Re’eh תשפ Imagine the following scenario: You are sitting in your living room watching the evening news, when suddenly a weird looking fellow appears on the screen. He is wearing a turban, has a spider tattooed on his forehead, and…
Parshat Ekev תשפ Ekev is the third portion in the fifth and last book of the Torah,דברים Devarim (Deuteronomy), which Moshe related in its entirety to the Jewish people in the last 36 days of his life, the last three…
The Three Weeks תשפ Last Thursday, July 9th, we observed the fast of the 17th of Tamuz, and next Thursday, July 30th, we will observe “Tisha b’Av” the fast on the 9th day of the month of Av. These fasts…
Parshat Matot – Masei תשע"ח In this week’s double portion, (depending on the year and on what days the holidays fall out, sometimes two weekly portions are read together) Hashem charges Moshe with his final task: retaliation against the Midianites…
Pinchas תשפ Hashem chose Moshe to lead the Jewish people and to take them out of Egypt. In Exodus, the Torah shares various incidents about Moshe that clearly show us Moshe’s sterling character and what made him the quintessential leader.…
Parshat Chukat תשפ This week’s Torah reading is the double portion of Chukat and Balak. This essay, however, discusses only Chukat, the literal translation of which is “the edict of,” and, in context, “This is the edictחק) ) of the…
Parshat Korach This week’s Torah portion is named for Korach, the great and holy man who fomented a rebellion against Moshe. Although Jewish history characterizes Korach as the example of one who created a rebellion for his own selfish reasons,…
Parshas Shlach This week’s Torah portion’s concluding paragraph (Shelach, Numbers 15:37-41) commands us to affix tzizit (“fringes”) to most four-cornered garments that men wear. The commandment is fulfilled by wearing a large טלית - talit when praying shacharit, the morning…
Behaalotcha תשפ On the night of the 15th of Nissan, 3,332 years ago, the Jewish people fulfilled the mitzva of eating matza for the first time at the seder. After eating the afikomen (dessert - a piece of the Pascal…