Our parasha, Balak, contains one of the most famous pesukim in the Torah: “How goodly are your tents, O Yaakov, your dwelling places, O Yisrael!” (Bamidbar 24:5). Basing himself on Bava …
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By Rabbi David Etengoff
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6/27/18
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Pirkei Avot (5:22) contrasts the virtues of Avraham with the vices of Bilam: Whoever possesses a generous eye, a humble spirit and a meek soul is a disciple of our father Avraham; but one who …
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By Rabbi Marc D. Angel
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6/27/18
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One of the saddest “what might have been”s of the Holocaust was the story of Joel Brand.
In the spring of 1944, the Jews of Poland, Western Europe, Belarus and the Ukraine were largely …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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6/27/18
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One of the more profound lessons in our liturgy can be found in Tehillim 128: “See the good of Jerusalem all the days of your life.” Beyond Jerusalem itself, the verse serves as an …
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
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6/27/18
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There are so many things in life that are impossible to understand. Yet every now and then, we are afforded a glimpse, as if through a momentary clearing of the fog, of what it’s all …
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By Rabbi Binny Freedman
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6/20/18
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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 …
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
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6/20/18
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Aharon was the first Kohen Gadol, and one of the greatest people in the history of our nation. Yet, as King Solomon taught us long ago, “There is no righteous man on earth who does good and …
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By Rabbi David Etengoff
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6/20/18
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T
he people were thirsty. In desperation, they complained bitterly. Moshe and Aaron did not know how to respond; they retreated to the tent of meeting and fell on their faces. G-d then commanded …
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By Rabbi Marc D. Angel
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6/20/18
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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 …
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By Rabbi Avi Billet
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6/14/18
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Korach and his fellow rebels wer e miraculously punished for their sinful rebellion against Moshe: “And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men …
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By Rabbi David Etengoff
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6/14/18
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