by Rabbi Yonah Berman
Posted on July 28, 2022
Masei, the second of our two parshiot this week, starts off “These are the journeys of the Israelites, who had left Egypt in organized groups under the leadership of Moshe and Aharon” (Num. 33:1). Abarbanel, a 15th and 16th Century Portuguese/Italian commentator, looks at this list and notices that some of the names don’t appear in any other places in the Torah.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on July 9, 2021
We all know that words can hurt and words can heal. This happens when our words are directed at others. But what about other contexts? The words we use may help us articulate our thoughts more or less clearly, or reflect our backgrounds or education.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on August 15, 2016
Words have power. They can cut deep, creating lasting scars in one’s psyche, or they can comfort, console, encourage, and inspire. Words can also convince and persuade when used in a cogent argument, as when the daughters of Tzelafchad approached Moshe to voice their claim of inheritance over their father’s land in last week’s parasha.…
by Rabbi Avi Weiss
Posted on May 21, 2016
The portion of Masei includes the sentence that speaks to the commandment of living in Israel. The key phrase is “and you shall take possession of the land and dwell therein” (Numbers 33:53). Rashi is of the opinion that this sentence does not constitute a command to live in Israel.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on July 15, 2015
After forty years of wandering through the wilderness, the Children of Israel arrive at the Plains of Moab. The Promised Land is so close they can almost taste it, and most of Parashat Masei is devoted to what awaits them on the other side of the Jordan.…
by Rabbi Dov Linzer
Posted on July 22, 1998
The parsha of Matot-Masay concludes the story of the Moab-Midian attack against the Israelites. In the parsha of Balak we read that the Moabite women enticed the Israelite men to engage in illicit sex and to worship the pagan god Ba’al.…
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