ב) עָנָן וַעֲרָפֶל סְבִיבָיו צֶדֶק וּמִשְׁפָּט מְכוֹן כִּסְאו Cloud and thick darkness are around Him; righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne. ג) אֵשׁ לְפָנָיו תֵּלֵךְ וּתְלַהֵט סָבִיב צָרָיו: Fire will go before Him and will burn His enemies all around.   Rav Hirsh provides some context for the idea mentioned yesterday. … More Darkness before Dawn

  ב) עָנָן וַעֲרָפֶל סְבִיבָיו צֶדֶק וּמִשְׁפָּט מְכוֹן כִּסְאוֹ: Cloud and thick darkness are around Him; righteousness and judgment are the foundation of His throne.   The Malbim explains that Hashem’s hashgacha is concealed and not revealed to all and to many it looks like that world runs according to immutable laws of nature. It … More Cloaked by a Cloud

ה’ מָלָךְ תָּגֵל הָאָרֶץ יִשְׂמְחוּ אִיִּים רַבִּים: Hashem has reigned, the earth will exult; many islands will rejoice.   Rav Hirsch explains that this chapter picks up where the previous one left off. When Hashem’s rule will have begun, the earth will blossom forth joyously. ישמחו איים רבים, the multitudes of Islands will rejoice. The … More Rejoicing on Far Flung Islands

תהילים פרק צז א) ה’ מָלָךְ תָּגֵל הָאָרֶץ יִשְׂמְחוּ אִיִּים רַבִּים: Hashem has reigned, the earth will exult; many islands will rejoice.   Rashi explains that this pasuk specifically and the chapter in general is talking about the ultimate downfall of Amalek and Esav at the end of days and the rejoicing that will fill … More Chapter 97 – A Taste of the World To Come

יג) לִפְנֵי ה’ כִּי בָא כִּי בָא לִשְׁפֹּט הָאָרֶץ יִשְׁפֹּט תֵּבֵל בְּצֶדֶק וְעַמִּים בֶּאֱמוּנָתוֹ: Before Hashem, for He has come, for He has come to judge the earth; He will judge the inhabited world justly and the peoples with His faith. We conclude Chapter 97 with the following idea.The phrase ‘He has come’ is repeated … More The Second Coming

The dust has barely settled on G-d’s once in a universe appearance to mankind and it’s down to business. Parshas Mishpatim gets right down to the nitty gritty of the laws and principles that govern our inter-personal behaviour and professional relationships . Rashi notes that the very letter of the sedra, the vav of va’eleh connects this … More Mishpatim: Down at the Bottom of the Mountain

  יב) יַעֲלֹז שָׂדַי וְכָל אֲשֶׁר בּוֹ אָז יְרַנְּנוּ כָּל עֲצֵי יָעַר: The field and all that is therein will jubilate; then all the forest trees will sing praises. The Malbim explains this pasuk in light of the distinction that he has drawn between heaven and earth, simcha and gila. He explains that even if … More Where the rain falls

To listen to the shiur click here: https://www.torahanytime.com/audio/the-centrality-of-mishpatim-to-our-lives/  

ישמחו השמים ותגל הארץ The heavens will rejoice and the earth will exult As has been explained in Tehillim chapter 8, the heavenly spheres run according to set cycles. Very rarely, if ever do they veer from the course that has been charted for them. As such the pasuk says yismechu hashamyim, the heavens rejoice … More The Difference between Heaven and Earth

The Malbim concludes this chapter by drawing our attention to the difference between the words simcha and gila, which are generally translated as happiness and rejoicing. Simcha is used to refer to a perpetual state, whereas gila refers to the initial joy that one feels when something new happens, or circumstances change for the better. … More Simcha and Gila