Parashat Vaethanan begins with Moshe recalling his impassioned prayer to be allowed to enter Eretz Yisrael. Our Sages teach that Moshe recited 515 prayers at this time, alluded to by the word “Vaethanan” (“I pleaded”), which has the...
The Mishna in Masechet Sota teaches that the world will be in a state of disarray and chaos in the generation before Mashiah’s arrival. Youngsters will disrespect adults, and children will brazenly disobey parents. During that period,...
In Parashat Matot, G-d commands Moshe to lead a war against Midyan, who initiated a scheme to lead Beneh Yisrael to sin which resulted in the deaths of thousands of people among the nation. The Midrash notes that...
Parashat Pinhas is, in the vast majority of years, read during the period of the Three Weeks, when we begin observing certain restrictions in solemn commemoration of the destruction of the Bet Ha’mikdash. Rav Abraham Yehoshua Heschel of...
The Torah in Parashat Balak tells the famous story of Bilam’s failed attempts to place a curse on Beneh Yisrael. Bilam, a non-Jewish prophet, was summoned by Balak, the king of Moab, who felt threatened by Beneh...
The Torah in Parashat Hukat present the law of Para Aduma – the “red heifer” whose ashes were used to prepare the purifying waters, through which people and objects would be purified after becoming Tameh (impure). In...
We read in Parashat Korah of the group assembled by Korah to challenge Moshe’s authority. They accused Moshe of nepotism, that he unfairly granted the exclusive post of Kohen Gadol to his brother, Aharon. Moshe responded by inviting...
The Torah in Parashat Shelah tells the story of the Mekoshesh Esim – a man who publicly desecrated Shabbat while Beneh Yisrael were in the wilderness. The people who found him committing the act of Shabbat desecration brought him...
The Torah in Parashat Behaalotecha tells of Beneh Yisrael’s departure from Mount Sinai, where they had been encamped for nearly a year: “Va’yis’u Me’Har Hashem” – “They journeyed from the Mountain of G-d” (10:33). The Talmud Yerushalmi, in...
The Torah in Parashat Naso (5:5-8) discusses the case of a person who stole and then took an oath falsely denying his crime. After he confesses his sin and repents, he must pay the victim the principal...