Parashat Balak tells the famous story of the attempt made by Balak, the king of Moav, to annihilate Am Yisrael by hiring a gentile prophet, Bilam, to place a curse on them. G-d intervened and protected Beneh...
Parashat Hukat begins with the command of the Para Aduma, the red cow which was slaughtered and then burned into ashes. These ashes were mixed with water that would be used to purify people and objects that...
Parashat Korah tells the story of the uprising led by Korah against Moshe Rabbenu. Korah assembled a group of 250 followers and challenged Moshe, charging that he had no right to appoint his brother, Aharon, as Kohen...
Parashat Shelah tells the tragic story of “Het Ha’meragelim” – the sin of the spies, who were sent to scout the Land of Israel in advance of Beneh Yisrael’s entry into the land. The spies returned and...
Parashat Behaalotecha begins with what appear as three unrelated topics, but which in truth share an important common theme. The first topic is the command to Aharon regarding the daily kindling of the Menorah. Rashi explains that Aharon regretted...
Tradition teaches that the souls of all Jews who would ever live until the end of time were present at Mount Sinai when the Torah was given. This concept actually finds halachic expression, in the concept of...
The Midrash, commenting on the opening verse of Sefer Bamidbar, observes that the Torah has been compared to three natural phenomena: fire, water and a desert. Many Rabbis raised the question of what precisely the Midrash seeks to...
The Haftara read for Parashat Behukotai is a prophecy from Sefer Yirmiyahu, and contains the famous verse, “Baruch Ha’geber Asher Yibtah B’Hashem, Ve’haya Hashem Mibtaho” – “Blessed is the man who trusts in G-d, and G-d shall be...
The Torah in Parashat Behar (25:37) introduces the prohibition against lending on interest: “Et Kaspecha Lo Titen Lo Be’neshech.” The Or Ha’haim (Rav Haim Ben-Attar, 1696-1743) adds a deeper level of interpretation, explaining that the word “Kesef” (money) is...
Rabbi Shimon and the “Keter Shem Tob” Rabbi Shimon Bar Yohai teaches us in Pirkeh Abot (4:13), “There are three crowns: the crown of Torah, the crown of Kehuna, and the crown of kingship. But the...