In the Torah portion this week, we read "This is the Torah: when a person dies in a tent..." [Numbers 19:14] The language is somewhat unusual, because although "Torah" simply means law or instruction, you would expect it to say "this is the law regarding a person" or...

In the story of Korach's rebellion (Numbers 16-17), 250 men join the campaign against Moses. While Korach and his partners Dathan and Abiram are punished with the earth miraculously swallowing them alive, the 250 men meet a different, more honorable fate. While...

This week, we read about the spies sent to look at the Land of Cana'an, who came back with a bad report -- the land is filled with giants, they said, and even if we were to somehow beat them, the land consumes its inhabitants! Only two of the spies came back ready to...

Linus, of Peanuts comic strip fame, sits down for a bowl of cereal. After pouring the milk he runs off to find a book to enjoy with his cereal. First he looks for the sports section of the paper or the comics, but he can't find either. He nervously scans the...

Prior to Shavuos, our family went to a Sunday brunch celebrating the Bat Mitzvah of a cousin. At some point, I found myself in conversation with the uncle of the honoree, also a cousin and, of course, of my own generation. One of us got a text message, I believe,...

The monumental day of Shavuos approaches, marking G-d's giving of the Torah on Mt. Sinai. Torah is G-d's instructions for living, and we certainly recognize the benefit of having this Divine book -- but perhaps we don't recognize what a crucial difference Torah can...