What Is Covered in the Weekly Parasha Section of dvar.org.il?

Updated

The Weekly Parasha section on dvar.org.il organizes Torah teaching by the weekly parasha (Torah portion). It includes audio, video, and text material, much of it taught by Rav B. Horovitz, and it covers both the parasha itself and related topics such as holidays, mitzvot like Tefillin and Tzitzit, and Jewish history and thought. It is a study library rather than a live, dated class schedule: entries are posted under parasha names and can be browsed or filtered by media type.

How the section is organized

The page lists parasha entries by name, for example Bereishit, Vayeira, Vayeitzei, Ki Teitzei, and Ha'azinu. A "Learn Online" area adds a media-type filter with Audio, Text, and Video options, so you can narrow the list to the format you want. A "Newest" list runs alongside the parasha material and shows the most recently added items with dates.

The visible entries show that the section is not limited to one year's cycle. For example, a Bereishit video is dated 6 Nov 2022, while the newest items are dated 2023 and 2024. Treat the section as an archive you search by parasha or topic, not as a weekly bulletin that only carries the current week's portion.

What kinds of topics appear

The material mixes direct parasha commentary with broader themes. Examples visible on the page include:

  • Parasha commentary — e.g., Ki Teitze: Amalek, Past, Present, Future, and Matot: Hashem's Love for the People, Tora, and Land of Israel, both by Rav B. Horovitz.
  • Mitzvot explained — Vaetchanan: What is Tefillin? and The Deep Significance of Tzitzit, both by Rav B. Horovitz.
  • Holidays and the Jewish calendar — The 9th of Av: the past, the present, the future and How we can change the Fasts of the Year to Become Festivals, both by Rav B. Horovitz; also Rosh Hashana Foods by Reb Adam Sommer.
  • Jewish thought and history — a Maharal talk on "the order of the world, the plan of creation, the implications of the number 9 and the number 10," and a series on Joseph and His Brothers (Parts 5 and 6) by Rav B. Horovitz.
  • Other teachers and formats — a guest lecture in Hebrew by Rabbi Shimon Russell (Sukkot 5785), and a eulogy for Rabbi Yehoshua Salomon.

Most English-language titles are attributed to Rav B. Horovitz; some items are in Hebrew, so check the title language before choosing.

How to use it

  1. Open the Weekly Parasha section and scan the parasha names for the portion you are studying.
  2. If you prefer one format, use the Audio / Text / Video filter under Learn Online to shorten the list.
  3. Check the "Newest" list for recent additions, which may cover a different parasha or a seasonal topic.
  4. Note the date and speaker on each item; the archive spans several years, so the same parasha may appear more than once with different content.

Expected result: you should be able to find at least one audio, video, or text item for a given parasha or theme, and identify who taught it.

Common sticking points

  • No single current-week page. The section is a growing archive, so the latest upload is not necessarily this week's parasha.
  • Mixed languages. Hebrew titles (for example the Sukkot guest lecture and the eulogy) sit alongside English ones; the title is the quickest signal.
  • Duplicate or near-duplicate titles. Entries such as "copy of vayechi" or "Copy of Vayishlach" suggest reposted material, so compare dates and speakers before assuming they are new lessons.

The site describes the yeshiva as serving Jews from around the world for more than 50 years, with a professional introduction to Torah source material designed for students with limited backgrounds. The Weekly Parasha section reflects that approach: short, topic-focused teachings that a beginner can follow without prior yeshiva study.