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?
Am Yisrael does not only operate in terms of practical considerations. An important religious element is involved in political developments.
Torah is called Shalom and has the power to bring peace between the neshamah, soul, and guf, body.
Moses, Aaron and Samuel neither sought power nor exploited it. They served the people with humility and sacrifice.
Human beings rarely become resolute in their positions solely due to a perfect and brilliant logical argument. Korach knew that.
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.
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.
A single gesture toward a baby reverberates throughout History.
Why did the Sages decide to add this particular paragraph about Tzitzit, out of the entire Torah, to the central prayer of Judaism?
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.
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.
True humility is a choice.
The core moral failure of the desert generation, and the corrective embodied by those who came next.
What was sinful about the words of the spies? Weren’t they supposed to give an accurate report of what they had seen? (Ramban)
“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."
Standing before the same landscape, the spies and Joshua and Caleb reached opposite conclusions. The results were not long in coming.
Historically, it seems that the more accessible the sanctity of Judaism became, the more we were tempted by outside influences.
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.
There are temporary shortcomings but we work alongside Hashem to constantly grow and improve on the path to final completion.
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.
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.
The balance between continuity and individuality is one of Judaism’s great achievements and it comes to the fore in the parasha.
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?
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.
Because Yaakov chose Hashem to be his G-d, Hashem chose Israel - Yaakov’s nation - to be His special lot.
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.
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.
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.
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 cares enough to discipline us. But He does not abandon us.
Letters are more than just elements of speech. They are the building blocks of creation.
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.
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.
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.
That one letter is also a word and writing four of them in a row also forms a word.
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.
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?
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.
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.
Why did G-d interrupt the sequence of the mitzvot of the Kohanim with the mitzvot of the Festivals?
In a double expression in Parshat Emor, the Torah teaches an important lesson on the responsibility of adults to guide youth and the central role of refined speech and the importance of respectful communication and moral leadership within Am Yisrael.
This week's parasha speaks of sanctifying G-d's Name, Kiddush Hashem. At the Golder's Green attack, nobody intended to perform this commandment, but it shone forth from them.
The meaning of “holy" is entwined with the sanctification of the Divine Name. How is that done?
The Hebrew word for charity, tzedakah, derives from tzedek, meaning “justice."
How the saintly Rabbi Yaakov Moshe Charlap, rav of the celebrated Beit Knesset HaGra in Jerusalem, acted with regard to the Haftarah when Parashat Kedoshim was read without being preceded by Acharei Mot.
The Torah portions of Acharei Mot and Kedoshim reveal the deeper role of Yom Kippur as the lasting day of forgiveness and true acceptance of the Torah, offering new insight into its connection with Shavuot.
In these terrible times of war, in these terrible times of killings and the murder of Jews-times of Acharei Mot-we still remain Kedoshim.
The Rambam teaches that we must say a blessing before we eat any food or enjoy pleasant aromas.
Could it be that what we commemorate on Yom Haatzma'ut is not merely a political milestone, but the unfolding of a prophetic promise?
Various commentators are brought to bear on the reasons for the two fates for the two he-goats of Yom Kippur.
On Yom HaZikaron, as we stand in the depth of loss, we see what Rabbi Akiva shouted: We are one family. The soldiers currently on the front lines and those who have fallen do not check who is "religious enough" or "political enough.
In our prayers, we often ask Hashem to bless us with יְשׁוּעָה וְנֶחָמָה, salvation and consolation. Throughout our history, as they do this week, the two come together.
Lessons from the Torah portions of Tazria and Metzora, the exact middle of the Torah, and how all three connect to the days of the Omer.
Isaiah’s magnificent, inspiring prophecies are coming true before our very eyes. They are no longer a matter of faith: they are now tomorrow’s headlines.
A parent’s attachment to their child can become at odds with the imperative to act in the best interests of the child.
We remember a world that was destroyed, we look at the threats we face right now, and we are left with that same unanswered question: Why?
The tragic deaths of Nadav and Avihu in Parashat Shemini warn of the terrible danger of humans following their own decrees instead of G-d’s, even when they have the holiest and most exalted of intentions.
To act based on instinctive feelings of right and wrong, or even powerful religious inspiration, is to undermine the principle of Divine Revelation.
The midwives saw to it that a healthy body was accompanied by a healthy soul. So must we.
In this week's parasha, Leah thanks G-d when Yehuda is born and we thank G-d every morning before we get out of bed.
