Collected Archive of Shoemaker Reports
The Shoemaker Report is Rav Hoshea’s weekly Torah publication. Its focus is on internalizing and living Torah from the heart, not only from the head. The divrei Torah often take the parashah of the week as their point of entry and address central questions of inner avodah — including teshuvah, prayer (tefillah), emunah, bitachon, and related areas of spiritual and personal refinement.
The writing assumes seriousness from the reader and speaks from within Torah life, with meaning emerging organically from honest analysis of our holy Torah and the words of Chazal, rather than from short-lived inspiration or simplified conclusions.
Despite the best efforts of the wise-hearted and tzaddikim, only Moshe could erect the Mishkan. How come? Only Moshe’s selfless heart could unify B’nei Yisrael, making him the key to bringing down the Divine Presence. Discover the deeper meaning behind this miracle and what all this has to do with the fact that Moshe was 10 amot tall!
Ya’akov’s secret simanim to Rachel and the kohanim’s sanctification share a hidden purpose—removing impurity for divine service. Exploring Kabbalistic insights, this article uncovers the deep spiritual connection between these rituals, shedding light on holiness, purity, and the power of tz’niut.
Parashat Terumah delves into the significance of the contributions to the Mishkan. Explore the spiritual lessons behind Hashem's command to "take" a terumah and how giving with a generous heart brings us closer to divine wisdom and understanding.
How to Fulfill the Mitzvah of 'You Shall Love Your Fellow as Yourself' Commenting on the fact that Shemot 19:2 describes Am Yisrael using the plural וַיַּחֲנוּ (and they encamped) and then just two words later describes it using the singular וַיִּחַן (and it encamped), Rashi famously writes that they
How to Come Out from Under the Control of the Sitra Achra: Imagine a prison, a fairly standard prison – at least standard in the way that many prisons used to be. From sunrise to sunset, the prisoners are forced into hard labor. They don't get much time to rest
A Point of Contention Between Yosef and His Brothers: The sale of Yosef. If we had a truly sensitive soul, those words would send shivers down our spine. Not only did that one action set into motion a chain of events that led to the brutal enslavement of the whole
How a Secret Message in Lecha Dodi Can Transform Your Life: Have you ever felt like your life was a complete mess, that everything you relied upon to create stability and order in your world had been turned completely upside down, overturned in some type of cataclysmic upheaval? You know
Regarding the meaning of the words וּלְחֹשְׁבֵי שְׁמוֹ (and for those who thought about His name) from Malachi 3:16, Rav Ashi taught (Berachot 6a): חָשַׁב אָדָם לַעֲשׂוֹת מִצְוָה וְנֶאֱנַס וְלֹא עֲשָׂאָהּ מַעֲלֶה עָלָיו הַכָּתוּב כְּאִילּוּ עֲשָׂאָהּ (If a person thought to do a mitzvah but was prevented against his will,
The Importance of Desire: Born into American slavery in 1856, Booker T. Washington was freed at the age of 9 when U.S. Troops, arriving the area in which he lived, enforced President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation. Teaching himself to read, he devoured every book he could get his hands on. He
The Role of the Tzaddikim in Finding What We Lost: R' Simlai taught the following Baraita about the developing Jewish child in his mother's womb (Niddah 30b): ונר דלוק לו על ראשו וצופה ומביט מסוף העולם ועד סופו…ואין לך ימים שאדם שרוי בטובה יותר מאותן הימים…ומלמדין אותו כל התורה כולה…וכיון
A Generation that is Entirely Innocent or Entirely Guilty: R' Yochanan taught (Sanhedrin 98a): אין בן דוד בא אלא בדור שכולו זכאי או כולו חייב. בדור שכולו זכאי דכתיב (ישעיהו ס, כא) ועמך כולם צדיקים לעולם יירשו ארץ בדור שכולו חייב דכתיב (ישעיהו נט, טז) וירא כי אין איש וישתומם
The Deep Purpose for Suffering: Why is it that when someone begins to do teshuvah and starts walking in Hashem's ways, he frequently encounters difficulties and experiences suffering? If the purpose of suffering is to motivate a person to do teshuvah, why should he have to suffer at all? After
