Do not plant an idolatrous tree – any tree – near G-d’s altar… (Deut. 16:21) Sacrifices occupy an outsize position in the Torah and are easily misunderstood. We reject the notion that these offerings give G-d anything. How could they? A perfect G-d cannot be made more perfect. We cannot “feed” or “sustain” Him. The Hebrew […]

One of the little known mitzvot in the Torah is the prohibition to unnecessarily destroy organic or inorganic matter. This prohibition is learned from the following verse. When you besiege a city for many days to wage war against it to seize it, do not destroy its trees by swinging an ax against them, for […]

This week’s Torah portion begins with a directive for judges to be scrupulous in upholding the law. The Torah expresses this mandate in a peculiar way. Justice, justice you shall pursue so that you will live and take possession of the land that G-d… gives you (ibid.16:20) The discerning reader will be bothered by the […]