Parshat Balak: The Wind that Leads in the Desert Bilaam is fortunate enough to experience divine revelation and “walk on air” for a few moments, and it is this spirit that lifts him out of the muck in which he had wallowed. However, he misses his opportunity. Chezi Zecharia, Principal of OTS’s Neveh Shmuel Yeshiva …
Shabbat Shalom: Balak (Numbers 22:2-25:9) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “There is no sorcery for Jacob, there is no magic for Israel.” (Numbers 23:23) What is the true message of an entire Torah portion dedicated to the hiring of a gentile soothsayer to curse the Israelite nation – but who instead becomes inspired to …
Parshat Chukat: Faith in the Unclear and the Unknown “There are things that are hidden, we won’t understand and we won’t know/we will also do things, seemingly without reason/there’s no need to ask and investigate into everything/sometimes, it’s fine not to know everything” This is the refrain of Zohar Argov’s well-known song, “There are things …
Shabbat Shalom: Chukat (Numbers 19:1-21:35) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “And he said to them: “Listen now rebels”…and he struck the rock twice.” (Numbers 20:10) Rabbi Nahman of Bratslav tells a tale of a king who was beside himself because his only son was behaving like a rooster: he divested himself of all …
Korach: Leadership, Accountability and Responsibility Rabbi Chaim Kanterovich, OTS Senior International Educator and Director of the OMEK program At one point or other in our lives, we all feel victimized. We feel taken advantage of, wronged by another person, or perhaps that life is simply not fair. The victim state of mind is extremely potent, …
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Shabbat Shalom: Korach (Numbers 16:1-18:32) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “And Korach took…” ( Numbers 16:1) Is controversy a positive or a negative phenomenon? Since the ideal of peace is so fundamental to the Jewish ideal – to such an extent that we even greet and bid farewell to each other with the …
Parshat Shelach: It would have been more appropriate to send women as spies Rabbanit Renana Birnbaum is the Director of the Claudia Cohen Women Educators Institute and OTS’s Conversion Institute for Spanish Speakers The spies understood their roles differently than what Moses had intended. What was the goal of their mission, and was it even …
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This week’s parsha commentary has been sponsoredby the Charif family of Sydney, Australia in memory of Bryna (Bertha) bat Nottel Noteh Charif whose 5th Yartzheit was on 21 Sivan. Shabbat Shalom: Shelach Lecha (Numbers 13:1-15:41) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “And God spoke unto Moses saying, ‘Send out men for yourself to spy …
Parshat Behaalotcha: The Structure of the Menorah and the Structure of the Torah Rabbi Boaz Pash is the Rosh Kollel of the Joseph and Gwendolyn Straus Rabbinical Seminary‘s Torat Yosef Kollel At the beginning of this week’s Parsha, we read the following: “Hashem spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to Aaron and say to him, “When …
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Shabbat Shalom: Behaalotcha (Numbers 8:1-12:16) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “And it came to pass, when the Ark traveled forward, that Moses said, “Rise up O God, and scatter Your enemies; and let them that hate You flee before You.” And when it rested he said, “Return O God, unto the myriads of the …
Parshat Naso: Limitless Love? We ought to enjoy our good lives, accept Hashem’s gifts every day, perpetually, and thank Him for them. On the other hand, we should also remember that we were given a role in this world, and that we aren’t like the beasts of the field, driven solely by our instincts. “Can …
Shabbat Shalom: Naso (Numbers 4:21-7:89) By Rabbi Shlomo Riskin Efrat, Israel – “When a man or woman shall commit any sin that people may commit, to do a trespass against the Lord, and that person be guilty; then they shall confess their sin which they have committed…” (Numbers 5:6–7) According to Maimonides, this verse, which …
