Carved In Stone
(Midrash Rabba) עשר פעמים כתיב בני חת כנגד עשרת הדיברות In the merit of the ten negotiations that Abraham had with the Hittite people; his descendants merited the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai. Avrohom Avinu was already well through his life when his wife Sarah...
Man Of The World
So much happened in the life of Abraham that is not recorded in the Torah. The Midrashim are full of information about Avraham Avinu’s life. When the Torah begins to tell us about Abraham he is already at the advanced age of seventy five. Abraham already lived a full...
Walking Into The Wilderness
Were you ever called upon to walk into the unknown; to step into the wilderness for something you believe in? Were you ever asked to take a risk in order to benefit a much higher cause? Were you ever asked to resist the culture of the crowd when your heart tells you...
“These Are The Flood Waters Of Noah!” – Isaiah 54;9
“These Are The Flood Waters Of Noah!” Isaiah 54;9 Noah said to Moshe: ‘I’m greater than you; I was saved from the generation of the flood.’ Moshe said to Noah: ‘You saved yourself but you couldn’t save the world. I saved the world.’ (Yalkut Devarim 33;951) God saw how...
Devarim-Chazon
"Chazon Yeshayahu". A vision of Yeshayahu! The Medrash [Shir Hashirim Rabbah Ch. 3] taught that there are ten levels of prophecy. Sometimes prophecy comes in a dream, sometimes as a feeling and sometimes as a voice. Which kind of prophecy was the harshest? Rabbi...
Behold A People
Bilaam was the most successful gentile, of that generation and possibly in history. He was the parallel of Avraham Avinu and Moshe Rabbeinu. He didnt represent a specific nation; he was at the apex of the non-Jewish world as a whole. He belonged to the world. Chazal...
The Red Heifer
This week's parsha discusses the mysterious law of "parah adumah", the red heifer, which is used for purification, but contaminates those who perform the purification. "Zos chukas haTorah", it says, "This is the law of the Torah" (Num. 19:2). The word "chukah" is used...
The Puzzle Factor
The Parsha starts with Hashem instructing Moshe to take a census of Bnei Yisrael. So on Rosh Chodesh Iyar, Moshe and the Nesi’im of each Shevet counted every male over the age of 20 according to their shevet. After the census was taken, Hashem further instructed Moshe...
Just One Droplet
The story of Lag B’Omer, Rebbi Akiva, the founding of the Oral Torah under Roman Persecution. The lesson of the rock.