Embedded in this week’s parsha, Pinchas, is one of the great principles of leadership. The context is this: Moses, knowing that he was not destined to lead the next generation across the Jordan … more

The dictionary defines epiphany as “a sudden manifestation of the essence or meaning of something; a comprehension or perception of reality by means of a sudden intuitive realization.” … more

There are some, say the Talmud, who acquire their world in an hour and others who lose it in an hour. No example of the latter is more arresting and bewildering than the famous episode in Chukat, … 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 twelve men sent by Moses to explore the land of Israel came back with a wholly misleading report. They said: We cannot go up against those people, for they are stronger than us. … The … more

In this week’s parsha, Beha’alotcha, Moses has a breakdown. It is the lowest emotional ebb of his entire career as a leader. Listen to his words to G-d: Why have You treated Your … more

The festival of Shavuot is a mystery wrapped in an enigma. Here is how Shavuot is described and defined in parshat Emor: “From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of … more

There are, it is sometimes said, no controlled experiments in history. Every society, every age, and every set of circumstances is unique. Yet this is not quite true. The history of the past … more

A longside the holiness of place and person is the holiness of time, something parshat Emor charts in its deceptively simple list of festivals and holy days (Lev. 23:1-44). Time plays an … more

The nineteenth chapter of Vayikra, with which our parsha begins, is one of the supreme statements of the ethics of the Torah. It’s about the right, the good and the holy, and it contains some … more