Parshat Shavua

Devarim:

Two different spy stories

What do our Torah Sages say about the glaring differences in the two accounts of the 12 spies? And an idea for reconciling them.

The first marriage counselor in history

The only Yartzeit mentioned in the Torah is Aaron’s. Why?

Le’David Barchi Nafshi:

“How can it be that your brothers go to war and you remain here?”

Could there be a wrong greater than that from an ethical, moral or religious point of view?

Torah Mitzion:

Matot-Masei: Wherever I go, I go to Israel

The conclusion of Bamidbar ends the chapter of the trials of the desert generation, and now they enter a land flowing with milk and honey. Chazak, Chazak, V’nitchazek.

Parashat Matot-Mas’ei:

The long and winding road

The Torah is our guide through our journeys in the world, and its 42-line pages remind us that just as God led us to 42 stops as we went forward in the desert, God leads us along all our journeys.

Eretz Yisrael in the Parsha:

The lottery

Why did the Torah require the division of the Land of Israel to be done specifically by a lottery?

True peace in the face of violence

'Moshe and the elders could not recall the proper response to the display of immoral conduct; his great-nephew Pinchas was able to clarify the issue, and speared both Zimri and Kozbi as befitting those who blatantly defame G-d's Name with extreme displays of lewdness.'

Balak: Beware politicians who talk much, but do little

That he couldn’t win the war was irrelevant to Bilaam; what was relevant was that he could keep the game going, gaining more money, fame and honor as it progressed. Like Arafat and Sinwar did.

The fine print of the Jews' right to Israel

Hamas, Hezbollah, and all the others that claim to be connected to Yishmael are demanding the land of Yisrael in contradiction to the fact that Yishmael severed all ties with Avraham, including any rights to the holy land. Read how this occurred.

When a donkey speaks....it is telling us something

The opening of the donkey's mouth teaches us the basic lesson of the entire story.

Le’David Barchi Nafshi:

Agony and tribulations are part of Jewish history from the start

Our tribulations bring our people to the requisite question: Why have we endured so much suffering? What is the central reason we have experienced so much pain?

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Balak: Our moral core

Bilaam couldn’t harm us, but our own misbehavior did.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Chukat: Even in the Hour of Death

Why did the rabbis emphasize Torah study in every situation, even on one’s deathbed?

Eretz Yisrael in the Parsha:

Why was Moshe's punishment not entering the Land of Israel?

Moshe is compared to the sun, while Yehoshua to the moon.

Parashat Chukkat: A new generation

Our generation is the generation that was born and raised in Israel, unbowed by exile. And we have demonstrated our determination to win the war and rescue our captives. This week's parasha is the precedent.

"This is the statute of the Torah": Chukat haTorah

Questions and answers of rabbinic commentators on the idea of laws for which we have no reason.

Different groups, different motivation

When an organization is coming with a certain demand, is this a clear black and white issue? Or, are their true interests hidden from view?

Eretz Yisrael in the Parsha:

What comes first, Redemption or Repentance?

In the process of redemption, what comes first: ingathering of the exiles or purification?

The test

A selection of commentaries weighing in on the meaning of the almond branch blossoming staff test.

Parshat Korach

Preserving the authenticity of Judaism

Korach and his cohort fail spectacularly and are swallowed by the earth while yet alive. We can glean from this incident the significance of comprehending that the Torah was given through Moshe, by the direct orders of G-d.

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi

Korach: ‘One word says it all’

What was at the root of this machloket, this conflict?

What we learn from Korach about living our 'best life'

Be careful what you wish for - or covet.

Parashat Shlach: Truth and consequences

When the Jews of a thousand years in the future look back at our present-day reality, what will they say and write about our generations? What consequences will we, today, bequeath to our ancestors?

The power of one word

Where did the spies go wrong?

The Parsha and Current Events: We need each other

From the time of receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai through such time that we will have proven ourselves worthy of the honor of being the chosen nation, we remain steadfastly Am Israel.

Rabbi Berel Wein:

Behaalotcha: The complainers

We are bidden to deal with problems to the extent that we can and not to dwell on them and constantly complain about them.

Eretz Yisrael in the parasha: Initiative in battle for the land

Young religious Zionist scholars find connections between the Torah reading and the Land of israel.

Burying Moshe’s trumpets & crafting our own

Why the trumpets, which represent our ingathering, our points of reflection in times of joy and challenge, can’t be reused.

Le’David Barchi Nafshi:

God created His world for it to be used by us

Yearning for holiness should not come at the expense of participation in this world and in community life, with all that such implies.

Torah Mitzion:

Fulfilling one’s mission in life

In the army, there are soldiers who are assigned to places where they do not want to serve. Sometimes these soldiers are disgruntled, and when students in a particular yeshiva asked the head of the yeshiva what they should do about the unwanted assignment, he quoted them the words of Maimonides regarding the Levites.

Eretz Yisrael Yomi:

The essence of G-d's Name

Religious Zionist Torah scholars find connections between the week's Torah reading and the Land of Israel: Where G-d's Name was pronounced.

Monasticism in Judaism

The Torah describes for us quite clearly and vividly the necessity for some manifestation of monasticism, be it permanent or temporary, in Jewish life and social order.

The desert nourished by the waters of Torah

No matter how bleak and barren the desert landscape in which we currently find ourselves, we should always be cognizant of the ability of Torah to refresh and renew us.

Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch:

Bamidbar: She’s family

In Jewish law, a maidservant isn’t a lowly slave.

The wonderful rewards for toiling in Torah

"What is the meaning of:’if you follow My statutes’? It means that you toil in the study of Torah..".

Le’David Barchi Nafshi:

Not for any reward

The doctrine of reward and punishment at the opening of the parsha arouses our wonder. It is worthwhile to clarify the meaning of this important religious axiom.

Behukotai: Rabbi Akiva's Parable

Israel's first Chief Rabbi died in 1935. His words here are absolutely prophetic.

Talking Parsha - Bechukotai: Why so harsh??

What is the significance of the number seven in a parsha about rebuke? And what does the phrase 'seven on your sins' truly mean?

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi

Through what merit is the Jewish people saved?

D’var Torah for Parshat Bechukotai.

Thought-provoking ideas from the weekly parsha - Behar

Chinuch explains that if one is allowed to defend their physical property to the fullest extent of the law, for sure when facing verbal abuse and threats to one’s emotional and spiritual health one can respond in kind.

Eretz Yisrael in the Parasha: Open miracles

Young religious Zionist Torah scholars connect the week's parasha to Eretz Yisrael.

The Parsha and Current Events: The writing on the wall

If the Prop;het Daniel were here, who would he single out as today's Belshazar? Perhaps all of them...

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Parshat Behar: Come home

Why did Yericho’s walls crumble to the ground?

Eretz Yisrael in the Parsha:

Prayers related to Eretz Yisrael

Young religious Zionist Torah scholars find connections between Eretz Yisrael and the parsha.

The Parsha and Current Events: Time

Predicting the future is more precarious than walking on thin ice in June.

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi

From where do we know that ten men constitute a minyan?

D’var Torah for Parshat Emor

Talking Parsha - Emor: No equality in the Mikdash??

Does physical condition matter in spiritual service? Shouldn't the focus for priests serving in the Temple be solely on one's spiritual connection??

“Le’David Barchi Nafshi”:

Kedoshim: It depends on you

The Torah lights the path and provides tools to guide man through his life. “You shall be holy because I the Lord, your God, am holy” is essentially the conscience that the Torah supplies to man.

Swimming against the tide

Judaism's defensive measures against moral transgressions are mocked and scorned by the progressives of the current world. Look where that got them.

Kedoshim: Be holy towards your fellow man

Keeping Mitzvot between man-and-fellow man means to look both at our fellow man and at ourselves correctly, in ways which are ‘opposite’.

Office of the UK Chief Rabbi

Kedoshim:"It doesn’t make sense"

So often, we feel that the only predictable element of what’s happening in the world is its unpredictability.

Kedoshim: Preparing for Redemption

The prophetic message of the Return to Zion in the Haftorah we read could have been tailor-made for this Shabbat.

The Parsha and Current Events:

Aftershocks

Torah commentators suggest, each according to his world outlook, how one can achieve kedusha - holiness. But there is a common denominator.

Rabbi Shimshon Refael Hirsch:

Parashat Kedoshim: How can you love someone like yourself?

The Torah doesn’t demand the impossible.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Acharei Mot: The Ox and the Goat

Constructive and destructive power can both be used for positive purposes.

“After the death of the two sons of Aaron"

An explanation that helps us understand the depths of the Torah’s sensitivity to the human psyche and condition. We are still in the throes of every tragedy that befalls the Jewish People, all the more so today.

Eretz Yisrael Yomi:

Sins that cause exile from the Holy Land

Young Religious Zionist Torah scholars explain connections between the weekly parsha reading and Eretz Yisrael.

The Torah's morality against the flames of child sacrifice

While the practice of Molech is no longer en vogue in today’s world, the metaphoric pillars of fire that youngsters pass would through in worship of this barbaric deity still burn strong in the halls of 'prestigious' universities.

Talking Parsha - Achrei Mot: We can’t eat meat??

Why regulate meat consumption when it's already permitted for Noah and his descendants and will be permitted when entering the Land of Israel?

From the office of the UK Chief Rabbi:

‘After death we say holy things’

The Rambam tells us that the mitzvah of kiddush Hashem is the mitzvah of ‘Kol beit Yisrael’,