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Insight of the Week

Rabbi Joey Haber

Relevant weekly insights by Rabbi Joey Haber - delivered directly to your computer and/or mobile device

religion & spirituality judaism

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Harnessing the Power of לשם שמיים

Insight of the Week ·

2026/02/19

Parashat Terumah begins with Hashem commanding that donations should be collected for the construction of the Mishkan . He tells Moshe, מאת כל איש אשר ידבנו לבו תקחו את תרומתי – the donations should be taken "from every person whose heart stirs him." Hashem wanted the donations to be received only from specific kinds of people – from those אשר ידבנו לבו , who were driven to donate by sincere motivations. Many centuries later, when the Bet Ha'mikdash was to be built, we find a similar emphasis on

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Trust in Hashem, Not People

Insight of the Week ·

2026/02/12

Parashat Mishpatim begins with the law of the עבד עברי . This refers to someone who, due to financial straits, resorted to theft, and was caught, but could not repay his victim. In order to obtain the money he needed, he would sell himself as a servant. After six years, his master was required to release him. If, however, the servant preferred staying with his master, he was allowed to do so, but only after the master pierced his ear as a sign of his servitude. Rashi explains that the servant's ear

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Diverse & Unified

Insight of the Week ·

2026/02/05

Parashat Yitro begins by telling us that Yitro, Moshe's father-in-law, came to join Beneh Yisrael at Mount Sinai. Yitro converted and became a full-fledged Jew. Rashi makes a famous comment explaining what drove Yitro to make this decision to join Beneh Yisrael . He writes that Yitro heard about two events – keri'at Yam Suf (the splitting of the sea) and the war against Amalek. What is it about these particular events that inspired Yitro? After the miracle of the sea, the people sang the שירת הים ,

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Moving Forward

Insight of the Week ·

2026/01/29

Two of the fundamental tenets of Judaism are known by the terms emunah (faith, or belief) and bitahon (trust). Much has been written about the precise meanings of these two words, and the difference between them. For our purposes, it suffices to say that the story we read in the Torah over the last two weeks – the story of the ten plagues and Yetziat Mitzrayim – establishes the tenet of emunah , and the story told in this week's parashah – the splitting of the sea – establishes the tenet of bitahon

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You Need to Do It Yourself!

Insight of the Week ·

2026/01/22

We read in Parashat Bo of how Hashem told Moshe and Aharon the detailed laws of the korban pesach (Pesach sacrifice) which they were to teach Beneh Yisrael in preparation for Yetziat Mitzrayim . The people were to prepare a sheep for the sacrifice already several days before, and then sacrifice it on the 14th of Nissan, the afternoon before Hashem brought the plague of the firstborn which led to the people's departure from Egypt. The Torah concludes this section by saying: וילכו ויעשו בני ישראל כאשר

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Building the Redemption

Insight of the Week ·

2026/01/15

Three times every weekday, we recite in the Amidah prayer the berachah of ראה נא בענינו . We begin by asking Hashem to "see our torment," and to "wage our battles" ( וריבה ריבנו ). We then conclude, מהר לגאלנו גאולה שלמה – to quickly bring us our final redemption. At first glance, it seems that this berachah is a prayer for our final redemption. This is also the implication of the Gemara (Megilah 17b), which explains that this is the seventh berachah of the Amidah prayer because the redemption will

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Hashem Sees What We Don’t

Insight of the Week ·

2026/01/08

In Parashat Shemot, Hashem speaks to Moshe for the very first time. As we know, Moshe's initial prophecy takes place at a unique site – in a burning bush in the desert. Moshe saw that a bush was on fire, but it wasn't being consumed. And it was from there that Hashem spoke to him. His first words to Moshe were, "Take off your shoes." Hashem informed Moshe that the place where he was standing was אדמת קודש , sacred ground, and so he needed to remove his shoes. He then proceeded to command Moshe to

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On the Road

Insight of the Week ·

2026/01/01

The Gemara (Eruvin 65b) teaches that a person's true nature can be determined בכוסו ובכיסו ובכעסו – "through his cup, his pocket, and his anger." This means that a person's essence comes to the fore when he drinks a little too much, or when he is tested – either in his "pocket," when he loses money, or when his angered. It is easy to be a nice, good-natured, kind person when things are going well. But when a person is challenged, when he is out of his element, when something goes wrong, when he

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Effective Communication

Insight of the Week ·

2025/12/25

I have never met anyone who likes being told what to do, who likes when his behavior is critiqued and is told to change. Yet, this is something we all do to others. Spouses are often telling each other what they should and shouldn't do. And of course parents have the responsibility to educate their children so they can learn the right way to live. The problem becomes how we can expect the behavior to change if they – like us! – don't like to be corrected or criticized. If a child's instinct when

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Celebrating the Radiant Light of Torah

Insight of the Week ·

2025/12/18

One of the famous questions asked about the holiday of Hanukah involves a passage that appears right in the middle of the Gemara's discussion of the laws of the Hanukah candles. The Gemara suddenly interjects with what appears to be a totally unrelated comment about the story of Yosef. The Torah says about the pit into which Yosef's brothers threw him: והבור רק אין בו מים – "and the pit was empty; there was no water in it" (37:24). The Gemara explains this to mean that the pit was "empty" only in

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Humility is Everything!

Insight of the Week ·

2025/12/11

Parashat Vayeshev tells the story of Yosef and his brothers, and it introduces this story by stating, אלה תולדות יעקב, יוסף – "These are the offspring of Yaakov: Yosef…" Although Yaakov had many children – twelve sons and a daughter – the Torah identifies specifically Yosef as Yaakov's תולדות – "offspring." Rashi brings several explanations for why Yosef is presented as Yaakov's only child, one of which is שהיה זיו אקונין של יוסף דומה לו – Yosef's appearance resembled Yaakov's appearance. Why would

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The Angels in Our Lives

Insight of the Week ·

2025/12/04

JH1094 Rabbi Joey Haber Parashat Vayishlah begins with the words, וישלח יעקב מלאכים לפניו אל עשו אחיו – "Yaakov sent ahead angels to his brother, Esav. " Rashi clarifies that the word מלאכים in this pasuk should be understood as a reference to מלאכים ממש – actual angels. These weren't human messengers whom the Torah describes with the term מלאכים , but rather were actual angels. This explanation is supported by the fact that in the preceding pesukim , we read that as Yaakov left Haran and made his

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Making the Decision

Insight of the Week ·

2025/11/27

Parashat Vayeseh begins with Yaakov's journey from Eretz Yisrael to Haran, where he would spend twenty years with his uncle, Lavan. The Torah tells, ויפגע במקום – that Yaakov "encountered the place" – which the Gemara explains as a reference to the site where Avraham Avinu bound Yitzhak upon the altar, and which would become the site of the Bet Ha'mikdash . Yaakov prayed at this site, and he then went to sleep and beheld his famous dream of a ladder extending to the heavens. Rashi, based on the

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The Hidden Hardships

Insight of the Week ·

2025/11/20

Parashat Toledot tells us about Yishak and Rivka, and their experiences with their two children, Yaakob and Esav. One of the intriguing things about Rivka – which is striking especially after having just read Parashat Hayeh-Sara – is that the Torah never tells us about her passing. The Torah devotes a special section at the beginning of Parashat Hayeh-Sara to the death of our first matriarch, Sara, telling us how many years she lived, where she died, that her husband wept and eulogized her, and how

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The Hidden Goodness

Insight of the Week ·

2025/11/13

Avraham Avinu sent his trusted servant, Eliezer, to his homeland, where was born – Aram Naharayim – in order to find there a suitable match for Yitzhak. The Torah tells that Eliezer went to Aram Naharayim with כל טוב אדוניו בידו – "all his master's goodness in his hand" (24:10). The commentaries explain this to mean that Eliezer took with him the official document in which Avraham promised to bequeath his enormous fortune to Yitzhak. Eliezer took this in order to convince the girl and her family to

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Meeting People Where They Are

Insight of the Week ·

2025/11/06

People sometimes ask me for advice on how to give speeches. Whenever I'm asked this, I give the same three pieces of advice: Remember that nobody cares what you have to say. Just because I have a nice devar Torah to share, or some story that I find interesting – this doesn't mean that they care about it. My job when giving a speech is to find something to say that's relevant to them , that's interesting to them , that's of value to them . Not what's relevant, interesting, or of value to me . Never,

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Serving Hashem With “Nothing”

Insight of the Week ·

2025/10/30

We read in Parashat Lech-Lecha of the war that Avraham Avinu waged against the kings who had captured his nephew, Lot. After winning this war, Avraham was greeted by a man named Malkitzedek, who brought him food and wine to celebrate this victory. The Midrash quotes two opinions regarding the real purpose of Malkitzedek's meeting with Avraham. According to one opinion, Malkitzedek was revealing to Avraham סוד כהונה גדולה – the "secret" of the position of the kohen gadol who served in the Bet

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Let’s Stop Judging

Insight of the Week ·

2025/10/23

Noah is one of three people in the Humash who are described as having "found favor" – מצא חן . The final pasuk of Parashat Bereshit says that Noah מצא חן בעיני ה' – "found favor in G-d's eyes." Later in the Book of Bereshit, we read that Yosef "found favor" in the eyes of his master, Potifar, for whom he worked as a slave ( וימצא יוסף חן בעיניו ). And in the Book of Shemot, Hashem tells Moshe Rabbenu that he "found favor" in His eyes ( כי מצאת חן בעיני ). Some commentaries added that, in fact, Yosef

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Let’s Stop Judging

Insight of the Week ·

2025/10/23

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Our Best Friend & Worst Enemy

Insight of the Week ·

2025/10/16

The Midrash tells us something fascinating about the snake that lured Adam and Havah to sin, encouraging Havah to eat fruit from the forbidden tree, after which she shared some of the fruit with Adam. This snake, the Midrash relates, was previously the greatest servant man ever had. It would go to distant lands, find beautiful gems, and bring them to Adam. Meaning, the same snake that enticed Adam and Havah to sin was also their greatest helper, who brought them precious diamonds! How do we explain

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