It is a scene that still has the power to shock and disturb. The people complain. There is no water. It is an old complaint and a predictable one. That is what happens in a desert. Moses should have … more

Korach said to Moses, “You have gone too far! The whole community is holy — every one of them — and the L-rd is with them. Why then do you set yourselves above the L-rd’s … more

Bamidbar (which means “desert”) is usually read on the Shabbat before Shavuot. What is the connection between the desert and the Torah, the wilderness and G-d’s word? The … more

As the saying goes, “There’s nothing surer: the rich get rich and the poor get poorer.” It is to this phenomenon that the social legislation of Parshat Behar is addressed. … more

Our parsha begins with a restriction on the people for whom a kohen may become tamei , a word usually translated as defiled, impure, ceremonially unclean . A priest may not touch or be under the … more

The opening chapter of Kedoshim contains two of the most powerful of all commands: to love your neighbor and to love the stranger. “Love your neighbor as yourself: I am the L-rd” goes the … more

The sidrot of Tazria and Metzora contain laws which are among the most difficult to understand. They are about conditions of “impurity” arising from the fact that we are physical beings, … more

The second half of Exodus and the first part of Leviticus form a carefully structured narrative. The Israelites are commanded to construct a Sanctuary. They carry out the command. This is followed by … more

Among the sacrifices detailed in this week’s parsha is the korban todah , the thanksgiving offering: If he offers it [the sacrifice] as a thanksgiving offering, then along with this … more

The laws of sacrifices that dominate the early chapters of the Book of Leviticus are among the hardest in the Torah to relate to in the present. It has been almost two thousand years since the … more