The Census. More statutes and laws. Adventures of the Hebrews en route to Canaan through the desert.
Finding Meaning in the Journey Why does the Torah contain a detailed travelog of the journeys of the Jews in the desert? Beginning with the exodus from Egypt, it lists the name of each destination along the way as well as some recollections. Being as the Land of Israel was their ultimate and final destination, […]
What quality must an authentic Jewish leader possess?When the people saw that Moses was late in coming down from the mountain, the people gathered against Aaron, and they said to him: “Come on! Make us a god that will go before us, because this man Moses, who brought us up from the land of Egypt […]
Leon Fleisher was one of the 20th century’s greatest pianists. At the peak of his career, he developed a rare hand condition due to his 7-8 hours of practice each day and was no longer able to play with his right hand. “I was desolate, my life fell apart, and this mysterious debilitating condition destroyed my […]
Korach felt slighted that Moses didn’t select him for a prominent communal position and found 250 leaders to join him in a rebellion. And they rose up before Moses with two hundred and fifty men, princes of the congregation. (ibid. 16:2)One of the conspirators was Ohn ben Peles. The Midrash says that his wife convinced him to separate […]
Can You Pray for Someone Else to Make Good Life Choices?G-d promised the people that they would have their own land flowing with milk and honey but the people were afraid and asked Moses to send a reconnaissance mission with the following goals:See what the land is and the people living on it; are they […]
“Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile.” Vince LombardiHow does one become a leader? Let’s take a look at one of Judaism’s best; Moses. In addition to his many accomplishments, he had a […]
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 […]
You shall designate cities for yourselves, cities of refuge shall they be for you, and a murderer shall flee there—one who takes a life unintentionally. (Numbers 35:11) Involuntary manslaughter is something we take seriously. If an axe head becomes dislodged and kills an innocent bystander, the chopper/killer must quickly escape to one of the three cities of refuge […]
These days, we all find ourselves living in a new and different world. It was just this past Purim that we sat together in shul, next to one another, listening to the reading of the Megilla and sat in close physical proximity to our friends, and the phrase “social distancing” was not part of our vocabulary. We felt secure […]
Does Education Make You a Moral Person? The past century, the bloodiest in all of human history, should have lain to rest two of the most cherished theories about humanity postulated by the Enlightenment and Secular Humanism. One was the idea that all moral questions, all issues of right and wrong, good and evil, were […]
Rabbi O’s Weekly Parsha: Chukas (Numbers 19:1-22:1) How to Become a Peacemaker in 2 Easy Steps And the entire congregation saw that Aaron had died and they wept for Aaron 30 days–all the house of Israel. (20:29) “ALL the house of Israel” refers to both men and woman. When Moses dies the verse doesn’t mention “all the house of Israel,” […]
We are introduced to the mitzvah of tzitzis (strings attached to a four cornered garment) at the end of this week’s Parsha. The following remarkable incident occurred in the 3rd century and is recorded in the Talmud (Menachot 44a).Once a man, who was very scrupulous about the mitzva of tzitzis, heard about a prostitute who charged four hundred gold dinars for her […]
At this point in the Exodus story, things seem to be going well. After being enslaved for 210 years, the Jews had miraculously been freed and were now living in the desert and receiving protection, food, and water in a miraculous way. Sounds good, right? Let’s see.And the people complained and it was evil in […]
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: […]
When the cycle for the weekly Torah readings was established centuries ago, this week’s Parsha was designated specifically to be read this Shabbos. I.e. the reading is from the first few chapters of the Torah’s fourth book, Numbers, and always precedes the holiday of Shavuot. What connection is there between this week’s Parsha and Shavuot, the festival commemorating the […]
This year’s Winter Olympics were about many things besides athletic competition. Many people weren’t enthusiastic because they didn’t want to legitimize a host country committing human rights atrocities. For those who did tune in, questions of national allegiances, drug use and yes, COVID, dominated the headlines. And, of course, there was the question of youth, […]
The following incident about the unique training required by the Army’s most elite special forces unit was recorded by Eric Haney in his book Inside Delta Force.I had covered just slightly over thirty miles by now, but still had more than twenty to go. It was getting more and more difficult to do speed computations in […]
When Moses asked G-d to appoint a successor, the Midrash says that G-d answered Before you command Me concerning My children, command My children concerning Me. Moses proceeded to command the Jewish people concerning the laws of the daily and holiday sacrifices. What quality must a Jewish leader possess? When the Jewish people feared that Moses would not […]
He perceived no iniquity in Jacob, and saw no perversity in Israel” (23:21)The Hebrew word amal, translated here as “perversity,” has a second meaning, “toil.” It is an expression for work, especially laborious and exhausting work. Ohr HaChaim (1696-1743) uses this translation to give a unique interpretation to Balaam’s words: “He saw no exhaustion in Israel.” Balaam perceived that […]
There is a belief that the reason why men typically have messier living spaces than women is because men don’t see the same mess that women do. Men and women can look at the same home and the men can conclude that it is messy and the women won’t. A studyconducted almost two years ago debunked that […]
(Imagine) If Warren Buffet befriended you and wanted to live near you, and he gifted you a few acres of land in Omaha, committed to building a house for you, and cover whatever expenses necessary to get you there. You went to check the property and found there were people living there who refused to […]
Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile. Vince LombardiHow does one make a leader? Let’s take a look at one of Judaism’s best; Moses. In addition to his many accomplishments, his crowning achievement […]
The first three-point shooting contest was in 1986 at the NBA All-Star game in Dallas; eight all-stars were selected for the competition. The Celtics’ Larry Bird was known as a trash talker. When he walked into the locker room as one of the competitors he asked, “which one of you guys is going to finish […]
In the last month, we have seen the tearing down of statues of many famous historical figures. Much can be said about how we remember people with problematic pasts or what modern ethics we can impose upon historical figures. We can also use this as an opportunity to discuss the role of statues and monuments […]
This week’s Parsha introduces us to an anti-Semite named Balak. He hired the wicked Bilaam to destroy the Jews; Bilaam agreed and even attempted to do so but was unsuccessful. At one point, Bilaam uttered a remarkable statement; something we would not have expected to come from the mouth of such a malicious person.Let me […]
Is common sense all one really needs in life (and Judaism)? That’s what Annie Oakley said in one of Broadway’s most beloved musicals,Annie Get Your Gun.Folks like us could never fussWith schools and books and learnin’Still we’ve gone from A to Z Doin’ what comes naturally You don’t have to know how to read or […]
We are introduced to the mitzvah of tzitzis at the end of this week’s Parsha.Speak to the children of Israel and you shall say to them that they shall make for themselves fringes on the corners of their garments, throughout their generations…and when you see it, you will remember all of G-d’s the commandments…and you shall not wander after […]
Miriam (Moses’ sister) spoke negatively about Moses to Aaron, their brother. As a result, she broke out intzaras, a form of leprosy that existed only in biblical times; it emerged when a person spokelashon hara, negative talk-non beneficial criticism. Moses prayed for Miriam, but the prayer was just five words.Moses cried out to G-d, saying, “Please, […]
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 […]
When the cycle for the weekly Torah readings was established centuries ago, this week’s Parsha was designated specifically to be read this Shabbos. I.e. the reading is from the first few chapters of the Torah’s fourth book, Numbers and always proceeds the holiday of Shavuos. What connection is there between this week’s Parsha and Shavuos, the festival commemorating the […]
