
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  65. Vayishlach: Shechem – The Seam Between In and Out

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  66. Vayishlach: What Do We Mean by Shemiras Mitzvos?

    If you’re viewing this on a portable device, such as a phone, and are having difficulty playing the shiur, then try the below YouTube version.  
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  67. Vayishlach: Laying Down the Foundations for the Scapegoat and Chanukah

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  68. Vayeitza: Space Exploration

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  69. Toldos: The Intensity of Yitzchok

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  70. Toldos: The Twinship of Yaakov and Esav

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  71. Chayei Sarah: The Spiritual Dimension of Commerce

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  72. Chayei Sarah: Even in Death We Do Not Part

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  73. Chayei Sarah: Good Years

    If you’re viewing this on a portable device, such as a phone, and are having difficulty playing the shiur, then try the below YouTube version.  
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  74. Vayera: Judgment Torah Style

    Reflections for elections 2016 If you’re viewing this on a portable device, such as a phone, and are having difficulty playing the shiur, then try the below YouTube version.  
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  75. Vayera: The Torah Sense of Humor

    If you’re viewing this on a portable device, such as a phone, and are having difficulty playing the shiur, then try the below YouTube version.  
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  76. Lech Lecha: The Common Root of Chesed and Emunah

    The merit of the Torah learning of these audios is to be dedicated to the Refuah shleima of HaRav Moshe Shapiro shlit”a Please find the time to listen and say a chapter of Tehillim for him  his name is משה בן רחל If you’re viewing this on a portable device, such as a phone, and are having difficulty ...
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  77. Noach: What Do We Mean By “Ben Noach?”

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  78. Bereishis: What Shabbos Contributes to Creation

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