Tisha B'Av 5775

The Midrash Rabbah compares the sin of Adam to the exile from Jerusalem based on a posuk from Hoshea. Hashem had brought Adam into Gan Eden and gave him an order to follow (not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge). Adam transgressed the command, causing Hashem to banish him the garden and send him out into the world. Hashem also lamented over Adam as seen from the word “Ayeka” (“where are you”), which is spelled the same as “Eichah” (“alas”).
This pattern can be seen with Bnei Yisroel. Hashed brought them into Eretz Yisroel and gave them the mitzvos to follow. They committed sins and Hashem banished them from His temple and sent them out into exile. Hashem lamented over them with “Eichah”.
Why does the Midrash compare these two entities? What connection is there between them?
The Rambam explains that before Adam ate from the Tree of Knowledge, he saw everything in the world as Truth and Falsehood. There was clear indication of what was the right thing to do. After the sin, Adam saw his choices as Good and Bad, a more subjective perception of things.
When the Beis Hamikdash was around, we witnessed miracles upon miracles. We saw kivyachol the Hand of G-d on a daily basis. It was as if we saw everything on a level of Truth and Falsehood. Unfortunately, we were not able to sustain that sense of choice and we resorted back to choosing between Good and Bad.
This is what we pray for everyday, that we once again reach a level of Adam before he sinned. If we can reach and maintain a level of choosing between Truth and Falsehood, we can bring back the Temple bimheirah biyomeinu.

Devarim 5775

The Ramban starts off his introduction to Sefer Devarim with stating how it is called the "Mishna Torah" because Moshe goes through many mitzvos with Bnei Yisroel. These are to warn them to follow Hashem's commandments. And Moshe doesn't just do this once or twice, he constantly warns them because they need to be. This is how both learning and mussar work; a person must always be learning and receiving mussar. A person can't just read through things and think his job is done. He must continue to review what he has learned and continue to keep himself from sinning. When we do so, we show Hashem that we want the Beis Hamikdash rebuilt bimheirah biyomeinu.

Balak 5775

Throughout the Torah scroll, there are many paragraph breaks called "pesuchas" and "stumahs". Rashi in Vayikra explains that these breaks were to give Moshe a chance to understand and internalize the prophecy he just received. But in the story of Bilaam, there are no breaks at all; it continues without any interruption. The Chofetz Chaim understands this as a reflection of Rashi's explanation. Bilaam never understood the prophecy and never allowed it to have an influence on his life. He was merely a "megaphone" for Hashem who could not think on his own. The lesson we can learn is to not robotically serve Hashem; we are to internalize His mitzvos and bring their meaning into our lives.

Chukat 5775

The Kli Yakar gives an important reason as to why Bnei Yisroel did not have any water after Miriam died. They did not grieve for her as they did for both Aharon and Moshe; they merely buried her and went on their way without missing her. Hashem then punished them for their lack of appreciation for Miriam. By drying up the well, Hashem showed Bnei Yisroel that it was only because of Miriam's merit that they had water for 40 years. The Torah is stressing how one person can make a difference and how important it is to honor and give tribute to the unsung heros of society.

Shelach 5775

The posuk (15:39) tells us that by looking at the tzitzis we will be reminded of all the mitzvos. How so? What about the tzitzis will remind us? Rashi explains that the numerical value of the word "tzitzis" is 600. It consists of 8 strings and 5 knots. That adds up to 613, the total amount of mitzvos. The Ramban says our reminder comes from the techeiles string. The root of the word "techeiles" is "tachlis," meaning "purpose." The blue string reminds us of our purpose in life, to bring G-dliness into the world through the mitzvos.

Naso 5775

Naso is the longest parsha of the year, mainly due to the sacrifices brought by the 12 Nesi'im (princes). The Torah begins to list each nasi and his sacrifice starting with Nachshon ben Aminadav. However, he's the only one not called nasi in the verse. Why was his title left out? The Or Hachaim explains that Nachshon was fit to bring a sacrifice even if he wasn't a nasi (unlike the other 11). Secondly, Nachshon saw himself as one of the people and not as their leader. The Torah saw it fit to leave out his title because of his righteousness and humility. After all, he showed his trust in Hashem as he walked into the Sea of Reeds up to his nose.

Acharei Mot-Kedoshim 5775

Of the many commandments in Parshas Kedoshim, the Torah warns us about cheating in business and immoral relations. The Gemara in Bava Basra (88b) compares the two sins and concludes that cheating is business is worse. How so? The Gemara answers that one can do teshuvah for immoral relations, but cannot do teshuvah for cheating in business. Rashi and Tosafos add that when one steals from a community, it is impossible to return money to each individual and therefore an incomplete teshuvah.