Yam HaTorah

Jewish Ethics According to the Weekly Parashah

By Rabbi Yosef Goldstein

Vayikra (Leviticus)

What does it mean to be “called bad” for not dreaming? Could Shabbos itself be the wake-up call from life’s deepest illusions?

How much damage can a single word cause? What if a rebuke, though true, destroys generations? Could silence be the cure?

Bamidbar (Numbers)

Parashas Bamidbar

What do the banners of the desert teach us about identity, unity, and appearance in Avodas HaShem [the Service of G-d]?

Parashas Chukas

From here we learn the profound power of influence that forefathers have over their descendants—even after many generations.

Devarim

Parashas Shoftim

The teachers of ethics expounded allegorically: A person must appoint for himself judges and officers in all his “gates,” that is, in the mouth, the eyes, and the ears…

Parashas Ki Seitzei

Therefore, a person should ask himself, ‘What shall I do? My evil inclination overpowers me.’ If the Holy One goes with him, he will prevail.