Person in the Parsha: Ekev

August 08, 2025

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“HEEL, HEAL, AND HOPE”

The first verse in this week’s Torah portion, Ekev, (Deuteronomy 7:12-11: 25), presents a difficulty for those who choose to translate each word literally. Indeed,...

Person in the Parsha: Va’etchanan and Shabbat Nachamu

August 01, 2025

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“DISCONSOLATION AND DISCONTENT”

This week, after spending the past three weeks memorializing and mourning the past catastrophes which befell our people over the course of our long history, we...

Person in the Parsha: Devarim

July 25, 2025

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“Words, Mere Words”

I have kept my time-worn copy of Roget’s Thesaurus in my personal library since I was in the seventh grade. It was given to me by...

Person in the Parsha: Matot-Masei

July 18, 2025

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“BREAKING PROMISES”

It was a typical park bench conversation. I hadn’t seen my friend for quite some time, and we both were delighted when we ran into each other...

Person in the Parsha: Pinchas

July 18, 2025

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“SAFEGUARDS AGAINST EXTREMISM”

A story with important implications for our own times is referred to in the opening passage of this week’s Torah portion, Pinchas (Numbers 25:10-30:1).

Person in the Parsha: Balak

July 11, 2025

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“BALAAM AND DOSTOEVSKY”

Frustration. Disillusionment. But also insight and a lifelong intellectual perspective. That is how I would describe the experience I am about to share with you, dear reader.

It all started...

Person in the Parsha: Chukat

June 27, 2025

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“CAPTIVITY”

What’s worse? Death by the plague? By the sword? Starving to death? Or being sentenced to captivity?

What a horrible set of choices, and what a...

Person in the Parsha: Korach

June 20, 2025

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEIREB 

“AN END TO ENVY”

I’ll share you with a rather extreme statement by an insightful, albeit unusual, rabbinic thinker of the early twentieth century, Rabbi Aharon Shmuel Tameres, in...

Person in the Parsha: Shelach

June 13, 2025

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“HISTORY REPEATS ITSELF”

History repeats itself. I don’t know the origin of that cliché, but I do know that our Sages held a similar point of view. “Ma’aseh avot...

Person in the Parsha: Beha’alosecha

June 06, 2025

By RABBI TZVI HERSH WEINREB

“THE HAZARDS OF HUBRIS“

I’ve always considered it to be the ugliest word in the Hebrew language. The word is gaavah, generally translated as arrogance, haughtiness, or even insolence....