by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on June 8, 2023
Originally published June 1998 In Behaalotecha, the Torah begins its narrative of the travels of the Israelites through the wilderness of Sinai. The stories of the Israelites’ sojourns, their sins and their quarrels, give us insight into the character of the people and especially their leaders.…
by Rabbi Daniel Epstein
Posted on June 8, 2023
The purely righteous do not complain of the dark, they increase the light; they do not complain of evil, they increase the good; they do not complain of heresy, but increase faith; they do not complain of ignorance, they increase wisdom.”…
by Eliezer Weinbach
Posted on June 16, 2022
How should we respond when there are those in our community who tell us that they feel excluded? In this week’s parsha Beha’alotcha, two people explain that they were tamei meit at the time of the Korban Pesach, and were therefore unable to bring it (Num 9:6).…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on May 27, 2021
Is inclusion a Jewish value? The answer seems obvious. God enjoins the Israelites, “You shall have one standard for stranger and citizen alike” (Leviticus 24:22). Those who might otherwise be at the margins of society are to be equal members. My wife, however, hates the word “inclusion.”…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on June 8, 2017
When we make important decisions in our lives, what thought process do we go through? For most of us, it probably involves asking a series of questions, such as: “Is this what I truly want?”; “Am I doing this for the right reasons or for the wrong reasons?”;…
by Dr. Michelle Friedman, MD
Posted on November 7, 2016
In this week’s portion we come across a striking word usage that occurs only twice in Torah, both times in Bamidbar, the Book of Numbers. The phrase changes slightly, Lama nigara, lama yigara, translated as “Why should we/it be lessened/diminished,” and is found in what appears to be two disparate stories.…
by Rabbi Menachem Leibtag
Posted on November 1, 2016
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by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on August 15, 2016
Now in the third parasha of Bamidbar, the Children of Israel have not moved since the middle of Shemot. God has descended upon Mount Sinai, proclaimed the Ten Commandments, laid the civil laws before all, and commanded the building of the Mishkan and its attendant laws.…
by Rabbi Avi Weiss
Posted on May 25, 2016
The words we recite when taking the Torah from the Ark are found in this week’s portion. “And it came to pass, when the Ark set forward, that Moshe (Moses) said ‘rise up O Lord and let Your enemies be scattered; and let them that hate You flee before You'” (Numbers 10:35).…
by Rabbi Avi Weiss
Posted on May 19, 2016
In this week’s parsha, God tells Moshe (Moses) that a person (ish) who is impure because of contact with a dead body (tameh lanefesh) or too far away from Jerusalem (derekh rehoka) is given a second chance to eat the paschal lamb (Numbers 9:10-11).…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on June 4, 2015
After the camps are arranged around the Mishkan in Parashiyot Bamidbar and Nasso, the camp moves forward, beginning its trek through the desert in Parashat Behaalotecha. At the onset of the journey, two verses are set off from the rest of the text: “va’yehi binsoa ha’aron,” “And it was when the Ark would journey…,” and “u’vinukho yomar,” “And when it rested, he said…” (Bamidbar, 10:35-36). These…