The haftarah of Chazon, the opening chapter of Yeshayahu, includes a message from G-d that is very hard to understnd. “Of what use are your many sacrifices to Me? says the L-rd. I am … more

We finally made it! The week our Torah reading catches up with that of Israel! We have been misaligned with our brothers and sisters ever since they observed Shabbos and read Parshat Shemini on … more

The plague is over, the story of Pinchas and Zimri Ahas reached its conclusion, and it is time for the Israelites to move on. G-d instructs Moshe to count the people, and in 26:4 he and Elazar … more

    The mourning for Miriam is wholly inadequate, and it opened the door for the unfortunate events of Mei Merivah, which concluded with a need for different leadership to bring the … more

In college I took some classes in film theory and design. I can only imagine how artistic filmmakers would set up the scene of Bilaam riding on his donkey in the moments when the donkey veers off the … more

Reading through the narrative portion of Parshat Korach, one finds a number of groups complaining against Moshe and Aharon. The first is Korach, the second is Datan and Aviram’s group, the … more

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan translates Bamidbar 15:15-16 as follows: “Among the group that may marry one another, the same rule shall apply both to you and to the proselyte who joins. It is an … more

One of the reasons given for the Levites’ positions of holiness was on account of their not having participated in the sin of the Golden Calf. Separating themselves from the community of … more

Anyone listening to this week’s reading, Naso, knows that there is a lot of repetition. The twelve nesi’im each bring their respective offering for the dedication of the altar. Aside … more

G-d tells Moshe, “I have separated the Levites from the [other] Israelites so that they may take the place of all the firstborn (who initiate the womb) among the Israelites, and the Levites … more