by Rabbi Dov LinzerPosted 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?”; “Will this be good for me in the short term? In the long term?”; “Will it allow me to best achieve my potential?”; “Will it be good for my spouse and my family?”. If we are truly virtuous, perhaps we will also ask: “Is this good for others, for Klal Yisrael, for the world?”. And maybe, just maybe, we will also ask: “Is this the best way for me to serve God?”.…
by Michelle Friedman, MDPosted 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 LeibtagPosted on November 1, 2016
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by Rabbi Dov LinzerPosted 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 WeissPosted 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 WeissPosted 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 LinzerPosted 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 two verses, which we repeat every time we take and return the Torah to and from the aron in shul, are set off from the Torah by two inverted Hebrew letters, two nuns.…
by Rabbi Dov LinzerPosted on May 23, 2013
After the arranging of the camps around the Mishkan, in parashat Bamidbar and Nasso, our parasha, parashat Biha’alotkha, sees the camp moving forward and the beginning of the trek through the desert. At the opening of this trek, two verses are set off from the rest of the text – va’yehi binsoa ha’aron, “And it was when the Ark would journey…”, u’vinukho yomar, “And when it rested, he said…” (Bamidbar 10:35-36). These two verses, which we repeat every time we take and return the Torah to and from the aron in shul, are set off from the Torah by two inverted letter-nuns. Hazal had a number of explanations for this, but the most intriguing is no doubt that of Rebbe who said that it is separate book of the Torah (Shabbat 116a).…
by Rabbi Dov LinzerPosted on June 8, 2012
The Children of Israel have divided themselves into camps, dedicated the Mishkan, and arranged themselves around the Mishkan, so that God, both literally and figuratively, now “dwells in their midst.” The time has come, in this week’s parasha, to decamp and move forward.…
by Rabbi Dov LinzerPosted on June 10, 2011
Adapted from R. Linzer’s Semikha speech, June 5, 2011 As the academic year ends, many of us will be beginning new chapters in our lives. High school students preparing to go to Israel or college; College students preparing to enter into the job world; men and women becoming lawyers, doctors, scientists, professors; and rabbinical students becoming rabbis. The Torah as well, in this coming week’s sidra, introduces a new parsha. ויהי בנסוע הארון ויאמר משה, “And it was when the ark moved forth, and Moshe declared” – this tiny section, these two verses, are – according to the Gemara Shabbat, a book of the Torah in its own right, so that what comes after it is a different book, an entirely different parsha, of the Torah. In what way is this so?…
by Rabbi Dov LinzerPosted on August 6, 2009
B’ha’alotkha is rich with many stories of the challenges, adventures, and misadventures of Bnei Yisrael’s travelling from Har Sinai and moving towards the Land of Israel. What is visually the most striking is the parsha of “va’yehi binsoa ha’aron,” “and it was when the Ark travelled,” which occurs in the middle of the parsha, and is set off by inverted Hebrew-nuns.…
