The mourning for Miriam is wholly inadequate, and it opened the door for the unfortunate events of Mei Merivah, which concluded with a need for different leadership to bring the … more

In college I took some classes in film theory and design. I can only imagine how artistic filmmakers would set up the scene of Bilaam riding on his donkey in the moments when the donkey veers off the … more

Reading through the narrative portion of Parshat Korach, one finds a number of groups complaining against Moshe and Aharon. The first is Korach, the second is Datan and Aviram’s group, the … more

Rabbi Aryeh Kaplan translates Bamidbar 15:15-16 as follows: “Among the group that may marry one another, the same rule shall apply both to you and to the proselyte who joins. It is an … more

One of the reasons given for the Levites’ positions of holiness was on account of their not having participated in the sin of the Golden Calf. Separating themselves from the community of … more

Anyone listening to this week’s reading, Naso, knows that there is a lot of repetition. The twelve nesi’im each bring their respective offering for the dedication of the altar. Aside … more

G-d tells Moshe, “I have separated the Levites from the [other] Israelites so that they may take the place of all the firstborn (who initiate the womb) among the Israelites, and the Levites … more

The last verse of the Tochacha (Rebuke) of Chapter 26 in Bechukotai says the following: “These are the decrees, laws and codes that G-d set between Himself and the Israelites at Mount Sinai … more

Parashat Behar tells us that “G-d said to Moshe at Mt. Sinai, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them that when you come to the land that I am giving you, the land will rest a … more

After introducing us to the concepts of not bringing an animal as an offering before it is eight days old, and after telling us that the animal and its parent (Rashi distinguishes between the … more