Eikev 5773

This week's parsha includes the mitzvah of prayer. We are commanded to serve Hashem (10:20) and with our hearts (11:13). How do we serve Hashem with our hearts? The Rambam explains that this means through prayer. By quoting verses, the Rambam shows that prayer is commanded right from Scripture; the time to pray and how to pray were ordained by the Sages. Nachmanides disagrees with the Rambam and holds that prayer in general is a rabbinic mitzvah; the only time that prayer is a scriptural mitzvah is at a time of need.

Va'etchanan 5773

In this week's parsha, Moshe tells Bnei Yisroel not to forget about Ma'amad Har Sinai. Some authorities even claim that this is a positive commandment, and it is part of the 6 remembrances said at the end of Shacharis. Why is it so important to remember? It is because that it is a testimony to the world that our ancestors were eyewitnesses to Hashem revealing Himself in the world when He gave us the Torah. It is also part of the story of Yetzias Mitzrayim, which we are to remember each day.