Bilaam is one of the more despicable characters in the Torah. Even before he unsuccessfully attempts to curse the Israelite nation, he lies to Balak’s messengers and goes against the wishes of the G-d to Whom he has expressed his devotion, when he agrees to go with Balak’s messengers. more

Years ago, about to exit the doors of LaGuardia Airport after a long flight, I suddenly realized I had forgotten my tefillin on the plane. I rushed back to the gates only to discover I could not get through without a valid boarding pass, which I no longer had. more

In 1946, according to legend, a young polish boy digging through the rubble of the Warsaw ghetto found a tube with a manuscript inside. The African American soldier he sold it to for a dollar, recognized it as something Jewish and brought it to the chaplain of the U.S. 8th Army, Rabbi Herschel Schachter, ob”m. Rabbi Schachter quickly realized this was the manuscript of the holy Piaseczner Rebbe, Rav Klonymus Kalman Shapiro H”YD. more

“They came to the Tzin Desert, and the people stopped in Kadesh. It was there that Miriam died and she was buried there.” (20:1) This is all the Torah has to say about Miriam, whose death was comparable to Moshe’s (Baba Batra 17a), Aharon’s, and even Avraham’s, on account of all them utilizing the word sham (there), which even appears twice here (Menachem Recanati on this verse). more

In addition to being one of the more colorful characters in the Torah, Korach is even more colorful as he is portrayed in the Talmud and Midrash. A simple look at the commentaries brings one to understand his brilliant mind, his ability to twist Torah, mitzvot, and halacha to conform to his agenda of criticizing Moshe’s leadership (which is less apparent in the Torah) and Aharon’s role as Kohen Gadol, his primary objection. more

A few weeks ago, at a now much publicized Rosh Chodesh prayer service at the Kotel, things got ugly. As they have been doing for nearly 25 years, a group of women from a range of Jewish backgrounds, known as the Women of the Wall, gathered at the Kotel to pray the special morning prayers of Rosh Chodesh, celebrating the new month in the Jewish calendar. This group included women wearing tallitot and Tefillin, and reading from a Torah scroll. Many ultra-Orthodox Jews (a label that needs defining--beyond the scope of this article) arrived to protest, and things soon got out of hand. more

To the best of my counting (and I’m happy to hear a correction), the Torah mentions the concept of Shabbos once in Bereishis, six times in Shemos, four times in Vayikra, twice in Bamidbar (including this week’s parsha, Shelach) and only once in Devarim. Add to this at least 16 times it is referenced in the remaining 19 books of the Bible, and we have a significant day in the Jewish calendar. more

I remember one of the guys I was in yeshiva with, trying to convince me not to sign up for Officer’s course. I would be forced to spend an additional year and a half in the army, without any spiritual environment to safeguard my religious ideals. “Atah titkalkel,” he said, “you will be corrupted.” more

Our holy Torah is composed of both halachic (legal) and narrative portions. While there is usually nearly universal consensus that a particular law exists, halachic passages are often the focus of diverse interpretations regarding their pragmatic application. Thus, an entire genre of Jewish literature has arisen whose sole purpose is to determine the practical ramifications of both Torah and Rabbinic laws. In many ways, the creation of this unique and dynamic body of literature has continued unabated since, at the moment of the Sinaitic Revelation, our forebears declared “Naaseh v’nishmah” (“We will do and we will accept,” Sefer Shemot 24:7). more

In the first Nissan month following the Exodus, the Torah tells us that the Israelites observed Passover, bringing the Korban Pesach (Paschal lamb offering) at its proper time (Chapter 9). The tale that follows is of a group of people, who were unable to participate in the Korban Pesach on account of their being in a state of tumah (a spiritual state of impurity). more