Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch: Balak
The “black arts” don’t exist
The Torah only forbids magic because it tries to short-circuit Divine justice.
The Torah only forbids magic because it tries to short-circuit Divine justice.
Could Bilam really wreak havoc on the Jews? What exactly is the power of a curse? Can a human by the mere verbalization of certain words effectuate changes in the real world?
‘This is truly ‘a gift’ - as our parsha promises - to become like a well of flowing water - of Torah.’
It is impossible to deduce what God truly wants simply by observing the ways of the world. Our service of God can only be guided by those directives which God explicitly transmitted through His Torah.
Why doesn’t Hashem simply suspend the attack of the serpents without introduction of this strange symbol?
Speech is the currency of connection, and has the power to work in ways both good and bad.
With so many men dead, who would tell the youth about yetzias Mitzrayim?
Rashi seems to be saying that the sin of Moshe consisted in his deviating from the command of Hashem to speak to the rock instead of hitting it. But why would Moshe, the faithful servant, not do exactly what he was told?
'Genuine holiness is an altruistic striving for good for its own sake, not out of self-interest.'
If we are willing to face a painful truth, we can learn a very important lesson from this. There is no guarantee that a very learned person will also be a great Tzadik (righteous person).
Did the intelligent Korach not feel the contradiction in his words?
The existence of the State, in and of itself, is a mitzvah, and transgressions performed within it do not invalidate its sanctity.
Iran will remain a world threat because the U.S. and Israel did not finish the job in the fashion dictated in the Torah. But we must recognize that Trump made up for FDR's refusal to bomb the tracks leading to Auschwitz.
There are currently more than 100,000 Israelis abroad, stranded in dozens of countries ever since this current war closed the airspace above Israel. Yet the overriding concern of all these Israelis abroad is how to come home despite the missiles from Iran.
Your primary interest should be to create a pleasant environment for others to enjoy. And that message is in the words of Hashem to Moshe.
On the most basic level, the Sin of the Spies was that they were overcome by fear and communicated their despair to the nation. The lessons of this episode are very relevant to the current situation.
Answering an age-old question: Why does the story of the spies follow the story of Miriam's punishment for slander?
It’s safer in the Beis Medrash. It’s safer in exile-mode. It’s spiritually cleaner to stay away from politics, from armies, from national responsibility. Just what the spies wanted.
Our sources deal with the spiritual aspects of naming a child - boy or girl.
The Sages debate the exact nature of the positive effect of the Sotah waters.
The Kohen loves the people and they, in turn, love him.
The ultimate CHOK, which is beyond all human understanding, is the day-to-day lives we lead in Eretz Yisrael, with our phenomenal success in all walks of life.
This week’s parsha, Naso, contains a passage so familiar that its poetry sometimes hides its depth: the Priestly Blessing. What is its message?
This debate is not just philosophical—it is playing out today in Israeli society.
The Jewish people sought to uncover and emphasize every individual’s personal strengths, and thus chose banners for each tribe, but no banners flew over the central Tent of Meeting.
We can glean from the sacrifice of the day a poignant perspective as to how to relate to the learning of the Torah.
When we read the Torah portion this Shabbat about transforming individuals into a group and a desert into a city, let’s take the message to heart.
With an unpredictable, albeit pro-Israel, president in the US, this is the time to make aliya - do not postpone it!
Torah commentaries address the reason for the small number of levites when compared to every other tribe.
There are many explanations as to the significance of deserts, of wildernesses, within our tradition.
The full solution is in the parsha this week.
The shmita year reminds the Jewish people that they are slaves of G-d, and therefore everything they own should be used to serve Him, whether land or people.
D’var Torah for Parshat Behar: Ramban says that Yovel, the Jubilee year in our parasha, means taking something forward.
This parsha contains the secret to overcoming anxiety and self-doubt.
We might be seeing now the beginning of the period where one evil nation wages war on another evil one, while in the background their countries are being ravaged by Hashem’s manipulation of natural disasters.
In moments of personal hardship, it is natural to wonder: Why am I not being rewarded for my efforts? The Torah’s answer is painful, but empowering.
The Torah says that during the exile of the Jewish people, as they wandered the ends of the Earth, the Land of Israel will be desolate and barren, unable to support large thriving populations. And then comes the next part.
Though we are once again sovereign in our ancestral homeland for the first time since the days of Queen Shlom-Zion, the murderers still stalk us. And though tragedy strikes, we are in an incomparably better situation than we have been at any time since Queen Shlom-Zion.
What can connect the disparate commandments in Parashat Kedoshim?
Commentaries weigh in on what exactly this prohibition means.
Young Religious Zionist Torah scholars connect the weekly Torah reading with the Land of Israel.
This is not a world one can describe because one can only experience it from within oneself. In this world, we lose the very self to the magnetic pull of profound oneness.
‘Why are the periods of impurity - and then purity - of the mother who gives birth to a girl, double the periods where she gives birth to a male?’
Parashat Shmini opens on the eighth day, the 1st of Nissan.
When we immerse ourselves in water, we are forced to recognize our existential estrangement from the physical universe.
“Chazer Treif” is a Yiddish expression that describes something which is absolutely and completely non-kosher. The use of this description goes well beyond the kitchen...
Young Religious Zionist Torah scholars study connections between the weekly Torah portion and the holy land.
Despite the tragedy in the parasha and a similar one in the haftarah, the joyous celebrations at the time continued. How could they find the inner strength?
Why did Aaron have to be convinced to approach the altar?
Our sages wondered why the Exodus is mentioned specifically in response to avoiding insects.
Just as there were crises on the eighth day when the Mishkan was erected, so too in our times, when we have been privileged to establish our national home, there are national and personal crises.
Those who fought and those who went to their deaths with heads held high. All are holy.
Young Religious Zionist Torah scholars find connections between the week's Torah portion and Eretz Yisrael.
Why is it appropriate that we begin reading this Book on the Shabbat of the month of redemption (whether Nissan or Adar)?
What is the difference between the two sin offerings and is there a psychological insight in that difference?
Connections between the Torah portion and the Holy Land, collected by young Religious Zionist Torah scholars.
Commentators weigh in on why the greatest of Prophets could not enter the Tabernacle after it was put up - see the end of the Book of Exodus.
Moshe Rabeinu is the spiritual leader who relies on the direct light from Hashem but he realizes that sometimes we should use the shadows instead.
We have no option but to succeed in revealing the hidden sanctity in the inanimate stones of Hashem’s holy land and in the deep recesses of our Jewish souls.
About the accounting we must make every so often to clear up unsettled issues.