Strange Donkey In this week’s Torah reading, Bilam the prophet decided to curse the Jews, despite God expressing disapproval of him doing so. On the way, God sent an angel […]
Weekly Torah Portion
Insight and themes on the weekly Torah portion (parshah) read aloud in synagogue.
Should Bilaam Go? In this week’s Torah reading, King Balak sent messengers to summon Bilaam the prophet to curse the Jews, who were camping out in the desert nearby. When […]
Making a “Cheshbon Hanefesh” The verse in this week’s Torah reading (Bamidbar 21:27) says in reference to a conquest which took place, “The prophets said, come to [the land of] […]
There Shall Not Be Like Korach The verse in this week’s Torah reading says (17:5), “And there shall not be like Korach and his following.” This is referring to the […]
The Ma’apilim In this week’s Torah reading, the Jews sent spies to the land of Israel. The spies returned with a negative report of the land, and instead of trusting […]
Nothing Better for the Body than Silence In the end of this week’s Torah reading, Miriam, the sister of Moshe (Moses), was punished with tzara’at (a unique skin disease) for […]
Chametz on Shavuot The Chatam Sofer says (Parshat Emor, page 61) that matzah (non-leavened bread) represents our spiritual aspect, while chametz (leavened goods) represents our physical aspect. On Passover, the […]
Woe to the Wicked, Woe to his Neighbor This week’s Torah reading dictates where each tribe should camp, as the Jews traveled through the desert on their way from Egypt […]
All That’s Left is Torah This week’s Torah reading, Parshat Bechukotai, warns us that if we fail to keep the Torah properly, we will be exiled from our land, and […]
And Your Brother Shall Live with You The verse in this week’s Torah reading states (25:36), “You shall not take interest from him, and you should fear your God, and […]
