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About the Author
Rabbi Ari Kahn
Rabbi Ari Kahn graduated from Yeshiva University with a BA in psychology, an Masters in Talmud, and rabbinic ordination where he studied with Rabbi Yosef Dov Soloveitchik. He is Director of Foreign Student Programs at Bar-Ilan University in Israel, and a senior lecturer in Jewish studies. Rabbi Kahn is Vice President of Migdal Ohr Institutions in Israel, and a senior educator at the Aish HaTorah College of Jewish Studies. He has published numerous books, "Explorations" and "Echoes of Eden" on the Torah, and "Emanations" on the Jewish holidays. Rabbi Kahn combines the mystical explorations of kabbala and chassidism with psychology, literature and Jewish history for a broad-minded approach to Torah study. He has lived in Israel since 1984 with his wife Naomi and their five children.
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The Purpose of the Akeida
by Rabbi Ari KahnAVRAHAM'S VIEW OF DEATH And it came to pass after these things, that God tested Avraham, and said to him, Avraham; and he said, 'Here I am. And ...
Love and Fear
by Rabbi Ari KahnParshat Lech Lecha begins in what seems to be the middle - the middle of Avraham's life, the middle of some ongoing dialogue or relationship between ...
Na'ama
by Rabbi Ari KahnAN ANONYMOUS WOMAN 1 In a generation of moral decay, one man shines. Noah is a righteous man, perfect in his generation. From the scant ...
In Search of the Serpent
by Rabbi Ari KahnIN THE BEGINNING As Creation unfolds, God creates a variety of species and presents them to Adam, who in turn gives them names. The curious ...
Binding Love
by Rabbi Ari KahnWhile the overwhelming majority of the Torah is made up of either narrative or law, a small percentage of the Torah is poetry or song. One such ...
The Sound of the Shofar
by Rabbi Ari KahnThe holiday celebrating the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, has been marked for millennia as a time for introspection, celebrated by blowing the ...
A Scholar Gone Astray
by Rabbi Ari KahnAnd you shall return to the Almighty your God, and shall obey His voice according to all that I command you this day, you and your children, with ...
Lost and Found
by Rabbi Ari KahnFIRST FRUITS As their time in the desert comes to a close, the Children of Israel stand on the verge of the Promised Land and Moshe teaches them a ...
Dysfunctional Relationships
by Rabbi Ari KahnParshat Ki Tetzei starts with war and ends with war. It begins with a man in the heat of battle who spies an attractive woman from the opposing ...
Whither Truth?
by Rabbi Ari KahnAt times of indecision, when ambiguity reigns and man does not know what the Divine Law expects of him, the Torah offers a path out of the ...
In the Eyes of God and Man
by Rabbi Ari KahnTHE CHOSEN PLACE The central motif of Parshat Re'eh is the obligation to create a central place of worship at a location of God's choosing: But ...
A Little Pesach
by Rabbi Ari KahnAn entire year had passed, an eventful year to say the least. The year began with the word of God ― and the gift of time: the Israelites were told ...
Walking Together With God
by Rabbi Ari KahnParshat Ekev begins with what seems like a familiar dictum: And it will be because you heed these judgments, and safeguard and do them, that the ...
Zachor and Shamor
by Rabbi Ari KahnThe Book of Devarim is also known as Mishneh Torah, translated as Deuteronomy. The practical explanation for the book's name, and for its raison ...
Feeling Small
by Rabbi Ari KahnTradition records that the Ninth of Av, the day both Temples were destroyed, has a biblical antecedent of infamy. On this date, it was decreed that ...
Thought, Speech and Action
by Rabbi Ari KahnAN UNUSUAL BEGINNING Parshat Matot begins with Moshe speaking to the leaders. The familiar introduction to legal sections such as this, "and ...
To Fight for Peace
by Rabbi Ari KahnThe Reward In the aftermath of the debacle that had unfolded in the camp, Pinchas killed the lecherous Zimri, and was rewarded by Divine ...
Opening the Mouth of the Donkey
by Rabbi Ari KahnOf all the biblical characters, one of the most intriguing is a man named Bilam. Despite the fact that he does not seem to "walk with ...
The Selection of Aharon
by Rabbi Ari KahnIn numerous places in this week's Parsha, we are told of the ascension of Aharon to the exalted role of Kohen - even Kohen Gadol (High Priest). ...
To Truly Believe
by Rabbi Ari KahnAfter the death of Miriam a crisis developed in the camp; there was no water to drink: Then the People of Israel, the whole congregation, came ...
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The Ten Commandments
by Rabbi Ari KahnThe experience of synesthesia, where the Jews at Mount Sinai actually saw sounds.
Collateral Damage
by Rabbi Ari KahnOne of the most manipulative characters in the Torah is a man named Korach. He was filled with jealousy, 1 but rather than remain isolated, ...
Yehoshua
by Rabbi Ari KahnTwelve men are chosen for a mission. The mission will take them to the Promised Land; soon the entire nation will follow. In the end, the mission is ...
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Rebbe Akiva's 24,000 Students
by Rabbi Ari KahnA scholarly, mystical look at the Omer mourning period.
A Head Full of Holiness
by Rabbi Ari KahnMORE PROHIBITIONS In Parshat Naso we are introduced to a new type of individual, a person who is not satisfied with the multitude of other ...
The Danger of Holiness
by Rabbi Ari KahnAs the Parsha and the new book "B'midbar" ("Numbers") open, Moshe is instructed to take a census of the males aged twenty and above, all those who ...
Standing Tall
by Rabbi Ari KahnBlessings and Curses B'chukotai, the last parsha in the book of Vayikra, contains blessings and curses. The blessings are assured if we collectively ...
The Omer - Bread from Heaven
by Rabbi Ari KahnDIVINE APPOINTMENTS Parshat Emor includes a list of mo'adim , a term usually translated as "holidays." This word might be more accurately ...
In Search of Holiness
by Rabbi Ari KahnParshat Kedoshim begins with an invitation that includes the entire congregation in a unique directive: And God spoke to Moshe, saying, Speak to ...
Silence
by Rabbi Ari KahnCONSECRATION After1 months of preparation, the Mishkan is consecrated; the excitement was surely palpable. In the middle of the celebration, ...
The Holy Hyssop
by Rabbi Ari KahnDIVINE PHYSIOLOGY After delineating kosher and non kosher animals at the end of last week's parsha, the Torah continues by focusing on the ...
Of Matzot and Mitzvot
by Rabbi Ari KahnThe Parsha begins with a turn of phrase that is unusual in the Torah: "Tzav," command: And the Eternal God spoke to Moshe, saying, 2. ...
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Shabbat: Imitating Creation
by Rabbi Ari KahnUnderstanding why God rested on the seventh day, and what it means for me.
Angelic Speech
by Rabbi Ari KahnGod calls to Moshe from the midst of the Mishkan, and God speaks. Rather than, "God spoke to Moshe," or even, "God called Moshe and spoke to him," ...
Shabbat: Spiritual Rehabilitation
by Rabbi Ari KahnTHE FIRST LECTURE Four months after arriving at Sinai, Moshe Gathers the people, and teaches them God's law: And Moshe gathered all the ...