Parshat Hashavua

Parashat Pinchas: Zelophehad's daughters

An unquenchable thirst for the Land of Israel

Zelophehad's daughters stand as veritable beacons during these dark days, showing us where love for the Land of Israel can lead us.

Parashat Pinchas:

A prophet of their own

When someone expresses a new theory on a significant matter for consideration, the reflexive response is often, “Where is it written?" or “Who said that?"

Parashat Pinchas:

What happened to the sons of Korach?

When thoughts of repentance arose in the hearts of the sons of Korach, they were moved to atone for their dishonor, by an offering of praise found in the Book of Psalms.

Torah and Haftora for Parashat Pinchas:

Longing for the land; A prophet for difficult times

The daughters of Tzelophchad and the mission of Jeremiah.

Haftarot: Chukat and Balak

Chukat: The Argument that persists; Balak: I Sent Miriam

The Israeli and Diaspora reading cycles conclude their brief divergence this week.

Chukat and Balak:

Chukat: Death by the kiss; Balak: We are different!

Chukat is the saddest parasha in the entire Torah. And Parashat Balak contains a fascinating and unusual story that illustrates how Jew-hatred is deeply rooted in human existence.

A broken reed vs. Netzach Yisrael

When outside forces try to tie our hands or misread our enemies, our only true defense is our internal clarity, our own independent strength, and our deep faith in Netzach Yisrael.

Chukat-Balak: Divine weapons of war

Israel's true strength lies not in military might or international support, but in faith in Hashem and spiritual resolve.

Parashat Balak (Israel):

How did Balaam merit prophecy?

‘To what can the matter be likened? To that of the king’s cook, who knows the amount of the outlays of the king, for his table.’

Parashat Balak:

The Secret of Israel’s Victory is still the same

The enemies of Israel who seek to dispossess us of our Land and destroy us, understand what Balak and Bilaam understood - that as long as Israel is united they cannot overcome us. Therefore, they make great efforts to drive a wedge and create division within Israel.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi: Chukat (Israel)

Total Dedication to Torah

The breadth and depth of knowledge required for true Torah scholarship must come at the expense of pleasures and leisure activities that are acceptable for the general population.

Parashat Chukat (Israel):

"Because you did not believe in me..."

Moses is told in this parasha that he wiil not bring the Israelites into the Land. How do commentators explain that?

Parashat Chukat (Israel):

Parah Aduma, the Golden Calf, and Egla Arufa

Is there a connection between the three, all involving heifers?

Torah Mitzion: Korach (Diaspora)

Korach's strategy

One of the central questions arising from the Parasha is how a single individual managed to sweep away such a large and significant group and get them to rebel against Moshe.

Dvar Haftora Chukat (Israel):

The original “Stolen Land" accusation

The modern State of Israel did not create the Jewish connection to the land. It restored Jewish sovereignty in the birthplace of Jewish civilization. A similar argument is made to the Ammonites in the Haftorah.

Parashat Korach (Diaspora):

The worst argument in the Torah

Where in the Torah do we find an example of the worst possible argument?

Parashat Chukat (Israel):

When complaining becomes a Way of Life

After years of experiencing miracles, they had stopped noticing them.

Parashat Hashavua for Noahides:

'For he is stronger than us'

The generation of the spies measured the Land and saw a threat; this generation, passing through fire, has begun to measure itself and to ask what it is here for.

Parashat Shlach: (Diaspora)

Should the blind thank Hashem for the gift of sight?

In my experience, some non-sighted people actually have a far greater depth of perception than those who are sighted.

Parashat Korach (Israel):

Born holy or chosen holy?

Korach challenged the appointment system, arguing that positions should follow birth order.

Parashat Korach: (Israel)

The great rebellion of the great Tzaddikim

We can but look in despair at Jewish communities throughout the world, and ask: Is there a single Rabbi who reaches the level of Korach, Datan, and Aviram, the Tzaddikim of the Sinai Desert, who were plunged into such despair at being deprived of the Land of Israel that they lost all faith?

Parashat Korach: (Israel)

Appearances may be deceiving

Am Yisrael does not only operate in terms of practical considerations. An important religious element is involved in political developments.

Parashat Shlach: (Diaspora)

A deliberate life

Torah is called Shalom and has the power to bring peace between the neshamah, soul, and guf, body.

Dvar Haftorah Parashat Korach: (Israel)

A standard for leadership

Moses, Aaron and Samuel neither sought power nor exploited it. They served the people with humility and sacrifice.

Torah Mitzion Parashat Korach: (Israel)

Korach's strategy

Human beings rarely become resolute in their positions solely due to a perfect and brilliant logical argument. Korach knew that.

Torah Mizion on Parashat Shlach: (Diaspora)

A matter of perspective

The key to victory and inheriting the land does not depend on the strength of the fortified cities, but on the measure of our devotion and faith in Hashem and His promises.

Dvar Haftorah Parashat Shlach (Diaspora):

The Land awaits its children

The struggle over Eretz Yisrael has never been solely a military or political contest. At its core, it is a test of faith, vision and national purpose.

Behaalotcha (Diaspora):

Every child needs a Miriam

A single gesture toward a baby reverberates throughout History.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Shlach: The Third Passage of Shema

Why did the Sages decide to add this particular paragraph about Tzitzit, out of the entire Torah, to the central prayer of Judaism?

Shlach (Israel):

Rectifying the Sin of the Spies - now!

We must rectify the ingratitude that brought about weeping for generations. Therefore, we must thank God for the great miracles that have occurred in our days.

Shlach (Israel):

'How much longer will these people provoke me?'

First "provoke" followed by the next phrase asking 'How much longer will they not believe in me?' A survey of commentators explaining and contrasting the two dramatic verses.

Behaalotcha (Diaspora):

Becoming more humble

True humility is a choice.

Haftarat Parashat Shlach (Israel):

When status obscures mission

The core moral failure of the desert generation, and the corrective embodied by those who came next.

Shlach (Israel):

Generals are not statesmen

What was sinful about the words of the spies? Weren’t they supposed to give an accurate report of what they had seen? (Ramban)

Parashat Shlach (Israel):

Conversation in the desert

“We’re all better off, far better off, in the desert, without any distractions," they said. "Maybe one day when there is a Holy Temple in the Land, after Mashiach will have come, it will be time for us to enter the Land of Israel and possess it. But until then, we’re clearly better off remaining in the desert."

Shlach (Israel):

The sin of speaking ill of the Land

Standing before the same landscape, the spies and Joshua and Caleb reached opposite conclusions. The results were not long in coming.

Behaalotcha (Diaspora):

The secret of Jewish intransigence

Historically, it seems that the more accessible the sanctity of Judaism became, the more we were tempted by outside influences.

For Israel: Behaalotcha

Purifying the Levites

What is the method of purifying the Levites and why is it written after the offerings at the Tabernacle dedication? Commentators weigh in on the meanings below the surface.

Why focus on the negative?

There are temporary shortcomings but we work alongside Hashem to constantly grow and improve on the path to final completion.

Naso and Behaalotcha:

Abstinence and Holiness; Leadership and Free Will

Shavuot is two days in the Diaspora, one day in Israel. Thus, whle Israel read the regular weekly portion, Naso, last Shabbat, (and will read Behaalotcha this coming Shabbat), Diaspora Jewry read a Shavuot portion last Shabbat and will read Naso this coming Shabbat.

For Israel: Behaalotcha

What could have been and what could be

The Rabbis say that, had Moshe led Bnei Yisrael into the Land, he would have built the Beit HaMikdash (Holy Temple), and it would have never been destroyed.

For the Diaspora: Parashat Naso

The power of repetition

The balance between continuity and individuality is one of Judaism’s great achievements and it comes to the fore in the parasha.

For Israel: Behaalotcha

The “Caring" Trap: The danger of well-intentioned talk

Before speaking about another person, we should ask ourselves one honest question: Am I truly going to help this person directly and privately, or am I simply using the language of “concern" to give myself something to discuss?

Naso:

Of human dignity

We honor the divine soul and, by extension, the One who implanted it in the human body, by respecting the living as well as the deceased.

Receiving the Torah:

The pedigree of the People of Israel

Because Yaakov chose Hashem to be his G-d, Hashem chose Israel - Yaakov’s nation - to be His special lot.

Bamidbar: Reclaim the Torah for all!

Torah, like the desert, must be open and accessible to all of Am Yisrael, with purity, humility, and patience, so that the nation can return to its highest levels of holiness and spiritual greatness.

Dvar Haftorah for Bamidbar/ Machar Chodesh:

From David’s tears to Jerusalem’s joy

Like the moon, which wanes before it is renewed, the nation of Israel endured periods of concealment and decline but always held fast to the belief that restoration would come.

Yom Yerushalayim and Parshat Bamidbar:

When the Israeli flag returned to the Temple Mount

The return to Jerusalem in 1967 marked not only a military triumph but a stage in the ongoing restoration of Jewish sovereignty in our ancestral land. And perhaps that is the deeper lesson of Parshat Bamidbar for our time.

Parashat Bamidbar:

You were there

Those of us who were born Jewish are not ordinarily described as Jews by choice. But we must always feel tht we have chosen the Torah.

G-d’s unconditional love

G-d cares enough to discipline us. But He does not abandon us.

Israel's 1st Chief Rabbi:

Bechukotai: Prophetic Letters

Letters are more than just elements of speech. They are the building blocks of creation.

Brit Olam: Noahide Dvar Torah

Libi, Trump, and the Shabbat

Libi came to our Shabbat table once.She was from a faraway country, a student who wanted to understand the Jewish people. She read books. She asked sharp questions. She said something I still remember.

Behar-Bechukotai:

Walking the Land, living the Covenant

Eretz Yisrael is more than a place on the map. It is a crucible in which the Jewish people are called upon to refine their identity and fulfill their mission.

Behar-Bechukotai:

The eternal nation

Am Yisrael is the eternal nation, and the covenant which the Holy One Blessed be He made with us is an eternal and unbreakable covenant.

From the Office of the UK Chief Rabbi

The most remarkable letter in the Hebrew Alphabet

That one letter is also a word and writing four of them in a row also forms a word.

Behar-Bechukotai:

A land that abhors immorality

We should feel that we have a “closer" relationship to Hashem when we stroll through the streets of Eretz Yisrael and the holy city of Yerushalayim (Jerusalem), and this should inspire us to a higher level of behavior.

Torah Mitzion: Behar-Bechukotai

Lords of the Land

The pairing of Behar-Bechukotai raises the question: were they originally defined as two parashot later joined when needed, or perhaps originally defined as a single parashah that sometimes had to be split? And what is the role of the Kohanim?

Dvar Haftorah: Behar-Bechukotai

Returning to ourselves

This week's haftorah is a profound statement about resilience, about the ability to endure and even thrive amid adversity when one’s foundations are properly rooted.

Parashat Bechukotai and Yom Yerushalayim

From desolation to defensible borders

We moved from existential fear as described in the parasha to the heights of national renewal, with the climax being the liberation and reunification of Jerusalem, together with the return to Yehudah and Shomron.

Parashat Emor:

Kohanim and festivals

Why did G-d interrupt the sequence of the mitzvot of the Kohanim with the mitzvot of the Festivals?