Knowledge and Torah

For Torah to be Torah, it has to make an impression on the person who learns it, because Torah is, by definition, knowledge that leads to ahavas Hashem and yiras Hashem. Chazal tell us (Aycha Rabbah 2) that if somebody says to you that the nations of the world possess knowledge, believe them. This doesn’t…

Remembering Amalek

The Midrash in Pirkei d’Rabbi Eliezer asks: How could there be a mitzvah to remember what Amalek did—But it says "Remember the Shabbos"? Answers the Midrash: One remembrance is to sanctify, the other to destroy. Why does the Midrash see a problem in remembering both Amalek and Shabbos? Why can’t there be both? The fact…