יום שישי, י״ח תמוז תשפ״וFriday, July 3, 2026
Follow Us
In place of conventional warfare, terrorist organizations have emerged that have taken terrorist activities to a new level.
We can learn from people with good character. And we can even learn from people with bad character how not to live our lives. We can extract true lessons when we hear how an enemy criticizes us. We can learn from children and those in all strata of society.
Man’s fate is in his own hands – he decides for himself and for the world. Hashem did not create us as finished products, but with the need and responsibility to develop ourselves properly.
The rise in rank for words and letters is due to Korach being above average in words and letters per pasuk. Korach is a short sedra (in a sefer with many long sedras) with fairly long pesukim (in a sefer with lots of short-pasuk sedras).
Shelach by the numbers: Total pesukim: 119, ranks 21st (of 54 sedras) Total words: Ranks 27th Mitzvot: 3, ranks 27th
This generation is truly remarkable. They do not flee from hardship. They strive for the elite units, the most dangerous positions, not because of ego or pride, but because they yearn to be protectors.
The last piece addressed our relationships with peers – including spouses, friends, and family. In addition to those relationships, we should also have meaningful relationships with the generations that precede and follow our own.
By Rafi Hecht
While a few, such as certain Amoraim and Natronoi Gaon, retained access, it became almost exclusive to non-Jewish royalty. The last known Jewish mention came from the Ramban in the 13th century, who noted that the Melech Goyim – possibly James I of Aragon – still wore it in his day.
In our time, back in 1982, the costliest battle of the war in Lebanon claimed the lives of about 30 IDF soldiers on this date. Thus, the 20th of Sivan is indeed a tragic day. You can find Selichot written for the day in some siddurim.
We have been here before. We have seen how quickly the world turns. How Jewish suffering is minimized. How our tears are measured against the political utility of those who hate us.
The sedra has 2,264 words and 8,632 letters. Even though Naso’s pesukim are well below average in length (in number of words or letters), it still ranks #1 in all categories.
Just as Hashem spoke the world into being, perhaps He wrote His will into our very cells.
To deserve the name Numbers, this week’s sedra contains numbers galore – starting with a count of the adult male population of each of the 12 tribes, with a total of 603,550 men age 20 and up.
Shouldn’t Shavuot’s commemoration of Matan Torah mandate a spiritual celebration?
In a city torn by conflict, we remember: Yerushalayim is meant to unite us – with each other, and with Hashem.
With the third double sedra in four weeks, it’s a good time to take a closer look at the double sedra story.
One who truly loves Hashem, loves everything He creates. By loving and showing respect to His creations, we, in essence, show respect to Hashem Himself.
In Pirkei Avot, we find the statement, Schar mitzvah, mitzvah – the reward for doing a mitzvah is the mitzvah itself. Or perhaps it means that the reward for doing a mitzvah is another mitzvah to do.
When we are tired and hungry, we are anxious to revive and sustain ourselves. This anxiety can cause us to lose sight of our life’s bigger picture and purpose, and eat like animals rather than human beings.
While our primary obligation is to ourselves, Hillel reminds us of our obligation to the broader community and the world.
Of course, Hashem wants us to fight for ourselves and blesses us with the physical strength and heavenly assistance we need. We see this at the end of Parshat Beshalach in the wake of Amalek’s attack.
Often, people use hashkafa to refer to what distinguishes between different hashkafot (Litvish, chassidishe, modern Orthodox, religious Zionist, etc.). People are eager to understand and appreciate their unique approach. That said, most hashkafic issues, including most central ones, are things all Torah Jews agree upon.
The servitude we experienced in Mitzrayim should sensitize us to human suffering. We know what being a foreigner feels like and should thus care for those in similar situations.
The first generations of men made such sinful choices. Eventually, their sins corrupted the entire world. When man lost his way, other creatures followed suit. This man-induced reality caused Hashem to wash away all living beings.
The righteous women not only saved Moshe; they also inspired him. And they inspired many others as well – including their own husbands.
Tefillah is central to our identity. It is an essential reflection of the human soul and part of what characterizes man as distinct from animal. Hashem provides for the whole world; only man appreciates and prays for it.
Israel’s mourning is not just for Kfir, Ariel, and Shiri – it is for every victim of terror, every life that was cut short in the name of hate and destruction.
If Esther failed to act, Hashem would find another way to save the Jews, but she and her family line would be lost.
When G-d created the world, He did it with words. Every action of creation was accomplished using words. And G-d said, Let there be light. And G-d said, Let us create man. Creation is realized by G-d using words.
Over the past century, the desert has become an oasis, and the desolation a blessing. Israel has developed innovative agricultural expertise and water conservation technologies and has planted over 250 million trees. Eretz Yisrael is the only country that entered the twenty-first century with more trees than the century before.
We have spent most of our history as oppressed people. For almost two thousand years, we were scattered across the world; in over one hundred countries. Despite all this, we survived and continue to identify with our people and heritage.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
The failure to observe the agricultural laws such as tithes, challah, and the Sabbatical year reflects an unbridled acquisitive drive and a failure to care for the poor and needy. G-d provides the antidote to this disease of greed through the laws of charity.
The Jewish people possess unique resilience. While all nations experience decline, Jews are distinguished by their ability to recover and rebuild. Unlike other civilizations that fade after their historical peaks, the Jewish people have consistently risen after setbacks.
It is critical to understand that Israel did not seek out this conflict... The objective has always been clear: a stable, peaceful region where Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side, with dignity and security.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
Wisdom is not conceptualized here in any form of abstract internal intellect. Everything revolves around active listening, relevant and organized speech, and intellectual humility.
The universe is impressive on two levels: the macro and the micro. Its sheer size, even of the relatively small amount we know, is massive. Within just our planet, the number and diversity of creations and creatures are incredible.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
While the commentaries analyze each miracle on its own, the overall thrust of the presentation seems to be that G-d showed an added level of care for the continual functioning of the Temple.
The entirety of the Gaza population, under Hamas’s rule, has become part of this deadly philosophy. One cannot ignore the reality that Hamas, as the governing body, has indoctrinated its people with a worldview that is grounded in violence.
The very experience the Avot lacked, their descendants had. The Jewish people in Egypt had the history of Hashem’s interactions with the Avot to build upon. He had fulfilled His promise to give the Avot the land of Israel, and they had successfully inhabited it.
In Israel, elections are held on a national level with voters casting ballots for political parties rather than for individual candidates. This system, while effective in ensuring that political parties gain power based on their collective support, undermines individual representation.
The Torah’s claim about the revelation at Har Sinai also reinforces our belief in Hashem (in addition to our faith in the Torah’s Divine origin). The claim that an entire nation (as opposed to a limited group) consisting of millions of people (as opposed to a small group) is hard to fabricate, as people would wonder why they had not heard about it from their own ancestors.
Physical and political sieges are the results of spiritual separation. They are a continuation of the ancient pre-Churban siege and are due to and reflective of Hashem’s separation from us.
Serving in the IDF can provide personal development opportunities for charedi men. Many who have enlisted report a newfound appreciation for civic duty and a broader understanding of Israeli society.
Because G-d-consciousness is central to the Torah, it commands us to create and interact with objects that remind us of Him.
Today, amid the suffering caused by the war, we can sometimes feel callous if we take our minds off those most affected. However, a lesson of Chanukah is that there remains space for gratitude, even in the face of ongoing grief.
Hashem equated His relationship with us to that of a father with his son. Though Hashem created all human beings in His image, He chose us as His children (Avot 3:14). All humans resemble G-d; we, the Jewish people, have a personal relationship with Him.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
Rabbi Elazar’s frank realization that from the time we are born we are destined to die frames the entirety of the Mishna. This knowledge is meant to instill our awareness of G-d and His judgment, informing our religious decision-making.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
Desire, Maimonides notes, will interfere with a person’s mission in life to strive for knowledge and pristine character. This will automatically negatively impact his well-being in this world.
We all know that sibling relationships reenact themselves when in the presence of parents. Even when we are older and married, we slip back to the times that we were children.
It is not only our land and our money that belong to Hashem; everything was created by Him and thus belongs to Him. This is why we are prohibited from benefiting from the world before we recite berachot, which recognize Hashem as Creator (Ber. 35a).
Rabbeinu Yonah (Avot 1:1) adds that siyagim are essential not just because they protect us from sin but also because their enactment expresses our commitment to and concern about avoiding sin.
The more that Jews around the world internalize that their continued support is a fulfillment of this mitzvah, each small act is imbued with meaning.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
As we know from educational psychology, it is not just cognitive ability that impacts learning. Emotional and motivational factors are essential as well.
If we see mitzvot as a burden, we are missing the point and cannot forge a meaningful relationship with Hashem.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
If we want to assist a friend in need, we must know how emotions impact not just ourselves, but other people. When someone else is emotionally hijacked, our well-intentioned methods can potentially exacerbate the situation.
Torah learning and mitzvah fulfillment are life's purpose and essential content. Though we need food and water to survive, mitzvah observance and Torah learning are why we are here and what give our lives meaning. A life without Torah learning is not an authentic life.
According to the Rambam, mitzvot contribute not only to our spiritual development but also to our personal growth.
In these difficult times, we, too, turn to Rachel Imeinu and her contemporary namesakes, the two Rachel Goldberg mothers, and ask them all to keep crying on our behalf.
Though we fulfill mitzvot for Hashem’s sake, He does not need our fulfillment, and it does not help or contribute to His existence in any way.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
When people use visualization to think about their future selves, they are able to make better long-term choices in the present. The results are stronger when the conjured image is related to a specific goal and the image is vivid and realistic.
This ability to show respect for the entire life and accomplishments of an individual is essential if we want our children to have respect for our history and our past leaders.
Practically, denial of the mitzvah means that one will never come to fulfill it. Even tzaddikim make mistakes from time to time, but because they recognize their sin as such, they eventually repent and repair their ways.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
While being cordial to everyone is important, Rabbi Mathia ben Harash closes with advice as to who it is best to associate with over longer periods of time. It is better to be a tail unto lions, and not a head unto foxes.
What emerges from these Acharonim, especially Magen Avraham, is that the regular proximity to one’s spouse, even if physical contact is prohibited, is comforting, and losing that proximity is discomforting – and this discomfort might be sufficient to exempt a person from sukkah!
For soldiers and other personnel returning from combat zones, exposure to the scenes of war can also lead to post-traumatic stress symptoms, even if these personnel were never in a life-threatening situation themselves.
We are taught in Judaism to temper each of these areas and to walk the middle road. To create a balance between these two seemingly opposing forces. Too much materialism is no good. Too much spiritualism also misses the mark.
Mitzvot call upon us to recognize our dependency upon Hashem and subjugate our will to His.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
If we want to learn effectively, we need to relocate ourselves to a better learning environment. Knowing how to choose the right environment to learn and avoiding distraction is known in educational psychology as self-regulated learning.
Like our forefather Avraham, our national and communal origins are also rooted in our mitzvah observance. We transitioned from a family to a people in Mitzrayim, which we entered as a family of seventy and exited as millions.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
Managing a good reputation is an essential value, particularly for a spiritual leader. Maintaining a good name enables the values he or she embodies to be respected and internalized.
Our life includes more than just fulfilling mitzvot. We also have goals we aim to achieve.
We are not only able to help ourselves, we are also responsible for doing so. Though many assist us throughout our lives, in the end, we are responsible for ourselves.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
By honoring our teachers, we learn through the interpersonal social dynamics how to revere G-d as well.
There is no question in my mind that we as a nation have improved in becoming more sensitized to the plight of our Jewish impoverished and in general to providing chesed, kindness, to people in need... But there is something more that is wholly missing!
How can we reconcile the fact that the pasuk says that the mitzvos are both tov and yashar are in Hashem’s eyes while Rashi says that yashar refers to the way man views the mitzvos?
Halakhic man’s goal is to bring G-d down into this world by first understanding the blueprint He created for this world – the Torah, and its practical expression through halacha – and then striving to align this world with that ideal system.
Hashem taught Moshe and us this lesson through the construction of the Mishkan and the giving of the luchot. When Hashem told Moshe to assemble the Mishkan, Moshe protested that it was too heavy for him to lift. Hashem told Moshe to do what he could: Make it look like you are trying to erect it.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
Noted marriage therapist Dr. John Gottman also contends that each marriage has perpetual, unsolvable problems. The goal is not to resolve those conflicts but to know how to relate to those conflicts in healthy ways.
Sometimes the soldier and his family are most bothered by the worry that their difficulty adjusting is not normal and reflects severe psychological distress.
Rabbi Shmuel bar Nachman said: When Hashem created the world, He desired to have a dirah b'tachtonim, a place for Him to reside below the way He had above.
On the most basic level, challenges inspire reflection and appreciation. The need to work hard to regain something lost or return to a previous position deepens our appreciation for what we had and where we were beforehand.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
If left to our own merit, the rabbis presumed that divine justice would demand punishment.
Because the great sound that did not falter was simultaneously a great sound that would never be repeated, no navi sheker could ever produce evidence that could rival Sinai.
Suffering may be painful, but when we realize that Hashem is behind it, the month truly becomes Menachem Av.
All of our nation’s suffering is rooted in the destruction of the Beit HaMikdash. More precisely, our suffering is rooted in what the destruction reflects – distance between us and Hashem.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
Learning how to politely say no to opportunities that take us away from our top priorities and goals is essential for fulfillment and success. Moreover, once we neglect studying Torah, writes Arvei Nachal, we will lose motivation to study, leading to even more idleness.
Older Americans may remember one of the great betrayals felt by American military service members upon their return from fighting in Vietnam, when many were greeted with jeers and accusations. Indeed, the type of homecoming a soldier receives was found to predict PTSD up to 40 years later (Steenkamp et al, 2017).
The Land of Israel is the most desirable of all lands. Hashem watches over the Land constantly and more closely than any other land.
Getting up from a fall can often feel very difficult. Understandably, many think that after falling, they cannot rise again.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
Generalizing from judges to general ethical advice, the Lubavitcher Rebbe suggests that getting another’s perspective is essential for self-improvement. We tend to have self-serving biases in either positive or negative directions that distort our self-assessment.
Even those less academic and studious can master the Torah and even those less disciplined have the capacity to fulfill all of their mitzvot.
Part of what makes each of us so important is that we are all unique... Hashem created us this way because we each have unique missions in this world.
Building a Mishkan, circumcision, tzedakah, and farming are not our only significant actions. Every good deed we perform, no matter how small, is important and impactful. Each of these deeds contributes to the betterment of the world and should be appreciated and recognized.
It’s time for all our people to stop using these rationalizations because any thinking Jew knows in their heart of hearts that every Jew should be in Israel, and these excuses have no basis. Our grandparents would have given everything that they own to have the opportunity that we have today to make aliyah and live in Israel.
We do not just resemble G-d. We also have a personal relationship with Him.
Angels emanate from and inhabit pure spiritual worlds above. G-d’s presence and their mission are both clear to them.
The Jews assumed that Hashem hated them because they saw themselves as unworthy of His love.
By Rabbi Dr. Mordechai Schiffman
Presumably, even the lowly of spirit according to Maimonides is not purposefully self-denigrating and contains a healthy sense of self-worth (contingent on an awareness of G-d, not one’s own accomplishments).
Some research indicates that heroism during war or, maybe more specifically, the acknowledgement of a soldier’s heroism, might be beneficial to the soldier himself, as it is associated with lower levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms (Stein et al., 2020).
July 3, 2026 
