יום ראשון, כ״א חשוון תשפ״זSunday, November 1, 2026
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The sefer Harirai Kedem suggests a different understanding of the machlokes.
The Torah is not just a list of laws and stories, So, how does the travel log in parshat Masei teach us some sort of timeless lesson?
Why did Moshe include part of Menashe together with Gad and Reuven in the Transjordanian settlement?
By Rachel Weiss
He implored the talmid to come up with a way he could return the money without implicating himself.
In politics as in business, the ability to deliver matters.
Being examined by a doctor was causing his patients to be nervous, and that was contributing to the rise in their blood pressure.
In last week's parsha, it looks like the people finally began to trust in God. But now, suddenly, idolatry? What happened? How did the people fail so quickly?
Pinchas fulfilled the halacha of kana’im pogim bo whereby a kana’i (zealot) is granted permission to kill people performing specific aveiros.
The fact it was specifically Midianite and Moabite women involved with Jewish men {Moshe and men involved with Ba'al Peor) shows that an existential bond existed between these nations and Israel.
It is only G-d’s Hand in guarding our continued existence and our dedication to Torah that has allowed us to endure.
For the first time in a while, the main characters of the parsha--Bilaam and Balak-- are NOT the people of Israel.
Our worst enemy convinces us that we can only be led from the top, rather than recognize that a real leader lifts up each individual so that he can stand with him in the heavens
How is it possible that anyone could see Pinchas as anything other than a hero?
Bilaam not only doesn't appear to be great, he seems to be base as well as foolish (outsmarted by his own donkey!). So how can the midrash claim he was really at least as great a prophet as Moshe?
Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking. -Kahlil Gibran
This week, we get even more complaining from Israel - this time, about the lack of water. How can they continue to complain after everything God had done for them? Join us as we explore the baffling story of Israel’s complaints. Video: This video is from Rabbi David Block and Immanuel Shalev.
So even if their parnassah was dependent on their listening, how would they be motivated by something so mundane as earning their daily bread?
The Zohar says that only someone who dies of natural causes was killed by the malach hamaves. People who are killed by others were not killed by the malach hamaves.
It is well known that each month is aligned with one of the tribes of Israel, with Tammuz being aligned with Reuven. What is Reuven all about?
The essence of Torah is to guide us in mastering a life of back and forth, inside and out, up and down; a life riding on the hinges for those seeking to find their voice, courage and inner greatness.
Moshe was ideally suited to the role of an intermediary between God’s immanent presence and Israel but not so well suited to leadership in front of a hidden God
G-d is the only “force” that is completely sovereign and independent. The rest of creation, however, requires a dynamic giver-taker relationship.
Korach wasn’t approaching Moshe to seek the truth; his sole intention was to mock and discredit Moshe.
The Vilna Gaon argues that that there is even more reason to permit doing pidyon haben via a shliach since pidyon haben is essentially repaying a debt.
The communication gap here is really two-sided. It certainly starts with Korach and his group, but it subsequently infects Moshe as well.
We’ve seen Israel complain over and over, but never before have they tried to undermine and dispose of their leaders. Join us as we make sense of Korach’s shocking complaints, this week on the Parsha Experiment. This video is from Rabbi David Block and Immanuel Shalev. Want More? Join our growing community: https://goo.gl/xv0UbG Help […]
I definitely don't want even those who hurt me to be swallowed up by the earth, but I do wish a different place for them, just enough displacement for them to able to objectively look at themselves.
How could the spies have doubted God? How could they have sinned so egregiously?
There were far too many consequences of their rejection of "super" vision, and they understood the price of choosing to not see, epitomized by the spies "not seeing" their destiny in Israel.
Clearly, they were lacking in bitachon. Their faith in Hashem was deficient. But they weren’t guilty of speaking lashon hara.
If that is the case, though – if a mechallel Shabbos is toned because he is like one who is ovdei avodah zarah – why, Rav Akiva Eiger asks, is a person who desecrates Shabbos in private stoned?
The incident of the spies was a completely new and problematic transgression, it was not toward the rarified wilderness, but rather toward the earthly existence promised in the Land of Israel.
No matter how bleak things seem to be, Hashem never give up on us.
We are bound by G-d’s laws when we are in yeshiva, at home, in the synagogue, in the office, at a social event, or on vacation.
To gain power or distract the population from their suffering, a monarch would look for a place to put the blame.
But even after one follows all of the rules and performs the mitzvah correctly, the essential part is that we adhered to Hashem’s command and performed His will.
How can we understand, and relate, to the Children of Israel, a seemingly ungrateful, chutzpadik nation as it crosses the desert?
Moses acted properly in his role of prophet. He failed in his role as a husband; he did not see Tziporah's suffering, her black cloud.
If Moshe was the greatest man that ever lived, his silent partner Tzipporah deserves much of the credit for it.
The Malbim explains that when G-d asked Moshe what was in his hand he was testing him. He was essentially asking Moshe to define how he viewed his role as leader.
So on both sides of the spectrum, the yetzer hara either should be unable to convince the person it is permitted – or it shouldn’t need to do any convincing.
Why don’t we require the nazir to start his term again and why doesn’t the regular person who enters the Mikdash receive a punishment?
In Parshat Naso, we are introduced to what seems like a hodgepodge of miscellaneous laws. Why is the Torah bringing these up together?
Enjoyment of God’s world always comes with some innate meaning – something which is lacking in the case of abstinence, the case of the Nazir.
“That is you – had you lived up to your potential, had you become what you were destined to be.”
For those of you who are familiar with the Arizal’s modus operandi of matching each of the months with one of the twelve tribes, I am sure Sivan has got you perplexed.
Women are exempt only from the first general obligation to learn Torah, not the second, more specific one.
Bamidbar should open with the stories of the desert, right? Evidently not. Why?
The Torah recognizes the phenomenon of leadership and brings it to our attention subtly in the Book of Bemidbar, through the way it lists the names of the different tribes.
The terrorists were told that they would be given a plane to take them to an Arab country.
Man has two competing sides to him, each one crying out to fulfill it needs, each one demanding its fill.
By Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo
Depending on their spiritual condition, human beings will either be satisfied with what they have, or will not. This is the determining factor whether or not it is a year of 'plenty.'
I would like to point out that this part of the tochacha has been visited upon us today, and it is important that we realize it.
The Torah is teaching us that even a mature adult faced with a difficult trial will be greatly influenced by what others are doing.
If a person steals an item and then dies, his children must return the stolen item.
Had the Jews not sinned with the spies, they would have gone into the land led by Moshe at the end of Parshat Shelach. Hence the end of Vayikra would have basically been the end of the Torah
After the kohanim, leviim and yisraelim lies the outermost circle, representing the nations of the world.
We are all familiar with the idea of preparing for matan Torah, but in which way does counting the days help us become worthy of receiving the Torah?
This mitzvah seems very difficult to understand. The answer lies in our understanding how our middos are shaped.
On the other hand, perhaps the fetus she is carrying is a male, and she is obligated to ensure that he does not become tamei.
The Torah is telling us something here: Though we may sometimes act too rashly, there are times when rash action is the only way to prevent a complete catastrophe.
Yearning and striving for holiness is a testament to one's love and devotion to the Creator.
The answer to this question is based on understanding the connection one Jew has to another.
Since we daven Shacharis and Musaf together, perhaps they are considered one tefillah.
In this week’s parsha, the Torah further develops the statement that opens Parshat Kedsohim, the need to be 'Kadosh.'
By Rachel Weiss
The sign of the powerful bull (shor) is symbolic of Iyar (Taurus), while the part of the body representative of the month is the neck.
If I say the word Amos, what is the first word that comes into our minds?
The importance of uniforms is underscored in this week's parsha.
The weird rituals of Yom Kippur sound magical… and irrational. How do they grant forgiveness for our sins?
Our conscious reality would change because part of who we are is the animal soul, and we would thereby acquire cruelty.
The Gemara says that Rabbi Yehuda agrees that the berachah on shechita said at the beginning suffices to cover both types.
Parshat Achrei Mot represents a transition in the book of Vayikra from an emphasis on Aharon and his sons to the Jewish people as a whole
What makes a holy soul decide to worship foreign gods? The answer is the yetzer hara.
We would assume the selfish person would be happy. After all, he is singly focused on what’s good for him.
Stopping there, the Jewish people looked up and saw the Egyptians chasing after them.
First, the makka occurred on the first night of Pesach, not on Erev Pesach. Why, then, fast on Erev Pesach?
However, if one did not recline during three or four of the cups we would require him to drink them again and recline.
This concept has great relevance to us both on the receiving as well as on the giving end.
This week, in Metzora, we'll dive a little deeper to find the meaning embedded in the strange rituals of becoming tahor, ritually pure.
Man in his ideal form is described as a speaker. Fitting that the sin most closely associated with tzaraat is misuse of speech.
The Jewish people do not usher in months like the rest of the world.
Before Hashem created the world, He thought (if it could be) to create it with the middas hadin – strict justice.
There are several answers given to that question and some may or may not apply to answer the question raised regarding a bris performed on Shabbos “illegally.”
Lie is filled with exquisite "pauses," moments built into the fabric of life offering an opportunity for growth
The quest begins in understanding just what Tumah and Tahara are, and how these new definitions can truly impact our lives today.
The outcast metzorah or zav, is essentially promised a quick rebirth within the Jewish nation.
By Rabbi Dr. Nathan Lopes Cardozo
The laws of shechita and tzaar ba’alei chayim were meant for Jewish communities who would eat meat occasionally, not for the huge industry we have today
By Rachel Weiss
The word matzah (mem, tzadik, hei) is an acronym for “mikol tzara hitzilanu (from all my troubles He has saved me)” ...in the merit of achilas matzah, of consuming matzah.
What did the absence of wine have to do with the nation’s ultimate understanding that Hashem is the true G-d?
What really defines a person as one type of decision maker or the other?
The halacha is that if a person can prevent the chaser from killing the victim without killing the rodef he must.
If a person is locked into the idea that he cannot change, then in fact he won’t be able to. To such a person, the Torah has no relevance.
We are connected to our past, not by feeble attempts to recreate history, but by the awareness with which we live in the present.
What if there was a way for us to think about kosher that makes sense and can strengthen our relationship with God?
Esther experienced the Purim story as God making us happy with our efforts; she wanted us to emulate God by helping each other rejoice in our striving.
What will happen when finally Amalek is indeed eradicated? Will the 558th commandment become obsolete? Will the eternal Torah then only have 612 mitzvos?
He had so eliminated bad character traits from his heart that he would feel nothing negative.
I would suggest that even if one is confident that he can keep his clothing dirty, there is still reason to change one’s attire.
October 30, 2026 
