(4:21-7:89) Regulations concerning Nazirites and the threefold priestly benediction.
You’re Not a Failure — You’re in the Middle of Becoming You In this week’s parsha, the Jewish people complete the Mishkan — a sacred, beautiful space they carried with them through the desert to connect with G-d. But here’s something surprising: for seven days, Moses built the Mishkan each morning — and then took […]
Seizing the Moment of Inspiration Imagine a college freshman away from home for the first time; the feeling of freedom sets in immediately. He can finally party, drink, and do other activities whenever he likes but he isn’t mature in how he uses his new autonomy. After a month or two he begins to see the […]
Getting Up When Life Knocks You Down The Mishkan (Tabernacle) was the portable place of worship for the Jews in the wilderness and the precursor to Solomon’s Temple, which was built hundreds of years later in Jerusalem. After its completion, there was a seven-day ceremony; at the end of each day, Moses dismantled the Mishkan and then reassembled it […]
Last week’s Parsha described the census that was taken of the tribe of Levi, starting with those 1 month and older. This week’s Parsha continues with another census of the members of the tribe of Levi, this one only of males between the ages of 30-50. In both counting’s, we find a surprisingly low number: […]
In 2018 a study conducted at Ghent University (Belgium) demonstrated that people act differently when presented with a hypothetical moral decision than when faced with a real-life situation. Participants were presented with the “trolley dilemma,” which involves the following hypothetical scenario. A runaway trolley is about to hit five people on the tracks. They can take no […]
The Mishkan (Tabernacle) was the portable place of worship for the Jews in the wilderness and the precursor to the Temple (Beit Hamikdash) that King Solomon would build hundreds of years later in Jerusalem. After its completion, there was a seven-day ceremony in which the clergy was installed into their sacred office. At the end of each […]
Imagine a college freshman who is away from home for the first time; the feeling of freedom sets in immediately. He can finally party, drink, and do other activities whenever he likes but he isn’t mature in how he uses his new autonomy (Is this fiction? A May 30, 2013 article in the Harvard Crimson […]
G-d spoke to Moses saying: Speak to Aaron and his sons, saying, This is how you shall bless the children of Israel, saying to them: May G-d bless you and watch over you. May G-d cause His countenance to shine to you and favor you. May G-d raise His countenance toward you and grant you […]
The Mishkan (Tabernacle) was the portable place of worship for the Jews in the wilderness and the precursor to the Temple (Beit Hamikdash) that King Solomon would build hundreds of years later in Jerusalem. Due to the unusual structure and language employed in the Torah to describe the day of the Tabernacle’s completion, Rashi explains […]
(There is a new feature at the end of this dvar Torah. It is a short prayer and meditation suggestion on based on the dvar Torah.) One of the most controversial topics in the Torah is the Sotah, the suspected adulteress. Adultery is an equal opportunity misdeed; both men and women are commanded not to […]
