In Bamidbar 20:2-4, the nation is depicted three different ways: once as an edah (a united group), once as ha’am (the nation, though less united than an edah), and once as kehal Hashem, the … more

Whenever I participate in a raffle, with great anticipation I wait for the drawing, which will declare me, as usual, a loser. And my losing ticket? Ends up in the garbage, of course. The mature … more

After listing the names of the leaders set to spy the Land, the Torah informs us that Moshe changed Hoshea bin Nun’s name to Yehoshua. The fact that his name is mentioned prior to this as … more

After officially inaugurating the Levites, and having them go through a unique purification process, G-d told Moshe, “This is [the rule] regarding the Levites: Beginning at the age of 25, they … more

The conclusion of parshat Bamidbar leads into parshat Naso with the description of the specific and detailed jobs of each family of Levi — Kehat’s job was to carry the most important … more

When I was in ninth grade, our teacher, Rabbi Cohen, trained our class to respond to the question, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” with the answer, “an eved Hashem” … more

The opening comments of Midrash Rabba on parshaBechukotai address the Torah’s promise that those who follow G-d’s laws will be rewarded. King David was concerned for his own well … more

While much of the first part of Parshat Emor speaks of rules of the Kohanim, there is a greater theme in the Torah portion on the periphery to being a Kohen, and it has to do with the desecration of … more

The calendar this year aligned to have rosh chodesh at the beginning of the week, and the celebration of Israel’s 70th birthday — Yom Ha’Atzma’ut — in the same week. … more

Did you count sefirah last night? Did you make it up this morning? Are you still counting with a bracha? Do you have an app reminding you to count the Omer? Do you have a WhatsApp group that helps … more