חזון ישראל ישנם חזיונות וישנם סיוטים. בפרשת השבוע ובהפטרה שלה אנחנו מקבלים קצת משניהם. כשמשה מתחיל את הנאום האחרון הגדול שהוא נושא בפני עמו האהוב, הוא מזהיר את העם מפני סכנות עתידיות ומזכיר לו את השגיאות... READ MORE →
There are visions and there are nightmares. This week’s parsha and haftorah provides us with a little of both. As Moshe begins his final great oration to his beloved people he warns of the dangerous future and reminds the people of the tragic and costly errors of the past. Moshe is the person of vision. He is shown the entire story of the Jewish people throughout all... READ MORE →
The reading of the book of Bamidbar concludes this week with the parshiyot of Matot and Masei. Jews are inveterate travelers. The long exile that we have suffered has of necessity forced us to travel a great deal. There is almost no place in the world that we have not visited, settled and eventually moved from to a different location. Thus the recording of all of the travels and... READ MORE →
The Jewish people go to war against Midian in this week’s parsha. This war can be described as a preventive war – striking before the enemy strikes again against you – and even as a war of revenge and punishment over the culpability of Midian in the death of twenty four thousand Jews due to their willful planned seduction by the women of Midian. In this war the... READ MORE →
There is an old adage in both the Jewish and non-Jewish world which states something like this: “I can deal with my enemies but Lord please help me with my friends.” The problem figure in this week’s parsha is not so much Balak, who is easily identified as the enemy of the Jewish people, as it is Bilaam whose mouth utters soaring blessings and compliments to the Jews. ... READ MORE →
The sad story of Moshe’s fate in not being able to reach the Land of Israel is detailed in this week’s parsha. The commentators to the Torah have spent a great deal of effort and clarity in attempting to explain Moshe’s seeming sin and its attendant punishment of exclusion from accompanying the people of Israel into the Land of Israel. What does emerge... READ MORE →
פי הארץ המשנה מציגה דעה שאומרת ש"פי הארץ" שנפער ובלע את קורח ועדתו נוצר כבר בבריאת העולם. הרעיון הזה אומר לא רק שהנס היה חלק מן הטבע עצמו ונכנס לפעולה בזמן הנכון ובמקום הנכון אלא שגם חטא המרד, שהוליד את... READ MORE →
The Mishna teaches us that there is an opinion that the “mouth of the earth” that opened to swallow Korach and his group was created from the beginning of time. The idea here is that not only was this miracle built into nature itself to become operative at the right time and place but that the sin and rebellion that occasioned this disastrous phenomenon also is... READ MORE →
רתיעה יהודית מעצמאות יהודית הרעיון של משה לעודד את בני ישראל להעריך את המתנה שהם עומדים לקבל, ארץ כנען, היה רעיון טוב. מתוך כוונות טובות בחר משה 12 מנהיגים מקרב בני ישראל, אנשים שהיה לו אמון מלא בצדיקותם... READ MORE →
Moshe had a good idea to encourage the Jewish people to appreciate the gift being granted to them in possessing the Land of Israel. With the most positive of intentions he commissions twelve leaders of Israel, in whom he undoubtedly had unquestioned trust in their piety and wisdom, Moshe expects them to return with an enthusiastic assessment of the Land of Israel. ... READ MORE →
