Parashat Shoftim: Learning Lessons from Non-Jewish Society by Yaakov Bieler

Parashat HaMelech and Solomon’s malfeasance. One of the most famous passages in Parashat Shoftim is known as “Parashat HaMelech” (the section on monarchy)—Devarim 17:14-20. Shlomo HaMelech who is described as being uniquely endowed with Divine Wisdom (Melachim I 5:9), single-handedly draws attention to these verses by deliberately defying Parashat Shoftim’s three negative prohibitions for Jewish [...]

Parashat Re’eh: What is “The Just and the Good in Hashem’s Eyes” (Part II) by Yaakov Bieler

A theme originally appearing in Parashat VaEtchanan is again invoked in Parashat Re’eh.[1] Continuing the discussion of the concept that first appears in the Tora in Devarim 6:18 “And you will do what is just and good in the Eyes of God in order that He Do good for you, and you will come to [...]

Parashat Eikev: Moshe’s Expectations for His Biological and Spiritual Descendants by Yaakov Bieler

Some people do not seem to recognize that they are uniquely gifted. Some individuals, be they athletes, academics, artists, or political leaders, appear to take for granted qualities with which they happen to be naturally and generously endowed. Sometimes, when speaking to others, these exceptional people convey the impression that they believe that such special [...]

Why Does it Cost So Much To Educate a Jewish Child? by Eliyahu Teitz

Why does it cost so much to educate a Jewish child?[1] The single largest element of any school budget is compensation.  Salaries and fringe benefits eat up 75-80%, and sometimes more, of most school budgets.  Reduce that line item and the cost of education falls.  The only problem is that it’s not so easy to [...]

Parashat VaEtchanan: What is the “Just and Good in Hashem’s Eyes?” by Yaakov Bieler

A verse that suggests an overall goal for the observant individual. In Parashat VaEtchanan, a key verse for us at KMS in light of what is written atop the Aron Kodesh in the Main Sanctuary,[1] is found in Devarim 6:18, “And you will do what is just and good in the Eyes of God in [...]

Summer Camps and the Nine Days by Nathaniel Helfgot

As the summer months progress and we are in the thick of the Nine Days, I find myself returning to ponder the dissonance that sometimes lurks below the surface of the written guidelines of the halakhic texts and how we live life in the real social constructs that we experience. I refer specifically to the entire rubric of [...]

Parashat Devarim: But We and Our Parents Have Sinned by Yaakov Bieler

The timing of Parashat Devarim. When the Tora is read on an annual cycle,[1] Parashat Devarim always precedes Tisha B’Av (the fast of the 9th of Av, commemorating the destructions of the two Temples). The literary connection between this Parasha and the saddest day of the Jewish calendar, appears in Devarim 1:12, where the first [...]