The setting: Jerusalem some twenty centuries ago. The occasion: bringing first fruits to the Temple. Here is the scene as the Mishnah describes it. Throughout Israel, villagers would gather in … more

Ki Seitzei is about relationships: between men and women, parents and children, employers and employees, lenders and borrowers. Strikingly, though, it is also about relationships between humans … more

In the course of setting out the laws of war, the Torah adds a seemingly minor detail that became the basis of a much wider field of human responsibility, and is of major consequence … more

Imagine the following scenario. You are 119 years old. The end of your life is in sight. You have been told by G-d that you will not enter the land to which you have been leading your people for … more

The Israelites were almost within sight of the Promised Land. They had successfully waged their first battles. They had just won a victory over the Midianites. There is a new tone to the … more

In Parashat Pinchas, Moshe was in sight of the Angel of Death. Miriam had died. So had Aaron. G-d had told him “You too will be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was” … more

This is an extraordinary moment in Jewish history, for good and not-so-good reasons. For the first time in almost 4,000 years we have simultaneously sovereignty and independence in the land and state … more

It is a scene that still has the power to shock and disturb. The people complain. There is no water. It is an old complaint and a predictable one. That is what happens in a desert. Moshe should have … more

The Korach rebellion was not just the worst of the revolts from the wilderness years. It was also a direct assault on Moshe and Aaron. Korach and his fellow rebels in essence accused Moshe of … more

The episode of the spies was one of the most tragic in the entire Torah. Who sent them and to what end is not entirely clear. In this week’s parsha, Shelach, the text says it was G-d who … more