Every human being is a work in progress. We are constantly trying to improve and attain the highest version of ourselves which Hashem intended. Oftentimes, we feel like it would be helpful to recreate certain tendencies, destructive habits, or other negative elements in our nature; to be born anew and start from scratch. In his commentary on this week’s parsha, the Degel Machaneh Ephraim teaches that, because we are created in the image of Hashem Who created a world “inside…

Hashem’s love letter to the Jewish nation, the holy Torah, begins with the words, “Bereishis bara Elokim es hashomayim v’es ha’aretz.” Literally translated, these words mean, “In the beginning, God created heaven and earth.” Rabbi Mordechai Yosef Leiner of Ishbitz perceives a deeper level of meaning. Everybody knows that the first step in building a structure is to lay a proper foundation. Only a fool would consider running wires or installing plumbing before building a sturdy frame rooted in cemented…