In the battles that round out the end of Parshat Chukat, Moshe and the Israelites defeat Sichon and Og and their respective nations. Before the battle with Og, Moshe is told by G-d not to fear for … more

O ne of the disturbing episodes in Beha’alotcha, this week’s parsha, concerns the people who are complaining about the manna, bemoaning a lack of meat as they remember the fish, fruits … more

I created a program several years ago called ParshaDrama, in which I go to a school and present the weekly Torah portion to different grades through a combination of storytelling and dramatics, … more

Whenever I come across the word “v’nikhrita” (and he/she/they will be cut off from the Jewish people) in the Torah, I marvel over where such a notion stands in the 21st century … more

O ur parasha begins with Moshe Rabbeinu gathering the entire Jewish people before him, at which point we would expect some sort of listing of “the things that Hashem commanded to make.” … more

The Yalkut Shimoni’s opening comment in his Midrashic exposition on Parshas Vayakhel is translated as follows: Vayakhel Moshe, and Moshe gathered: Our Rabbis, the master Aggadists, said … more

In one of the opening statements of his essay “The Lonely Man of Faith,” Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik writes, “The nature of the dilemma can be stated in a three-word sentence. I am … more

Though this week’s parsha begins with a story of Yitro, its chronological relationship with the rest of the Exodus narrative is debated by the commentaries. If we ignore this story for a … more

One of the most revealing moments in the beginning of Parshat Bo comes when Pharaoh’s officials say to him, in advance of the pending plague of locusts, “How long will this [man] … more

One of the more mysterious narratives in the Torah concerns what is likely the final trip back to Egypt after the Burning Bush (the midrash suggests Moshe went back and forth a number of times, and … more