Wandering
Why do we sing when we travel? While reading this week’s parsha the baal korei will burst into a delightful song. He will not be reading about the splitting of the sea or be announcing the Ten Commandments. Rather, he will be reciting the travelogue of the Jewish...
Be A Pinchas!
I have some very dangerous and risky advice that I give my children and anyone else willing to listen. Be a Pinchas! Don't settle for any injustice and don't get used to seeing wrong. I was marveling at the story of the great Talmudic sage, Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi....
The Power of Zeal
G-d instructed Abraham to take his beloved son Isaac, bind him on to an alter, and sacrifice him to G-d. The Torah reports that Abraham "ROSE UP IN THE MORNING" to perform G-d's will with enthusiasm and zeal. Bilaam intended to place a fatal curse on the Jewish...
The Argument
Many people enjoy a good argument. It helps clarify the issues, it creates a passion, challenges the mind and stimulates the heart. Much of the development of Judaism was through machlokes. Arguments were never considered a tragedy. I can remember being challenged to...
You are What You See
The people of Israel needed to see for themselves. They needed to check out Israel with their own eyes before they would agree to the Land of Israel as their homeland. This little due diligence that they performed, however, had catastrophic consequences which seemed...
The Miriam Vision
Miriam couldn't move and the Jewish people didn't want to wait. The Jewish people were ready to move. They were on their way to Eretz Yisroel. Miriam couldn't move. Miriam became ill with Tzoraas (a form of spiritual leprosy) and had to be in quarantine for seven...
Why is G-D Showing me This Picture?
The Baal Shem Tov once said: If a person, going about their business, encounters something ugly like corruption or violence, he or she should stop and think. Why is G-d showing me this picture? There must be a reason. The scene before us is a mirror, which reflects an...
Holiness in Judaism
In today's parsha we read about the various restrictions applying to kohanim (or "priests", although I am uncomfortable with this translation, for reasons which will become clear). For example, a kohen may not "contaminate himself" ("lo yitama", whatever that means...
Jewish Self Consciousness
Do not shame My holy name; sanctify me amongst the people of Israel, I am G-d. (Vayikra 22; 32) This is a strange juxtaposition. Chilul Hashem is the biggest aveira. Kidush Hashem is the biggest mitzva. One would think that the person prone to making a chilul Hashem...
