עומדים בפנינו אתגרים גדולים בחיי היומיום. יש לכולנו דחפים טבעיים שדוחפים חלק מהאנשים לעשות מעשי חטא. התלמוד מסכם את המצב הזה בתמציתיות באמירה "רובם בגזל, מיעוטם בעריות, וכולם באבק לשון הרע". כסף הוא פיתוי עצום, והדחף... READ MORE →
There are great challenges in everyone's life. There are natural drives which exist within us that force people to commit sinful behavior. The Talmud succinctly sums up the situation by stating: “Most people steal, a minority of them are sexually immoral and all are covered with the dust of evil speech and slander.” Money is a great temptation and the drive to acquire it is so strong that... READ MORE →
בפרשת השבוע אנחנו עורכים היכרות עם החשודים הקבועים שתמיד נוכחים ופעילים בהיסטוריה היהודית ובענייני העולם. בלק ובלעם הם אבות הטיפוס של אויבי העם היהודי בכל הדורות. האמת היא שאין להם שום סיבה לגיטימית להיות האויבים... READ MORE →
This week's parsha introduces us to the usual suspects who are always present and active in Jewish history and world affairs. Balak and Bilaam are prototypes of the enemies of the Jewish people throughout the ages. They really have no legitimate cause to be our enemies. They impute hostile and aggressive behavior to the Jewish people, when in reality none of this is present. They are... READ MORE →
Over all of the millennia since the incident described in this week’s parsha regarding Moshe striking the rock instead of speaking to it, the great commentators to Torah have struggled to make this incident more understandable and meaningful to us ordinary mortals. At first glance, the punishment does not seem to fit the crime. Because of this, many of the commentators have seen the incident of... READ MORE →
In last week’s parsha Rashi commented that when the Jewish people stated that they wanted to return to Egypt rather than proceeding to the Land of Israel they thereby intimated that they wanted to replace Moshe as their leader and crown a new king over them. In this week’s parsha, that earlier murmur of dissatisfaction with Moshe and his leadership becomes a full-throated shout. Korach... READ MORE →
Moshe, at the behest and request of the Jewish people, chooses twelve outstanding leaders and orders them to embark on a mission of spying regarding the Land of Israel and its current Canaanite population. Moshe is confident that this mission will reinforce the enthusiasm and commitment of the Jewish people to settle and build their national homeland, promised to them by God through their... READ MORE →
Without warning disaster strikes the people of Israel on their journey to the Land of Israel. Moshe boldly proclaimed that “we are traveling now on the way to the land of our destination.” The tribes have been numbered and counted, assigned flags and positions of march and they are accompanied on their journey by the Tabernacle of God placed in their midst. Everything is seemingly poised for... READ MORE →
The tribe of Levi always seemed to have special responsibilities and privileges within the Jewish people. Our father Jacob spoke harshly of their father’s tendency to be impetuous and even violent, albeit for what was believed to be a holy and necessary cause. As a result of this admonition of Jacob, the tribe of Levi first assigned for itself a roll of service to the community of Israel and of... READ MORE →
המסר העיקרי בפרשת השבוע וגם בחלק גדול מהתוכן של חומש במדבר הוא שאנחנו לא רק מחשבים מספרים אלא שחיים היהודים המספרים גם נחשבים. התורה מדגישה את העובדה שבלי יהודים אין יהדות. היהדות איננה רעיון או פילוסופיה. היא אמורה... READ MORE →
