Parshas Mishpatim Klal Yisroel has just witnessed mass revelation of Hakadosh Boruch Hu at Har Sinai. There they received the Aseres Hadibros. The commentaries explain that these ten commandments go much deeper than just the superficial listing of important fundamentals for Judaism. They represent the entirety and profundity of the Torah in its purest form. One way we can dissect the Aseres Hadibros, is by splitting it up into two sets of five; the first side of the Lucho

Shattering the Shackles After breaking free from the life enslaved to the Egyptians and receiving the Torah at Har Sinai, we begin our Parsha this week with the laws of the Eved Ivri. An Eved, or servant, in this case is someone who turned to servitude because they couldn't repay their debt or theft. When we look back at the narrative and big turning point where the Jewish people becamswitched from being servants of Pharaoh to servants of Hashem, we find one moment in particu

Maximizing our Relationships Parshas Mishpatim We ended off last week's parsha discussing the unbelievable experience of the Jewish people at Har Sinai, receiving the Torah. Miracles were going on all over and the whole world heard about it. It was an unforgettable experience. However, when we open up this week's parsha we get a very different picture. There are tons and tons of laws and technical details given for the mitzvos. Even the name of the parsha, Mishpatim, means st

The past two weeks in Yeshiva have been nothing short of exciting. We gratefully began to appreciate as the weather slowly turns warmer. With Purim and Pesach right around the corner, we have launched a new learning program in the morning, to kick-off the day with the halachos of Purim. We did an exhilirating hike up the mountain of Masada - at 4am! The sunrise hike was an amazing experience that took us up the winding snake path to the top of Masada to greet the sunrise and

*Yeshiva highlights for the two weeks ending Jan. 17, 2019 The past two weeks in Yeshiva have flown by. We had new students join Yeshiva, which have brought a welcomed fresh air of warmth during the cold winter months in Yerushalayim. We had a Mishna Marathon this past week which many students took part in and undertook to learn mishnayos, altogether closing in on over 70 mishnayos learned within an hour and a half marathon! We took a trip to "Tel Aviv 2048", an idea inspired

Challenging the Climb Parshas Beshalach The Jewish people are faced with a serious challenge. They have the Yam Suf lying ahead in front of them. They turn around and see the Mitzrim closely following them, waiting for a chance to attack them and bring them back as slaves. The enemies were closing in on all sides, and the challenge was becoming extremely difficult. Life is about challenges that constantly surround us. On the one hand we might be dealing with something difficu

Parshas Beshalach The posuk tells us of the powerful miracles that led Bnei Yisroel by night and day through the desert. והד' הֹלֵךְ֩ לִפְנֵיהֶ֨ם יוֹמָ֜ם בְּעַמּ֤וּד עָנָן֙ לַנְחֹתָ֣ם הַדֶּ֔רֶךְ וְלַ֛יְלָה בְּעַמּ֥וּד אֵ֖שׁ לְהָאִ֣יר לָהֶ֑ם לָלֶ֖כֶת יוֹמָ֥ם וָלָֽיְלָה: And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to cause it to lead them on the way and at night in a pillar of fire to give them light, [they thus could] travel day and night. (יג:כא) The Nesivos Sha

Contemplating the Complaints Parshas Beshalach When the Jews left Mitzrayim, they were complaining they needed some water to drink. Instead of simply davening and asking for water, they decided to take another approach. They would test Hashem. They said וַיִּקְרָא֙ שֵׁ֣ם הַמָּק֔וֹם מַסָּ֖ה וּמְרִיבָ֑ה עַל־רִ֣יב | בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֗ל וְעַ֨ל נַסֹּתָ֤ם אֶת־ד' לֵאמֹ֔ר הֲיֵ֧שׁ ד' בְּקִרְבֵּ֖נוּ אִם־אָֽיִן: "He named the place Massah [testing] and Meribah [quarreling] because of

In Parshas Va'era, we learn about the plague of hail. Moshe Rabbeinu warns Pharaoh, “At this time tomorrow, I am going to cause heavy hail to rain down.” Rashi explains that Moshe made a scratch on the wall, to show Pharaoh that when the sun hits that spot the next day, that's when the hail will strike. In effect, what Moshe made was a sundial. However, if you take a closer look at this sundial, something appears a bit peculiar. Rabbi Shimshon Pincus points out that when the

~ Highlights for the two weeks ending Parshas Va'eirah (1/5/18) It has been a fun-filled and action packed two weeks here at Lev Zion. We got to go Sandboarding (a.k.a. Sand sledding) in the towering Sand dunes of Ashdod with homemade sand boards! We ended off the evening with a delicious BBQ while the sun set slowly over our heads while overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Last week we also got to exercise and get our feet wet at the Ein Mabuah water hike (also known as Wadi