Naso
Terror in Orlando and the 10 Commandments
Dear Friend,
As hard as it may be to believe in our world of ubiquitous media, I did not hear about the terror attack in Orlando until Monday, nearly 36 hours after the tragedy. You see, Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath) was followed by Shavuot, the two-day holiday on which we celebrate the Divine revelation at Sinai. On these days, we live in a blissful island of technology-free living.
On Sunday morning, in some places even while the attacker was claiming 49 lives, Jewish communities all over the world gathered to read the Ten Commandments from the Torah, re-experiencing the moment when G‑d revealed Himself and gave humankind the blueprint for a perfected world.
Among these Ten Commandments is, of course, the very unambiguous command not to commit murder. In Damascus, Paris, Madrid, Baghdad and everywhere else in the world, murder is murder, and it is reprehensible.
Whether in last week’s attack in Tel Aviv, this week’s attack in Orlando or the daily attacks on innocent civilians around the world, there are millions of people suffering today due to twisted people following a hate-driven interpretation of one of the world’s leading faiths. As we reach out to the victims and their loved ones with sympathy, let’s also take a hard stand against the abuse of religion for the sake of terror.
Let’s sound a universal chorus of voices for a return to the fundamental belief in the G‑d-given sanctity of human life that has made the freedoms of our modern world possible and given us hope for universal peace.
Mendy Kaminker,
on behalf of the Chabad.org Editorial Team
I saw my mother and grandmother do it, but no one can explain it to me, other than saying we are bringing in the Shabbat energy.
The Hebrew language is extremely potent. The Torah tells us that until the incident of the Tower of Babel, all of mankind spoke the same language: Biblical Hebrew.
I’m kinda disappointed about this Torah. I keep reading on your site about it being the ultimate divine wisdom. To me, it reads like a book of stories. If it’s really a divine document, shouldn’t it read more like one of those ancient mystical texts, like the wild and wonderful Zohar or the cryptic and mystical Book of Formation?
What is the “Oral Torah”? What role does the rabbinic tradition play vis-à-vis the Bible? The dialectical interplay, sanctioned at Sinai, between the Oral Torah and the Written Torah.
The Torah describes three laws: the “wayward woman,” the nazirite and the priestly blessing.
She didn’t have a single friend, couldn’t get along with anyone, and couldn’t maintain a relationship.
Though we are doing the same actions, the mitzvahs are as unique as the individuals performing them. No one can do your mitzvah.
A condensation of the weekly Torah portion alongside select commentaries culled from the Midrash, Talmud, Chassidic masters, and the broad corpus of Jewish scholarship.
Now, on his way home, his mind was on his empty pocket and his wife’s impending disappointment.
Award-winner Peri Finkelstein, 16, sets an example by working hard and thinking big.
Industrial area under water, and roads and bridges washed out, but historic synagogue untouched.
A mother of four, a professor, an ex-commando and a young woman were slain.
G‑d doesn’t need you to report on the dirt in His world.
He sent you here to search out the jewels hidden in the mud, clean them and polish them until they shine.
And when you bring them to Him, the angels make a crown of them for Him, saying, “Look what Your children have made for You out of the mud!”
