An Evil Report
In this week's reading we learn about the spies sent to look at the Land of Cana'an. As is clear from the consequences, their evil report, and the Children of Israel's reaction, became their greatest sin in all their time in the Sinai desert -- and it was initiated by...
Shared Glory
Upon the inauguration of the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, the leaders of each of the Tribes of Israel, the Nesi'im, brought gifts to be offered as sacrifices. We read the details of the gifts offered by each of the twelve, and immediately realize that the Ba'al Koreh, the...
Every Jew Counts!
This week we begin Bamidbar, the Book of Numbers. This, the fourth book of the Torah, acquired its Latin/English name because it begins with a count of the Children of Israel. This, though, is not the first such census -- we find repeated counts of the Jewish Nation...
A Gift of Love
My cousin's daughter is celebrating her Bas Mitzvah this weekend, and as they studied this week's reading in preparation, they came across one of the classic questions of Jewish philosophy: why do we do what we do? The parsha says that if we follow G-d's Laws, we will...
Hope is Not Lost!
At the end of this week’s reading, we are told not to set up idols. “You shall make no idols, and a graven image or pillar you shall not set up… You shall keep My Sabbaths, and revere My Sanctuary, I am Hashem” [Lev. 26:1]. The Medrash, quoted by Rashi, says that this is talking about a person who sold himself into servitude!
An Accident of Birth
The story is told of the uninformed Jewish fellow who desired to be a Kohen... a Priest. He went to a Rabbi, who told him that that's impossible: a child is a Kohen at birth or not at all. But the fellow persisted, even offering huge sums of money if the Rabbi would...
Stretching Our Muscles
Exercise more! That two-word synopsis of what the doctor told me is probably familiar to many readers. What differs from patient to patient is which muscles and bones need the exercise, but by a certain age most of us are told to work on something or other to stay...
Return on Investment
In the Haggadah, we recount the Ten Plagues that G-d inflicted upon the Egyptians. The Toldos Adam quotes the Medrash which says that these plagues, like all of G-d's rewards and punishments, were done "measure for measure." The Egyptians made the Israelites carry...
We Can Choose Our Direction
Having discussed whether animals are pure or impure, whether they are kosher to eat or not, the Torah now turns to discuss the purity and impurity of human beings. Yet there is a fundamental difference between the purity or impurity of man vs. animal. An animal is...
The Sign Has it Wrong
A friend took the attached photo at the enclosure for the collared peccary, a species native to Central and South America (as you can see on the map), in the Jerusalem Zoo. In red letters and in three languages, the sign declares: the peccary is not a pig!! There's...
Challenging the Obvious
Sometimes things can appear to be very obvious, yet the truth is just the opposite. Without looking deeper and turning to wise counsel, we could make a terrible mistake. Reality may be the opposite of what we perceive!
Without Credit
In this week's Torah reading, we begin the book of Leviticus, with the word "VaYikra", "And He called." G-d called out to Moshe, as He did every time He wanted to speak to Moshe or give a new Commandment. Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki (Rashi) tells us that this was a term of...
