Who Will Bless the Kohanim? In this week’s Torah reading (Bamidbar 6:22-27) we have the Birchat Kohanim – the blessings which the Kohanim (descendants of Aaron the High Priest, who […]
Weekly Torah Portion
Insight and themes on the weekly Torah portion (parshah) read aloud in synagogue.
We know that the Torah is quite sparing with words, and many times we can derive laws from just one extra letter. Therefore, it is puzzling that our parashah dedicates […]
The Leaders of the Tribes Each shevet (tribe) in the desert had their own Nasi, the leader of their tribe. Our parashah opens by telling us who the Nesi’im (leaders) […]
The Importance of Order In this week’s Torah reading, the Torah discusses the order in which the Tribes of Israel settled, as they camped in the desert on their way […]
The Torah’s Command to Support Others Early The verse in this week’s Torah reading says (Vayikra 25:35), “And should your brother become poor and his hand will falter in your […]
Trusting the One Who Makes Blessing Grow There is something unique about the mitzvah of shemittah that we do not find regarding the other mitzvot. The Torah actually gives a […]
The Meaning of Sukkot Many of the Moadim have a clear reason why we celebrate them. For example, on Pesach we commemorate the Exodus from Egypt, and on Shavuot the […]
Ask the Rabbi with Rabbi Chaim Mintz In the Holy Temple, the Kohanim (Priests) and Levi’im (Levites) offered sacrifices on behalf of the rest of the nation. But since the […]
The Mitzvah of Counting In this week’s Torah reading we have the mitzvah (commandment) of Sefirat Ha’Omer (Vayikra 23:15-16). The mitzvah is to count every day from the second day […]
A Mitzvah with a Hidden Story One of the mitzvot (Torah commandments) listed in Parashat Acharei Mot is that of kisui ha-dam—covering the blood of a bird or a wild […]
