The tribe of Levi was counted independently in the desert of Sinai, apart from all of its fellow Israelites. Almost from its onset, the tribe of Levi was deemed to be special. Even though it had a violent start in its history, as Levi himself was one of the chief instigators of the rift between Joseph and the brothers as well as being a destroyer of the city of Shchem, the tribe of Levi,... READ MORE →
במדבר סיני נספר שבט לוי בנפרד מכל שבטי ישראל. כמעט מלכתחילה נחשב שבט לוי למיוחד במינו. על אף שראשיתו בהיסטוריה הייתה אלימה, שכן לוי היה אחד המסיתים העיקריים לקרע בין יוסף לאחיו וגם אחד ממחריבי העיר שכם, כבר במצרים החל... READ MORE →
אחת השאלות שיהודים שומרי תורה ומצוות מתמודדים איתן כל הזמן היא: אם התורה היא כל מה שהיא אמורה להיות, מדוע יש כל כך הרבה יהודים דתיים רעים, שאינם מוסריים? אני תמיד נותן תשובה קלת דעת ואומר שאסור לבלבל בין יהודים ליהדות.... READ MORE →
One of the questions that Jews who are observant of Torah law and ritual constantly face is: “If Torah is all that it is supposed to be, then why are there many Jews who are observant but are otherwise immoral, bad people?” I always flippantly answer that one should never confuse Judaism with Jews. Torah is pure, pristine, divine and moral beyond description. Jews are human beings, frail... READ MORE →
I was preparing myself for conducting part of the all-might learning session held on Shavuot night at my synagogue when I came across a book that contained descriptions of past Shavuot celebrations here in the Land and State of Israel. A great deal of the book was devoted to the new and innovative programs celebrating Shavuot that were all the rage in the kibbutzim and in much of the new Israeli... READ MORE →
The count of the people of Israel and the recording of the names of the leaders of its tribes, which forms the major part of this week’s Torah reading, is especially poignant and bittersweet. We, the listeners to the parsha, know in advance that all those counted and named, with few exceptions, are doomed to die in the desert, never to reach the Land of Israel. The Torah also knows... READ MORE →
בספירת בני ישראל ורשימת השמות של מנהיג השבטים שהן עיקרה של פרשת השבוע יש לקח חריף וטעם מריר. אנחנו, האנשים שמקשיבים לפרשה, יודעים מראש שכל אלה שנמנים ומוזכרים בשם, להוציא מעטים, עתידים למות במדבר ולא להיכנס לארץ... READ MORE →
בכל ההיסטוריה האנושית אין אולי עוד עיר שהתחרו עליה, שנלחמו בגללה, שנחרבה ושנבנתה פעמים רבות כל כך כמו ירושלים. את העיר, שהחלה את דרכה כמבצר יבוסי, לא הצליחו היהודים לכבוש מאות שנים, עד שבא לבסוף דוד המלך והכניע אותה.... READ MORE →
Perhaps no other city in human history has been as contested, fought over, destroyed and rebuilt as many times as Jerusalem. A Jebusite fortress, it resisted Jewish attempts to conquer it for hundreds of years until finally succumbing to King David. He made it the capital of Israel and the prophets Gad and Natan confirmed that this was the place that God had chosen for His Temple and resting... READ MORE →
The completion of the book of Vayikra, which we mark this week by the reading of the parshiot of B’Har and B’Chukotai, allows me to look in review at this most important book. The book of Vayikra, perhaps more than any other book of the Torah, deals with details and seeming technicalities. The word b’chukotai itself implies that its laws and commandments are not necessarily... READ MORE →
