WORDS FROM SINAI:
UNDERSTANDING THE PARSHA
MISHPATIM
Shabbat Shekalim
From Biblical times to the destruction of the Second Temple in 70ce every Jew of a certain age was commanded to contribute a Half Shekel to the Sanctuary.
I was teaching about this a while back and confronted with the following question: ‘Why should everyone give the same amount? Surely the rich should give more than the poor and bear a greater part of the communal burden? Isn’t this an injustice; the wealthy getting away with a relatively small contribution while those less well-off are forced to struggle every year?’
In truth, nearly all the contributions to the sanctuary, as well as contributions to the poor, Kohanim and Levites, were according to an individual’s means. For example, when it came the time to build a Sanctuary in the wilderness Moshe was given a list of materials needed and instructed to tell the Israelites that ‘every man whose heart motivates him’ (Exodus 25:2) should give. There was no minimum obligation; not even an obligation for everyone to give. To give or not to give, as well as how much to give was left to the individual. Why was the Half Shekel different?
The Half Shekel offering towards the Sanctuary – the spiritual focus of the Jewish people, where worship took place on behalf of the entire people – represented each Jew’s relationship with G-d. The equality of the contribution emphasised the equality of the contributors in that relationship. It teaches us that no Jew should feel superior or inferior because of their circumstances. If we are all ‘created equal’ then we should all, at some point, take an equal part in our relationship with our Creator.
It is also important to take into account the great privilege of contributing to the Temple and its services. When we realise its importance and the honour we have in participating, it ceases to be a burden.
Why a half Shekel? Why not a whole Shekel?
The Half Shekel reminds us of our relationship with G-d, without Him we are only a fraction – a half. Similarly, for G-d to fulfill His goal in creation He requires our input – to use the world He creates for a good and higher purpose.
Shabbat Shalom
Shabbat 13 February 2026 / 26 Shevat 5786
Return here next week for another installment of Rabbi Rader's Words from Sinai: Understanding the Parsha
YITRO
The Children of Israel have left Egypt, crossed the Red Sea and repulsed the Amalekites’ attack. Hearing this news Moses’ father in law, Yitro, decides it’s time for a visit; to see his daughter, grandchildren and illustrious son in law. They greet him and he then meets with the elders of the Israelites.
The next day Yitro observes Moses and sees him meeting with people ‘from the morning till the evening’. Moses explains that ‘the people come to me to seek G-d. When they have a matter, they come to me and I judge between a man and his fellow and I make known to him the statutes of G-d and His teachings’. Yitro was a brave man who told his son in law Lo Tov - It is not good! (that which you do). He explains that Moses will not be able to continue in this fashion. That such an extreme workload will take a severe toll on both him and the people. Like a good management consultant, Yitro advises his son in law to delegate. He urges him to appoint assistant judges to alleviate his burden. Moses follows this advice appointing judges responsible for groups of a thousand, hundred, fifty and ten. Only the hardest case, which no one else can manage, will be brought to him.
There is only one other occasion the phrase Lo Tov – It is not good – can be found in the Torah. In the very first Sidra, after the creation of Adam, G-d says ‘It is not good for man to be alone, I will create for him a partner’. There is an obvious link between the two episodes. Both deal with someone existing in isolation. In Adam’s case in a total sense and in Moses’ case in the sense of his principle occupation.
The lesson is clear; however great one may be – a solitary state is not good. Through companionship and collaboration, we can achieve so much more.
Shabbat Shalom
Shabbat 6 January 2026 / 19 Shevat 5786
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לזכות רחל אמונה בת מלכה, חיה מושקא בת דבורה, שניאור זלמן בן מרים רייזל, עטיל בת צירעל רייזל ובן ציון בן חיה מושקא לרפואה שלמה בקרוב.
BO
This month shall be for you the beginning of the months (Exodus 12:1) Our sages tell us that G-d showed Moshe the moon as it was reborn and said to him ‘when the moon renews itself it will be the beginning of the month for you’. Rosh Chodesh, though not a festival, is an important and joyous occasion. We recite Hallel and the Musaf prayer commemorating the additional sacrifice offered in the Temple. The Shulchan Aruch (Orech Chayim 417) states that ‘those women whose practice is not to perform Melachot (activities forbidden on Shabbat) on Rosh Chodesh follow a good custom’. One of the reasons given for this is that the women did not participate in the construction of the Golden Calf as the men did and were granted Rosh Chodesh as a Yom Tov.
We bless the coming month on the Shabbat beforehand and also have the Kiddush Levana service which is said between the third and middle day of each month, preferably at the end of Shabbat, under an open sky and with a Minyan. The person reciting it should be able to see the moon. Rabbi Yochanan taught that one who blesses the new moon in its proper time is regarded like one who greets the Divine Presence. Another important aspect of this service is that the moon reflects the history of the Jewish people. Just as the moon is reborn after a period of decline, so our nation survives the hardships of our history and re-establishes itself.
Shemot Rabba (15:26) makes the point that there were 15 generations from Abraham to King Solomon. These generations represented the rising star of the Jewish people, similar to the first half of the month when the moon is in its ascendance. After Solomon, the star of the Jewish people began to decline, much like the moon towards the end of the month. King Zedekiah was the 29th generation after Abraham, and it was during his life that the Temple was destroyed, that the light of the Jewish nation was eclipsed.
One can query the comparison of the Jewish people to the moon for, after all, the Jewish people actually declined whereas the moon does not change during the course of the month, just our perception of it. When we see the moon we are witnessing the rays of the sun reflected by the moon. Similarly, there are times when the Jewish people reflect G-dliness, represented by the sun and its rays, and times when we do not, or do but to a lesser extent. The true comparison between the Jewish people and the moon is on the spiritual level and our fortunes are bound up with our level of spirituality; how much we reflect the will of G-d as expressed in His Torah.
Shabbat Shalom
Shabbat 23 January 2026 / 5 Shevat 5786
Return here next week for another installment of Rabbi Rader's Words from Sinai: Understanding the Parsha
לזכות רחל אמונה בת מלכה, חיה מושקא בת דבורה, שניאור זלמן בן מרים רייזל, עטיל בת צירעל רייזל ובן ציון בן חיה מושקא לרפואה שלמה בקרוב.
VAYERA
When Moshe, as G-d’s emissary, first asked Pharaoh to release the Hebrew slaves Pharaoh responded ‘I do not know G-d and I will not send out the Children of Israel’.
When Pharaoh made this declaration, it was not a confession of ignorance but a positive statement of his disregard for the kind of deity Moshe represented.
The Egyptians believed in creations not the creator; they believed in the forces of nature.
For them the River Nile was a god, it was a natural resource which provided the irrigation required for their crops. The sun was a god, providing warmth and light. The lamb was revered as a god, for it represented the forces of nature, resurgent in the spring.
Before the Exodus the Israelites were commanded to take a lamb, sacrifice it to Hashem and smear its blood on their doorposts to identify themselves as believers in the true G-d, creator of the natural resources deified by their Egyptian oppressors. Not only creator but controller, as demonstrated by the Ten Plagues which turned the Nile to blood, blotted out the Sun and demonstrated Hashem’s dominion over creatures and creations of all kinds.
Shabbat Shalom
Shabbat 16 January 2026 / 27 Tevet 5786
Return here next week for another installment of Rabbi Rader's Words from Sinai: Understanding the Parsha
לזכות רחל אמונה בת מלכה, חיה מושקא בת דבורה, שניאור זלמן בן מרים רייזל, עטיל בת צירעל רייזל ובן ציון בן חיה מושקא לרפואה שלמה בקרוב.
VAYECHI
There are few greater joys in life than having children – and few greater challenges than being a parent.
One of the greatest dilemmas for any parent is when to engage (or interfere as the children might call it) and when to stand back. When our children are newly born they are totally dependent on us. As they grow, that dependence lessens as they learn to stand on their own two feet. A parent will retain the desire to help and guide his child; the question is ‘how?’
The Parsha Veyechi is unique in that it does not start with a new paragraph. There is no ‘opening’ in the Torah before the word Vayechi, it is ‘closed’ in a block of text. Why? One of the reasons given by our sages is that Yaakov, about to leave this world, wanted to reassure his children and reveal to them the time of the final redemption. But his prophetic vision left him – G-d ‘closed’ his eyes and he was unable to do so.
Why?
Potentially, the time of the final redemption is flexible; depending on our actions. Revealing the actual time would have decreased the motivation which comes from the knowledge that one is able to influence events.
We all strive to do what is best for our children but we have to be sure we are doing what is right for them as opposed to gratifying or comforting for ourselves. In the last days of Yaakov’s life Hashem taught him that a good parent does not reassure his children by guaranteeing the course of their lives but by exhibiting confidence in their ability to succeed by dint of their own effort and ability.
Shabbat Shalom
Shabbat 2 January 2026 / 13 Tevet 5786
Return here next week for another installment of Rabbi Rader's Words from Sinai: Understanding the Parsha
לזכות רחל אמונה בת מלכה, חיה מושקא בת דבורה, שניאור זלמן בן מרים רייזל, עטיל בת צירעל רייזל ובן ציון בן חיה מושקא לרפואה שלמה בקרוב.
VAYIGASH
We now reach the climax of the narrative of Joseph and his brothers. The story so far:
Joseph’s brothers have sold him as a slave to the Egyptian officer Potiphar. Joseph, after undergoing many hardships, becomes Pharaoh’s viceroy, the most powerful man in Egypt. There is a terrible famine and Jacob sends ten of his sons to buy food in Egypt, the only country in the area with a food supply. Benjamin, the youngest son, and only remaining child of Jacob’s beloved wife Rachel remains with his father in Canaan.
Joseph recognises his brothers although they do not recognise him. He accuses them of being spies but they protest that they are not spies rather ten sons of one father who have come to purchase food. He eventually sells them food, but warns that they should not return without their younger brother.
When the provisions run out they return with Benjamin but Joseph plays a terrible trick on them. He sells them food but instructs his servant to “plant” his silver goblet in Benjamin’s sack. The brothers leave, Joseph sends his men after them and they find the goblet in Benjamin’s sack. They tell the brothers to return home, but Benjamin the “thief” must return to Egypt and become Joseph’s slave. At the beginning of this week’s Sidra we find Judah pleading with Joseph to keep him as a slave and allow Benjamin to return to his father.
What was the purpose of Joseph’s prolonged subterfuge? Why did he torture his brothers, not to mention his father, rather than reveal his identity immediately and bring his family down to Egypt where they would be well provided for?
Maimonides in his laws of repentance writes that complete repentance involves someone who has transgressed finding themselves in exactly the same situation and not transgressing a second time. Not because they are scared of any extraneous factor, or because they now lack the ability to sin, but solely because they are repentant.
Joseph’s brothers had sinned by selling him into slavery, returning to their father and continuing their lives as before. Through his actions Joseph contrived to put them in exactly the same situation; they could have returned to Jacob while Benjamin remained a slave in Egypt. But this time Judah, the dominant brother, steps forward and says ”No! Take me instead. I cannot bear to see my father’s suffering.” This was a complete repentance on the part of Judah and his brothers, there could be no further retribution for their sin and Joseph was finally able to reveal himself and reconcile himself with them.
The brothers may have sinned but they were repentant. It is not easy to admit one’s shortcomings and it takes strength not to succumb to temptation and weakness the second time around. Joseph gave his brothers the opportunity to exhibit this strength. A strength we should all try to emulate.
Shabbat Shalom
Shabbat 26 December 2025 / 6 Tevet 5786
Return here next week for another installment of Rabbi Rader's Words from Sinai: Understanding the Parsha
לזכות רחל אמונה בת מלכה, חיה מושקא בת דבורה, שניאור זלמן בן מרים רייזל, עטיל בת צירעל רייזל ובן ציון בן חיה מושקא לרפואה שלמה בקרוב.
MIKETZ
We are all familiar with the story of Pharaoh’s dreams.
Joseph realised that although both dreams – the dream of the fat and thin cows as well as the second dream of the healthy and blasted produce – had the same meaning, there was profound significance in the fact that the same message was repeated. G-d sent the same message twice in order to stress the immediacy with which the events would unfold.
Pharaoh’s dreams were a ‘wakeup call’ to him and his country. Pharaoh, although ensconced in a powerful and luxurious lifestyle which he assumed would continue, did not ignore this wakeup call and put everything in place to ensure national survival.
What about wake up calls on a spiritual level? The Jewish calendar is replete with festivals. They differ in their form, content and traditions, but each bears its own message - its own wake up call for the soul.
The beautiful festival of Chanukah is observed by lighting the Menorah. Our tradition is that we light one candle on the first night, two on the second, three on the third and so on, finishing with eight on the eighth and final night. This offers us an important insight into our relationship with Hashem.
By lighting one candle on the first night we have performed the Mitzvah in its entirety. On the second night one candle is no longer sufficient. The same applies throughout Chanukah; each night requires something extra, something new.
Whatever sufficed yesterday is no longer sufficient. So too in our quest to come closer to the Almighty through the observance of His Torah, constant progress is required by adding something regularly, however small. By doing so, we heed the wakeup call of Chanukah - following the message of the Menorah and bringing Hashem’s light to the world.
Shabbat Shalom
Shabbat 19 December 2025 / 29 Kislev 5786
Return here next week for another installment of Rabbi Rader's Words from Sinai: Understanding the Parsha
לזכות רחל אמונה בת מלכה, חיה מושקא בת דבורה, שניאור זלמן בן מרים רייזל, עטיל בת צירעל רייזל ובן ציון בן חיה מושקא לרפואה שלמה בקרוב.
VAYEISHEV
Who hasn’t heard of Joseph and his special coat, his dreams, and those of the butler and the baker?
Throughout our Sidra of the week we follow the fortunes of a young man of seventeen years who finds himself alone in an alien country. One of the greatest challenges that confronted Joseph was the advances made to him by his master Potiphar’s wife. On numerous occasions she seeks to compromise him and this young man, alone in the world and faced with the prospect of the rewards or retribution of this powerful woman, finds the inner strength to resist. In fact, because he refused to succumb he found himself stripped of his position and languishing in prison.
Joseph’s actions serve as an important lesson to Jews throughout the ages. We have all been Josephs at one time or another, facing contemporary challenges to our Jewish identity. The question is do we have the inner resolve and strength to resist the temptations of a potentially overwhelming society that does not share the values and morals of our rich spiritual heritage and way of life. Can we be contemporary Josephs?
Shabbat Shalom
Shabbat 12 December 2025 / 22 Kislev 5786
Return here next week for another installment of Rabbi Rader's Words from Sinai: Understanding the Parsha
לזכות רחל אמונה בת מלכה, חיה מושקא בת דבורה, שניאור זלמן בן מרים רייזל, עטיל בת צירעל רייזל ובן ציון בן חיה מושקא לרפואה שלמה בקרוב.
TOLDOT
Ethical and moral dilemmas often involve a choice between a person’s self-interests and the interests of others; we are easily tempted to exploit situations for our own advantage. This, seemingly, was the case when Esau returned from the field in a state of exhaustion. He requests food from his brother Jacob who, instead of feeding his twin, strikes a rather one sided deal in which he receives the birthright in exchange for a portion of lentil stew.
Traditionally, we view this story as an example of Esau’s shortcomings, as the Torah tells us, ‘Esau spurned his birthright’, but surely we should expect more from Jacob than such blatant exploitation.
To fully understand this episode and its significance, we must be aware of its context. The Talmud (Bava Batra 16b) relates that this happened on the day that Abraham died; Jacob was preparing the lentils as the traditional mourner’s meal for his father. Esau’s actions on that day were very different, as the Talmud also states ‘as long as Abraham was alive, Esau did not rebel, on the day of his passing, Esau committed five sins’.
Rambam (Hilchot Melachim 10:7) teaches that G-d’s blessing to Abraham would pass to only one of his children, Isaac, and to only one of Isaac’s children. Esau’s conduct at that time made it painfully obvious to Jacob that his brother was unsuitable to be the conduit for Abraham’s spiritual legacy. Jacob seized the opportunity to save Abraham’s heritage by taking the birthright for himself.
The line between idealism and exploitation can sometimes be a thin one but, in this case, the Torah recognises Jacob’s good intentions as opposed to Esau’s spurning of his great heritage.
Shabbat Shalom
Return here next week for another installment of Rabbi Rader's Words from Sinai: Understanding the Parsha
לזכות רחל אמונה בת מלכה, חיה מושקא בת דבורה, שניאור זלמן בן מרים רייזל, עטיל בת צירעל רייזל ובן ציון בן חיה מושקא לרפואה שלמה בקרוב.
CHAYEI SARAH
In a seeming paradox the name of our Sidra is Chayei Sarah – the Life of Sarah – although it deals with the aftermath of her death. Interestingly, we often speak more about people and the lives they lead after they have left us than while they are still with us.
Indeed, at the beginning of our Sidra we are told that ‘Avraham came to weep for Sarah and to eulogise her’. Although the Torah does not share with us the content of this eulogy, we can imagine the very special relationship between Avraham and Sarah, not only as husband and wife in the conventional sense of those times, but also as partners in Avraham’s revolutionary venture to spread his monotheistic belief system and values of kindness and hospitality.
Which brings us to the next, and main, part of the Sidra - the quest to find a wife for Yitzchak. Avraham dispatches his trusted servant Eliezer to find the girl who will be the next matriarch of the Jewish people. Eliezer prays to G-d, requesting an omen which will indicate the right girl. He suggests that if he asks a girl for water and she replies that she will also give water to his camels this will confirm that she is a suitable girl.
We know the rest of the story and how he brings Rivka to marry Yitzchak. Was this ‘omen’ just a random choice or did it hold some significance?
Clearly Eliezer was aware of Avraham’s values and lifestyle and he knew that a fitting life partner for the son who would be entrusted with Avraham’s spiritual legacy would have to excel in the hospitality and kindness which characterised Avraham and Sarah’s existence. Therefore his suggested ‘omen’ was also a test of the girl’s virtues in this regard.
The choice of Yitzchak’s mate was fundamental to continuing those things that made the Life of Sarah so special, making that a fitting name for the Sidra.
Shabbat Shalom
Shabbat 15 November 2025 / 24 Cheshvan 5786
Return here next week for another installment of Rabbi Rader's Words from Sinai: Understanding the Parsha
לזכות רחל אמונה בת מלכה, חיה מושקא בת דבורה, שניאור זלמן בן מרים רייזל, עטיל בת צירעל רייזל ובן ציון בן חיה מושקא לרפואה שלמה בקרוב.
VAYERA
Is it a sin to argue with G d? Is it sacrilegious to question the Divine? Well, Abraham did. Not for himself, but on behalf of the people of Sodom, a city G d had decided to destroy because of its people's wickedness. Abraham was the paragon of Chessed, the personification of kindness and compassion. He grappled with the Almighty, attempting to negotiate a stay of execution for those people.
"Will you destroy the righteous with the wicked?" he asks G d. "Will the judge of all the earth not do justice?" "If there are 50 righteous men, will you spare them? 45? 40... 30... 20... 10?" In the end, Abraham cannot find even a Minyan of righteous men in Sodom and he gives up. The next verse reads, "And Abraham went back to his place."
Having failed in his valiant attempt, he acknowledges defeat and retreats to his corner. Another interpretation of these words is that, despite his lack of success in saving the inhabitants of Sodom, Abraham remained undaunted. Figuratively, he returned to his place; meaning that he was undeterred by his lack of success on this occasion and returned to his place ie retained his mind set of arguing for justice on behalf of others.
We, as Abraham’s descendants, have inherited his great attribute of Chessed. May we strive to emulate him in our sense of kindness, compassion and justice.
Shabbat Shalom
Shabbat 8 November 2025 / 17 Cheshvan 5786
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BEREISHIT
In 1798, Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi was imprisoned on false charges that his teachings undermined the imperial authority of the Czar. For 52 days he was held in the notorious Peter-Paul Fortress in Petersburg.
Among the Rabbi's interrogators was a government minister who possessed a broad knowledge of the Bible. On one occasion, he asked the Rabbi to explain the verse (Genesis 3:9): "G-d called out to the man and said to him: 'Where are you?'"
“Did G-d not know where Adam was?” asked the minister.
"Do you believe that the Torah is eternal?" asked the Rabbi. "Do you believe that its every word applies to every individual, under all conditions, at all times?"
"Yes," replied the minister.
"'Where are you?'" explained the Rabbi, "is G-d's perpetual call to every person. Where are you in the world? What have you accomplished? You have been allotted a certain number of days, hours, and minutes in which to fulfill your life mission. You have lived so many years and so many days. Where are you? What have you achieved?"
The story of Adam is the story of the prototype human being who ‘blows’ a great opportunity. By not following one simple instruction he forfeits a lifetime in paradise.
Rabbi Shneur Zalman was talking about the amount of time that passes by which could have been used in a positive, constructive manner, time that could have been used for making a stand for what we truly believe in. Such activity left the Rabbi open to the malicious slander which led to his arrest and incarceration. But he was steadfast in his beliefs and eventually vindicated.
Shabbat Shalom
Shabbat 18 October 2025 / 26 Tishrei 5786
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KOHELET
The Book of Ecclesiastes, read on Shabbat Succot
In the midst of Succot - the Season of Our Rejoicing - we read the book of Ecclesiastes to remind us of life's true purpose and those things we should really rejoice about.
At the beginning of the seventh chapter we encounter the following statement:
A good name is better than good oil; and the day of death than the day of birth.
In ancient times oil was used to preserve the body from disintegration. King Solomon, the author of Ecclesiastes, is teaching us that a good name - reputation - will preserve a person's memory and the sweetness of their presence far more than precious, aromatic oils.
The Sefer HaIkkarim points out that on the day of a person's birth their physical being has developed to the point where it can sustain life independently but the individual has vast, untapped potential. Depending on the way they live their life, the day of that individual's passing can be a time of great fulfillment when they have fulfilled that potential.
Ecclesiastes guides us towards life's real priorities; which express themselves in the Torah we will celebrate on Simchat Torah.
Shabbat Shalom
10 October 2025 / 18 Tishrei 5786
Return here next week for another installment of Rabbi Rader's Words from Sinai: Understanding the Parsha
לזכות רחל אמונה בת מלכה, חיה מושקא בת דבורה, שניאור זלמן בן מרים רייזל, עטיל בת צירעל רייזל ובן ציון בן חיה מושקא לרפואה שלמה בקרוב.