Rabbi David Shapiro Former Maimonides Principal and Limudei Kodesh Teacher This week we begin reading the series of  parshiyot  describing the construction of the  Mishkan  and the ceremonial clothing of the  kohanim . Our  mesorah  emphasizes that each and every  pasuk  in the  Torah  has eternal relevance to our daily lives. What practical teachings are contained in these  parshiyot  that we can implement, even though we unfortunately no longer have the privilege of the  Beit HaMikdash  in our lives?   Chazal in the  Gemara , and many biblical commentators over the centuries, have suggested symbolic meanings for the individual objects used in the  Mishkan  and the  Beit HaMikdash , and for the religious ceremonies performed within them. Let us focus on one example from  Parshat Terumah  which expresses the religious philosophy of our school, and the challenge that each of us, ...

Rabbi David Ehrenkranz Upper School  Limudei Kodesh  Teacher There are different metaphors that Chazal use to describe our relationship with G-d, which can be found throughout our liturgy (e.g. father and child,  Avinu;  king and servant,  Malkeinu;  older brother and younger sister, see the  Piyut “Achot Ketana”),  but the relationship of husband and wife – which originates from the transformative event of the giving of the  Torah  in this week’s  parsha  – is uniquely precarious compared to those other relationships.   Yirmiyahu says אָכֵ֛ן בָּֽגְדָ֥ה אִשָּׁ֖ה מֵֽרֵעָ֑הּ כֵּ֣ן בְּגַדְתֶּ֥ם בִּ֛י בֵּ֥ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל נְאֻם־הֹ, “Truly, as a woman betrays her beloved, so have you betrayed Me, O house of Israel, says the L-rd.” Yet Chazal emphasize that this relationship is the one that is manifested at the time of the giving of the  Torah .   As it says in the last  Mishnah  of  Masechet Ta’anit, ...

Rabbi Mordechai Wecker Former Maimonides Principal and  Limudei Kodesh  Teacher Why do we recite  Az Yashir  in  Pesukei d’Zimrah?  The introductory  bracha  of  Baruch Sh’Amar  reads, “and with the songs of Dovid Your servant we will extol You.” Yet  Az Yashir,  which commemorates the miraculous deliverance of the Jewish people from the Egyptian army when the waters parted at the Sea of Reeds, obviously predates Dovid  HaMelech  by many centuries!   Obviously, the song of Moshe –  Az Yashir  – did not originally form part of  Pesukei d’Zimrah.  Rambam writes, “There are localities where it is customary every day to read the song of Moshe after the  bracha  of  Yishtabach.”  Again, we are faced with the question of its incorporation into  Pesukei d’Zimrah.   Nefesh HaRav adds, “The Song of the Sea, however, was obviously not composed by Dovid  HaMelech . Our ...