This Shabbat we read about the kosher diet. Some commentators claim it is healthier, others say it reminds us that we can't have everything or instills in us a sense that we are different; Abrabarnel has another approach. We have a synergic bond with God. Just as He watches over us, we guard the godliness

Mordecai won the affection of King Achashverosh and thereby escaped Haman's gallows. When he was sitting at the palace gates, he overhead a plot to kill the king, and shared this information. This is why King Achashverosh awards him. Why was Mordecai hanging around the palace? Because every single day Mordecai would go walking in

Isn’t enough to party at night? Apparently not for the Purim Seudah is the festive meal that must take place during the day. A significant mitzvah, explains the Shem miShmuel, creates spiritual energy. To allow this energy to infuse us, we need to stop and digest it with a meal. This is why we seal

Tractate Shekalim teaches: On the first of the month of Adar, the Beit Din reminds people to give the half-shekel and to abstain from cross-breeding plants (Kilayim).  These two laws represent competing values. Whereas the half-shekel was a universal obligation that applied to everyone, the prohibition of Kilayim strives to maintain the differences that are