Moshe Kempinski Can there be anything more fulfilling than succeeding to become a vessel of G-d’s presence in this world? Yet how does an individual or a collective ever achieve such a state of being? How does one develop a sense of holiness? That desired state is not only an option to be desired it … Read more
Moshe Kempinski Hashem’s commandment regarding the elevated offering speaks to the very essence of our inner souls’ yearning; “This is the law of the burnt offering: That is the elevated offering which burns on the altar all night until morning, and the fire of the altar shall burn with it.”( Leviticus 6:2) The Baal Shem … Read more
Moshe Kempinski We read in the Torah portion, again, of the hem of the robe of the High Priest; And they made on the bottom hem of the robe pomegranates of blue, purple, and crimson wool, twisted. And they made bells of pure gold, and they placed the bells in the midst of the pomegranates … Read more
by Lesiba Bapela I went to Israel expecting to witness an apartheid state, but I immediately understood that I had been misled. There is a difference between somebody who is exposed and someone who is informed. I recently took part in an educational tour to Israel and Palestine. This was a remarkable exposure trip, coordinated … Read more
Moshe Kempinski The final torah portions of the book of Exodus deal with the creating of the Mishkan, the tabernacle of G-d. Moshe gathers together the people and relates the following in the Torah portion of Vaykhel; And Moses spoke to the entire community of the children of Israel, saying: “This is the word that … Read more
Moshe Kempinski The people of Israel experience the revelation of the divine and yet soon after, fall into the sin of the golden calf. One needs to comprehend the enormity of that transgression and attempt to understand how it could have transpired altogether. It was an event that had catastrophic implications. Our sages teach that … Read more
Moshe Kempinski The Torah portion of Terumah makes the following declaration: “And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell within them.” (Exodus 25:8). The concept that the Infinite can relate and dwell within finite space is one of the seemingly impossible concepts that form the basis of classical “Torah understanding”. We see … Read more
Moshe Kempinski After the dramatic and supernatural event at the revelation at Mount Sinai we read the following “And these are the ordinances that you shall set before them”(Exodus 21:1) We need to focus on two terms used in our text. The first is” VeEilu-And these are ” and the second is ” Asher Tasim … Read more
