Dvar Torah for Nitzavim 6th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/366nyhd9 Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/nitzavim-6.mp3 In Parashas Nitzavim, Moshe famously explains that the commandments are there for us to observe and that “it is very close to you; it is in your mouth and your heart so that you can fulfill it” (30:14). Rashi explains that this curious mouth/heart wording refers to the Oral and Written Laws. While it makes sense for “in your mouth” to correspond to

Dvar Torah for Nitzavim 7th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/ythma3fk Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/nitzavim-7-double-parsha.mp3 Moshe tells the Jews that there is free choice between good and evil, life and death, and urges them to choose life so that they may live (30:19). Since this appears to be an obvious choice, what deeper message is being conveyed? Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky explains that following the Torah’s laws is not only a path to life and its rew

Dvar Torah for Vayelech 1st Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/53cbcefj Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/vayeilech-1.mp3 As Moshe concludes delivering the blessings and curses associated with living a Torah life, we read that “Moshe went and spoke these words to the Jewish people” (31:1). Why mention both that he went and that he spoke? Stating that he went seems unnecessary. Rav Hirsch explains that because these words were Moshe’s own—rather than directly commande

Dvar Torah for Vayelech 2nd Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/y27v5scz http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/vayeilech-2.mp3 Moshe tells the nation that G-d will deliver the land to them and charges the nation to be strong and courageous because G-d “Goes with you. He will neither fail you nor forsake you” (31:6). Moshe later instructs Yehoshua to “be strong and courageous” (31:7), but without the assurances that followed the charge for the nation. Why would the nation’s charg

Dvar Torah for Vayelech 3rd Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/5a67pb9c Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/vayeilech-3.mp3 Moshe summons Yehoshua as he takes over the leadership of the nation and tells him to “be strong and courageous” when he brings the people to the land that G-d has promised to their forefathers (31:7). The Hebrew words used in this pasuk literally mean “You will come with this nation.” Why is this wording not consistent with the intention for Yeho

Dvar Torah for Vayelech 4th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/mwnxyy6c Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/vayeilech-4.mp3 Moshe introduces the mitzvah of hakhel (assembly), where every seven years, all men, women, and children assemble, and the king reads the Torah (31:12). While of course it makes sense for men and women to be there, why would children be required to attend? If anything, their presence would likely distract from the experience as parents struggle to

Dvar Torah for Vayelech 5th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/mufd39af Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/vayeilech-5.mp3 G-d tells Moshe to enter the Mishkan with Yehoshua and tells them both that the Jews will abandon G-d, that He will hide His face from the people, and that they will be subjected to many troubles. G-d then tells Moshe and Yehoshua, “Write for yourselves this song and teach it to the people. Place it in their mouths so that the song will be a witne

Dvar Torah for Vayelech 6th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/bdhm9a4c Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/vayeilech-6.mp3 Parashas Vayeilech recounts the last days of Moshe’s life. After G-d tells Moshe to designate Yehoshua as his successor, He tells Moshe to write a “song” and teach it to the Jewish people so that the song will be a witness for them (31:19). Moshe writes the song with Yehoshua’s help. Why is Moshe instructed to teach in song form, and why do we nee

Dvar Torah for Vayelech 7th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/pkcstpce Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/vayeilech-7.mp3 After Moshe takes the concluded Torah scrolls and gives them to the Leviim for safekeeping, he “spoke into the ears of the entire assembly of Israel the words of the following song, until their completion” (31:30). What does the phrase “until their completion” add? Would we think Moshe stopped in the middle of his message? Rav Moshe Feinstein sugg

Dear Daily Aliyah Family, With no regular Parsha this Shabbos, I wanted to simply wish you and your families a Shana Tova U’Metuka; a year of health, happiness, bracha, and peace. As we approach the Yamim Noraim, I’d also ask you to consider joining Daily Giving and more than 24,000 Jews giving $1, together, every day. I personally gain nothing when you join (this is not a paid advertisement). You gain the mitzvah, those in need gain the help, and perhaps most importantly, they know they’re not

Special Dvar Torah for Rosh Hashana: Rosh Hashanah, according to the Sefer Hachinuch, is the day on which the creatures of the world are judged, both as a whole and as individuals. But why have a Day of Judgment if the ruling won’t be final until Yom Kippur, which is 10 days later? If the judgment isn’t final until Yom Kippur, then Yom Kippur should be the only Judgment Day, and thus Rosh Hashanah has no real purpose! In addition, of all things, why did G-d choose the Shofar (ram’s horn) as the

Dvar Torah for Haazinu 1st Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/4zyxj5hv Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/haazinu-1.mp3 Moshe's final song opens with the famous proclamation: "When I call out Hashem's name, ascribe greatness to our God" (32:3). Does this mean we ascribe greatness to God only when mentioning His name? Wouldn't every moment be an opportunity to recognize His greatness? Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky explains that greatness is not attributed to God only when

Dvar Torah for Haazinu 2nd Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/2vtnuuf4 Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/haazinu-2.mp3 In Haazinu, we are urged to "remember years past and to understand 'dor v'dor'" (each and every generation) in the context of generations before this one (32:7). As Rabbi Hirsch suggests, the word "shenos" meaning "years past" could also mean "understand." In what way could understanding previous generations help us? Rabbi Shlomo Riskin points out th

Dvar Torah for Haazinu 3rd Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/2vznuaw9 Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/haazinu-3.mp3 When poetically describing the Jews' rebelling against G-d, Moshe says, "And Yeshurun became fat and kicked " (32:15). Why are the Jews called "Yeshurun," and what does it mean that they became fat? Rav Hirsch suggests that the Jews are called "Yeshurun" because its root is yashar, "straight." This name symbolizes the idea that people think they are

Dvar Torah for Haazinu 4th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/5n8rs7t4 Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/haazinu-4.mp3 The Torah uses the unique word “afeihem” when describing the potential consequences of abandoning G-d’s path, “I said that I would make an end of them” (32:26). “I will end them,” “I will put them in a corner,” and “I will cast them away as ownerless,” are but a few of the possible translations that Rashi offers. Why would the Torah use a vague word

Dear friends, Something a little different today. Many of you know me through the Daily Aliyah. Recently I sat down with the None of your Business Podcast together with my dear friend Dr. Jonathan Donath, and we talked about the things closest to my heart - Daily Giving, Daily Aliyah, marriage, parenting, and the friendships that change us. It's a personal one. I'd love to hear what you think. https://youtu.be/Lqf0jm1Cvxc

Dvar Torah for Haazinu 5th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/5bu9sn3h Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/haazinu-5.mp3 Moshe's poetic song describes the troubles that will come to those who neglect their role in their relationship with God, and how God will ultimately punish their oppressors: "I cause death and grant life. I strike, but I heal..." (32:39). If God can take and give life, isn't striking and healing implied? What do these additional statements convey? T

Dvar Torah for Haazinu 6th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/3rxfwerh Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/haazinu-6.mp3 We are told that the nations will praise the Jewish people when they witness how G-d avenges those who harmed His people (32:43). Rashi adds that the people will say "They remained attached to G-d throughout all the hardships that they suffered." However, Moshe previously protested, "Is this how you repay G-d, you disgraceful, unwise people?" (32:6).

Dvar Torah for Haazinu 7th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/2znzh32x Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/haazinu-7.mp3 After Moshe finished the song of Haazinu, the Torah tells us that "Moshe came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Hoshea the son of Nun" (32:44). Equating Yehoshua with Moshe may have been a way to help Yehoshua feel confident in his new role. Why then, in this instance, does the Torah remove the first letter from t

Special Dvar Torah for Sukkot 5787 Because the first day of Sukkot falls on Shabbos this year, we read the holiday Torah reading instea of the regular weekly Parsha. Instead of the usual Daily Aliyah, I wanted to share a joyful idea with you: Sukkot is a time of joy. We call it Zman Simchateinu, the season of our happiness, and the Torah commands us to rejoice. But why? We leave the comfort of our homes to eat in a temporary shelter, and we take the four species and shake them. What about these

Moed Tov! Dvar Torah for V'zos Habrachah 1st Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/5fvamuwc Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/v_zos-habracha-1.mp3 The last parashah in the Torah starts with a conjunction, “And this is the blessing which Moshe… blessed the Jewish people before his death” (33:1). The previous paragraph in the Torah was G-d telling Moshe to go up to the mountain and die there because his punishment will preclude him from entering the land of Israel. Why is

Dvar Torah for V'zos Habrachah 2nd Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/4r5c77r4 Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/v_zos-habracha-2.mp3 Addressing the tribe of Levi and referring specifically to Aharon, his brother, Moshe says, “You tested him at the waters of Merivah” (33:8). This refers to when Moshe hit the rock at Merivah instead of speaking to it, for which Aharon was also punished with death rather than entry into the promised land. As Rabbi Shimon Schwab asks, w

Dvar Torah for V'zos Habrachah 3rd Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/3sy736m5 Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/v_zos-habracha-3.mp3 As part of the blessings that Moshe bestows upon the children of Israel just before his death, the tribe of Yosef is blessed with a bountiful portion that poetically mentions ample rain, dew, and produce (33:13–17) and then continues with a reference to G-d as “the One Who dwells in the thornbush” (33:16). Why is G-d conspicuously refe

Dvar Torah for V'zos Habrachah 4th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/yvedp3nn Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/v_zos-habracha-4.mp3 Zevulun’s blessing was that they would be successful merchants, nourished by the “abundance of the seas and treasures hidden in the sand” (33:19). Was their blessing just to find treasures that others lost or left behind? Sifrei suggests that Zevulun played a much more significant role. By attracting merchants to Israel, Zevulun not on

Dvar Torah for V'zos Habrachah 5th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/3v5a5df5 Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/v_zos-habracha-5.mp3 Dan is blessed with the strength of a lion cub, Naftali’s portion in the land will bring satisfaction to all its inhabitants, and Asher is blessed with sons and abundant oil (33:22–25). Then a blessing with seemingly no recipient is given, “He who rides the heavens is at your assistance, and with His majesty the skies” (33:26). Who is

Dvar Torah for V'zos Habrachah 6th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/2vnym9bb Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/v_zos-habracha-6.mp3 Moshe’s final sentence to the people is, “Your enemies will lie to you, but you will tread upon their heights” (33:29). Why end with a seemingly negative remark about other nations? And why would our heights be attained by treading on anyone else’s? Rav Shimon Schwab explains that the word translated as “heights” can also mean “base.”

Dvar Torah for V'zos Habrachah 7th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/yuhc5eht Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/v_zos-habracha-7.mp3 The end of the Torah proclaims that there will never be another prophet like Moshe, as manifested by the signs and wonders that he performed before the eyes of all of Israel (34:10–12). Rashi quotes the Sifrei who says that the phrase “Before the eyes of all of Israel” references the breaking of the Luchos (tablets), where the same exp

Dvar Torah for Bereishis 1st Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/5fxyzb9t Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Bereshis1.mp3 G-d creates the "Two great luminaries in the sky, the great one to rule the day and the small one to rule the night" (1:16). Why does the pasuk (verse) announce two great luminaries, only to further single out the sun as the great luminary? Rav Yosef Dov Soloveitchik suggests an insight into the concept of great and small. While the sun is itself a

Dvar Torah for Bereishis 2nd Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/54mmfrpk Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Bereshis2.mp3 Parashas Bereishis recounts the creation of the world, including plants, animals, and humans. At first glance, it seems that God includes Adam's marriage to Chavah in order to highlight the contrast between man and animal. However, the biblical concept of marriage describes the "acquisition" of a wife, seemingly equating Adam's control over Chavah

Dvar Torah for Bereishis 3rd Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/zt9sthdp Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Bereshis3.mp3 After Adam and Chavah falter by eating from the forbidden tree, they hide, which prompts God to ask them, "Where are you?" (3:9). Why would God rhetorically ask them where they were? Rabbi Mordechai Kamenetzky explains that God was impressing upon Adam and Chavah as well as teaching future generations that even when we make mistakes, He is still lo

Dvar Torah for Bereishis 4th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/mr2mykjc Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Bereshis4.mp3 As we begin Bereishis, after recounting creation and Adam and Chavah’s sin of eating from the forbidden tree, life seemingly settles down for Adam and Chavah. Adam goes off to work, they have two children, and after a mere six pesukim, their world is rocked by one child (Kayin) killing the other (Hevel) (4:8). How do Adam and Chavah make sense of w

Dvar Torah for Bereishis 5th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/muk55kwj Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Bereshis5.mp3 After the tragic episode of Kayin and Hevel, the Torah turns to an unexpected detail — the lineage of Lemech, listing his four children: Yaval, Yuval, Tuval-Kayin, and Na’ama (Bereishit 4:20–22). This is the first recorded instance where the Torah pauses to trace a family tree in such a deliberate way, signaling that these names are more than genea

Dvar Torah for Bereishis 6th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/3w689hy7 Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Bereshis6.mp3 After describing creation, the Torah starts a new chapter with the words “This is the book of Adam’s descendants” (5:1); adding that when God created man, He made him in His likeness, and then details Adam’s descendants. Considering that we were already told of Adam’s descendants, what is the purpose of this apparent restart of the story? The Ohr H

Dvar Torah for Bereishis 7th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/yc29t63t Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Bereshis7.mp3 When Lamech (different than Lemech, who had Yaval, Yuval, Tuval-Kayun, and Na’ama) had Noach, the Torah tells us that Lamech begot a son (ben) and, in the following pasuk, that he named him Noach (5:28–29). What is the significance of telling us these two pieces of information separately? Further, the Torah says that Lamech named him Noach because

Dvar Torah for Noach 1st Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/y5cu66m3 Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Noach-1.mp3 Parashas Noach begins by declaring “These are the Toldos of Noach,” and digresses to expressly point out that Noach was righteous and moral (6:9–10). Only in the following pasuk are Noach’s three sons named. Why does the Torah seem to interrupt its narrative to share this? Rav Samson Raphael Hirsch suggests that character is a person’s primary “product.”

Dvar Torah for Noach 2nd Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/5n7a94tc Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Noach-2.mp3 Parashas Noach describes the cause, result, and aftermath of the flood. As the flood began, the pasuk says that the springs of the “tehom rabah” opened up (7:11). While this phrase means “the great deep,” the Gemara explains that the term “rabah” directly references the generation’s misdeeds, previously described as the “great evil of man” (rabah ra’at h

Dvar Torah for Noach 3rd Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/4nzs5zmy Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Noach-3.mp3 When the floodwaters subside, Noach sends out the dove to search for dry land. The dove comes back holding a bitter olive leaf in its mouth (8:11). What is the symbolism of the dove’s returning with a bitter leaf? Rashi explains that the dove conveyed that it preferred to rely on God’s assistance rather than have Noach feed and care for him. Our Sages te

Dvar Torah for Noach 4th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/mvbuwf3p Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/noach-4.mp3 Once the waters dried up, God instructs Noach to leave the ark with his wife, his sons, and the sons’ wives (8:15). However, when Noach exits, the order of their exit from the ark is himself, his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives (8:18). Why did the order change from what was instructed? Many commentaries explain that God’s instructions were meant to p

Dvar Torah for Noach 5th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/8tcvxp75 Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Noach-5.mp3 After the flood, God establishes a covenant with Noach and all living creatures, promising that a flood will never again be used to destroy the earth. The symbol of this covenant is a “keshet” (9:13), commonly understood as a rainbow but also meaning a crossbow. Why is the keshet chosen, and why use a term that can refer to something as beautiful as a ra

Dvar Torah for Noach 6th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/u76x29f9 Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Noach-6.mp3 Parashas Noach contains the story of Noach and the flood, including the re-establishment of human civilization. Noach’s first act upon resettling in the land was to grow a vineyard (9:20). Why did Noach grow grapes first and not wheat or barley? The Seforno explains that Noach mistakenly planted for enjoyment rather than for need, a misstep that would ca

Dvar Torah for Noach 7th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/yc39htem Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Noach-7-short-version-.mp3 The Torah tells us that Terach (Avram’s father) lived two hundred and five years and died in Charan (11:32), a detail (his death) not often conveyed, and in the word Charan, the letter “nun” is inverted. Rashi explains that, until that time, the wrath of God (“charon af”) was present in the world, and reversed during Avam’s time and Charan

Dvar Torah for Lech Lecha 1st Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/476wda7y Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/lech-lecha.mp3 When God instructs Avram to leave his ancestral home, He promises Avram great wealth, success, and fame. God then says that "I will bless those who bless you and those that curse you will be cursed" (12:3). It would seemingly be more congruous to say, "I will bless those who bless you and curse those that curse you." Why is the terminology revers

Dvar Torah for Lech Lecha 2nd Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/3babw2k8 Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/lech-lecha-2.mp3 In Parashas Lech Lecha, Avram is sent to Canaan but rerouted to Egypt due to famine. After an encounter with Pharaoh that brought him great wealth, the pasuk tells us he retraced his route back to Canaan (13:3). Rashi explains he returned the same way to pay the innkeepers he couldn't afford earlier. Rav Pam notes that although Avram could now

Dvar Torah for Lech Lecha 3rd Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/yc7x9vdh Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/lech-lecha-3.mp3 Avram, Sarai, and Lot's travels to Canaan produce wealth in the form of flocks and cattle, which lead to their herdsmen's bickering. To prevent future conflict, Avram asks Lot to choose his desired direction, "If you go left, I will go right, and if you go right, I will go left" (13:9). Onkelos translates that Avram will go in the opposite dire

Dvar Torah for Lech Lecha 4th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/jkx7ak9e Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/lech-lecha-4.mp3 When the southern region of Canaan becomes embroiled in a battle involving nine kings, Avram's nephew Lot is among the captives. When Avram is informed of this, the pasuk refers to him as "Avram the Ivri," (14:13) a label not used to describe Avram anywhere else. Rashi explains that Ivri connotes "from the other side of the river," and is in fa

Dvar Torah for Lech Lecha 5th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/3fpuxssb Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/lech-lecha-5.mp3 After Avram rescues Lot from the victorious kings, God reassures him that he will be rewarded for his righteousness. Avram responds that he is still childless. God then takes him outside and says, "Please look to the heavens and count the stars, if you are able to count them," followed by, "So will be your seed" (15:5). Why bring Avram outside?

Dvar Torah for Lech Lecha 6th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/yazds2wn Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/lech-lecha-6.mp3 Embedded in this week's parashah is Avram's asking God, "How will I know that I will inherit it?" (15:8). His question seems strange considering God already promised Avram that he would have children and that his children would be as many as the stars. If Avram believed God's promise about having children (which would be a great miracle at his

Dvar Torah for Lech Lecha 7th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/5e383jjd Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/lech-lecha-7.mp3 When God promises Avraham that he and Sarah will have a son, He also blesses Yishmael that he shall be fruitful and multiply, and "beget twelve princes and become a great nation" (17:20). Rashi explains that the word for princes is similar to the word for cloud (נְשִׂיאִם), which seems to imply that Yishmael's offspring will act like clouds and

Dvar Torah for Vayeira 1st Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/wjru9fw6 Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/vayeira-1.mp3 God visits Avraham as he recovers from his circumcision on a hot day. Suddenly Avraham notices three men, rises to greet them, and begs them to stop so he may provide for his guests (18:3–5). When the men agree, Avraham enlists the help of his entire family. How could Avraham seemingly interrupt God's visit to care for three strangers? Even if we jus

Dvar Torah for Vayeira 2nd Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/2z7dzm6r Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/vayeira-2.mp3 When the Torah introduces the story of Sodom, it begins by describing God's justification in involving Avraham (18:19): God explains that Avraham has been teaching his family to "keep the path of God with righteousness and justice" (18:19). How is that detail a justification? Also, Why does the Torah describe Avraham as keeping the path of righteousn

Dvar Torah for Vayeira 3rd Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/7r4hutnn Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/vayeira-3.mp3 As two of the angels arrive in Sodom to destroy it, Lot, who positions himself at the city's gates, invites them to his home to eat and rest (19:2). Inviting guests into Sodom is a crime, so Lot technically risks his life by insisting that the angels join him. Lot even brings them to his home in a roundabout way to avoid detection, and once the city

Dvar Torah for Vayeira 4th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/ye24nmpy Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/vayeira-4.mp3 Parashas Vayeira contains the story of Lot, who escaped the destruction of Sodom by hiding in the mountains with his two daughters. When his daughters thought the entire world was destroyed, as it was with the Flood, they thought their only hope for continued human existence was procreate with their father. While in their minds that may have been the

Dvar Torah for Vayeira 5th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/dr2aczz2 Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/vayeira-5.mp3 Avraham makes a "great feast" when Yitzchak is weaned at two years old (21:8). The pasuk reads, "And the child grew and was weaned, and Avraham had a great party on the day that Yitzchak was weaned." Why at first was Yitzchak not mentioned by name? Also, what is implied by a great party? Rashi clarifies that the party was attended by Shem, Ever, and

Dvar Torah for Vayeira 6th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/5n7293pv Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/vayeira-6.mp3 Avimelech approaches Avraham to propose a truce, to which Avraham replies, "I will swear" (21:22–24). The pasuk then tells us that Avraham "planted an eishel and called in the name of God of the world" (21:33). The Gemara offers two opinions on the meaning of eishel: one says it's an orchard from which guests were offered fruit; the other says it's a

Dvar Torah for Vayeira 7th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/2bmx5ur8 Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/vayeira-7.mp3 Avraham is instructed to offer his son Yitzchak as a sacrifice to God. Avraham had been promised a large number of offspring through Yitzchak, but he still planned to do as he was instructed, despite the apparent contradiction. On his way up the mountaintop, the Torah relates the only recorded conversation between Avraham and Yitzchak (22:7–8). At th

Dvar Torah for Chayei Sarah 1st Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/yst95kb6 Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/chayei-Sarah-1.mp3 Avraham negotiates and (over)pays for the plot of land in which he will bury his wife (23:1–16). Remarkably, he never questions God's promise that the land he is purchasing already belongs to him. According to the Midrash, the Akeidah, the binding of Yitzchak, was God's tenth and final test for Avraham. Why, then, is this need to buy promis

Dvar Torah for Chayei Sarah 2nd Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/3783uj8w Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/chayei-Sarah-2.mp3 Avraham summons his servant Eliezer, the elder of his house and ruler of all of Avraham's possessions (24:2), to find a suitable wife for his son Yitzchak. Why do we need to know about Eliezer's control of Avraham's fiscal matters when that hardly seems relevant to the task at hand? The Kli Yakar explains that Eliezer's greatest attribute w

Dvar Torah for Chayei Sarah 3rd Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/5cbnwvap Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/chayei-Sarah-3.mp3 In Eliezer's pursuit of a suitable wife for Avraham's son, Yitzchak, he asks for a sign from G-d to confirm that he has found the right girl. He decides that if he asks the girl for a drink and she not only complies but also offers to water the camels, it would be G-d's sign that she's the one. Of course, when he saw Rivkah and asked to sip

Dvar Torah for Chayei Sarah 4th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/4ptwctru Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/chayei-Sarah-4.mp3 Parashas Chayei Sarah tells the story of Eliezer's pursuit of a wife for Yitzchak. However, after the events of Eliezer's journey and eventual success in finding Rivkah, the Torah records Eliezer's recounting the same story to Rivkah's family (24:34–49). Why would the Torah record Eliezer narrating the same story that had just been describe

Dvar Torah for Chayei Sarah 5th Aliyah: Actual text: https://tinyurl.com/ycxwdjzk Audio: http://dailyaliyah.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/chayei-Sarah-5.mp3 Just before Yitzchak meets his future wife Rivkah for the first time, the Torah records that he just visited Be'er Lachai Roi (24:62). Rashi explains that Yitzchak went there to bring back Hagar for his father Avraham to marry. This tidbit is a curious insertion, and many wonder why the pasuk tells us where Yitzchak is coming from if it doe