The Mitzvah Minute newsletter brings the beauty of Torah learning to your inbox — exploring mitzvot, parsha insights, and timeless Jewish wisdom in a clear, uplifting format. Browse our latest issue below, or explore past editions to keep growing one mitzvah at a time.
If Vayeira taught us about the openness of Avraham’s tent, Toldot teaches us about the labor of keeping that tent standing.
Learning Torah is not only acquiring wisdom; it is participating in a lineage of avodah — work done with heart, discipline, and continuity.
In every generation, the question of Toldot returns: Who will carry the covenant forward?
The answer is renewed each time we learn, teach, and choose the path of sacred responsibility.
Salt appears marginal in everyday life, yet within Torah it becomes a structural symbol of covenant, endurance, and elevation. This week’s essay traces how “with all your offerings you shall offer salt” (Vayikra 2:13) anchors salt in the earliest moments of Creation. Rashi and Bereishis Rabbah describe salt as fulfilling a primordial promise to the “lower waters,” while Ramban develops its theological depth — salt preserves, enhances, and in excess destroys; it therefore becomes the emblem of a covenant that is both enduring and exacting.
Across Tanach and Chazal, salt functions as purifier, boundary-maker, and transformative agent: from Lot’s wife to the Davidic kingship’s “bris melach,” from melichah in kashrut to the altar where every korban requires salt (Menachos 20a). At the Jewish table, salt turns bread into an offering, and dipping challah becomes a small reenactment of Divine service — sweetening judgment, grounding covenant, and elevating the ordinary. In this lens, salt is not seasoning but symbol: permanence, refinement, and the quiet preservation of holiness within daily life.
Read the full essay →
The Covenant of Salt: Why Jewish Life Begins With a Pinch of Salt ↗
Dive into mitzvot, prayer, and Torah study—each section curated to help you learn, reflect, and live with intention. New insights are added regularly, creating an evolving space for spiritual growth.
Explore the 613 mitzvot and uncover the meaning behind each one. Discover practical ways to integrate them into your daily life with insights, sources, and guided reflection.
Learn the structure, depth, and spiritual intent behind Jewish prayer. Dive into morning blessings, Shema, Amidah, and more—with tools to enrich your daily connection.
Each week’s parsha offers timeless wisdom and modern relevance. Explore summaries, key themes, and mitzvah connections to deepen your understanding of the Torah cycle.
