Parshat Matot – Masei תשפא It is difficult for us to appreciate the power of our speech since we live in a materialistic world, where actions, which we can see and evaluate, take on greater importance than speech, which seems to…
Parshat Pinchas תשפא This week’s portion, Pinchas, begins with Hashem praising him for his zealous act at the end of last week’s portion, Balak. Pinchas’s conduct appeased Hashem’s anger and stopped the plague that had begun. Hashem rewarded Pinchas with His covenant of…
Balak תשפא This week’s portion, Balak, introduces us to בלעם - Bilaam, history’s only legitimate non-Jewish prophet. The information he conveyed via his prophecy was straight from Hashem. It is remarkable to know that Bilaam’s prophecy was the same high-level prophecy as Moshe Rabbeinu’s!…
Parshat Chukat תשפא In this week’s portion’s final two chapters , the Jewish nation is attacked by the world’s two most powerful leaders, Sichon, King of the Emori, and Og, king of Bashan, whom the Jews handily defeat. When the Jewish people merely asked Sichon…
Parshat Korach תשפא This week’s portion, Korach, details the events of Korach’s (and his 253 compatriots) rebellion, against Moshe and Aharon (Numbers 16:1,2): א) וַיִּקַּח קֹרַח בֶּן יִצְהָר בֶּן קְהָת בֶּן לֵוִי וְדָתָן וַאֲבִירָם בְּנֵי אֱלִיאָב וְאוֹן בֶּן פֶּלֶת בְּנֵי רְאוּבֵן…
Shelach תשפא Just twenty days shy of a year from the Jewish people’s arrival at Mount Sinai, they began their journey to the promised land, Israel. During that time, the nation had received the Torah, built the Tabernacle, and each tribe…
Shavuot תשפא The sight of a bride and groom standing under the marriage canopy always moves us to feelings of hope and success for the new couple. We look on with anticipation for the special moment when the groom places the…
Behar – Bechukotai תשפא Once again, this Shabbat, we will read two portions, Behar and Bechukotai. The first verse in Behar begins in a peculiar way. It says (Leviticus 25:1): ספר ויקרא פרק כה א) וַיְדַבֵּר יְדֹוָד אֶל משֶׁה בְּהַר…