Balak: his own reality
Parshat BalakBalak and Bilaam go out a few times to try to curse the Jews. Each time Bilaam tries to curse, it comes out as a blessing. Each time, Balak gets increasingly more upset at Bilaam,...
View ArticleBalak: we quote Bilaam every day during davening
Parshat BalakSheva Brachot DrashaThe following is what I said last night when speaking at a 'Sheva Brachos' we were hosting for a cousin who got married.מה טובו אהליך יעקב משכנותיך ישראך. Bilaam gave...
View ArticleBalak: Is our faith as strong as Bilaam's?
Parshat BalakWhen Balak first tried to persuade Bila'am to join him and curse the Jewish people, Bila'am tried to make very clear that he would only be able to do whatever it is that hashem wants him...
View ArticlePinchas: The Nobel Peave Prize for violencc
Pashat PinchasIn 25:12 Pinchas gets rewarded with Hashem saying, "הנני נותן את בריתי שלום"Pinchas received the Nobel Peace Prize, so to speak, from Hashem for his actions.It is ironic that the award of...
View ArticlePinchas: public and private sin
Parshat PinchasIn 27:3, as the daughters of Tzelafchad ae presenting their case why they should be allowed to inherit the lands of their deceased father, they say, "[Our father] was not among the...
View ArticleMatos: not making them resent you
Parshat MatosOne point, among the many, that jumps out at me from the discussion between the tribes of Gad and Reuven and between Moshe is this - the impression of being unified. Of feeling, and...
View ArticleMasei: affecting others
Parshat MaseiIn 35:34 it says, "ולא תטמא את הארץ... אשר אני שכן בתוכה כי אני ה'שכן בתוך בני ישראל" - do not defile the land... that I dwell within it, for I Hashem dwell amongst Israel.We live in a...
View ArticleMasei: righting a wrong
Parshat MaseiIn 35:5-6 the representatives of the tribe of Menashe come complaining that by giving Tzlafchad's portion in Israel to his daughters, they are hurting the tribe of Menashe - the girls will...
View ArticleMasei: women of great fortitude
Parshat MaseiIn 36:10-11, it says the daughters of Tzlafchad did as Hashem had commanded Moshe and they married their cousins.From the fact that it says this only after the representatives of Menashe...
View ArticleDvarim: the most important lessons
Parshat D'VarimMoshe reviews the events and lessons that they encountered and experienced in the desert.Why does he go into great detail when discussing the more recent events, such as the battles they...
View ArticleVa'Eschanan: entering Eretz Yisrael
Parshat Va'eschananMoshe reviews the experience of the giving of the Torah, and how it happened. It raises the question - why did Hashem give the Torah in Chutz La'aretz? Why not take the Jews right...
View ArticleVaeschanan: being proactive
Parshat Va'eschananIn 5:12, as Moshe is transmitting the second set of the 10 Commandments, he says, "שמור את יום השבת" - Guard the day of Shabbos to keep it holy.Rashi brings the famous question that...
View ArticleVaeschanan: 2 parts to a mitzva
Parshat Va'eschananIn 7:1-3 the Torah commands us to wipe out the nations already residing in the Land of Israel. It then commands us to not allow them to continue living there, and to not intermarry...
View ArticleEikev: one way or the other
Parshat EikevIn Perek 9, Moshe tells the nation that they should not think it is because they are so worthy that is the cause of Hashem choosing them and to place them in Eretz Yisrael. He then goes on...
View ArticleRe'aih: a blessing for nothing special
Parshat Re'aihIn 15:18 it says that when you release the servant, it should not be difficult for you... and Hashem will bless all that you do".Why? Why should you be blessed for letting him go? You...
View ArticleShoftim: pointless killing
Parshat ShoftimIn Perek 21, it discusses the concept of Egla Arufa - a person was found dead outside a city and the elders have to bring a calf to the nahal, kill it by breaking its neck and say they...
View ArticleKi Seitzei: honesty
Parshat Ki SeitzeiIn 25:15 it is talking about keep honest weights and scales. The passuk says "So that you will extend your days on the land that I have given you".Why does your fair scales and...
View ArticleVa'Yigash: The first message
Parshat Va'YigashIn 45:9, Yosef finally can't hold back any longer and just has to tell them who he is. He tells them, and then he says, "Go up quickly to my father and tell him that God has made me a...
View ArticleParshat Va'Eira: no unnecessary bad words
Parshat Va'eiraIn 6:11-12, Hashem tells Moshe that he should go to Pharoah and tell him to send out My people from his land. Moshe responds that the Jews did not listen to me, so how will Pharoah...
View ArticleChayei Sarah: Responsibility
In Parshat Chayei Sarah we find the Torah going through great length and detail in relating the story of how Eliezer, servant of Avraham, searched for a wife for Yitzchak. Not only does it go through...
View ArticleChayei Sarah: Eliezer and the Artscroll biography
The Torah repeats the story of Eliezer looking for a wife in great detail. Rashi tells us that from this we learn how beloved the simple, mundane, talk of even the slaves of the forefathers is more...
View ArticleB'Shalach: Money makes you insane
Parshat B'Shalach: Money makes you insane14:5-8.Pharoah had had enough of the Jews and the trouble they brought with them. He finally agreed to let them go.Now that they are gone, and he sees they are...
View ArticleB'Shalach: Drying up the Sea
Bshalach: Shedding light on the Splitting of the SeaIn Sefer Yehoshua in 2:10, Rahav is talking to the two slaves Yehoshua had sent. She is describing how they know the Jews are going to take over the...
View ArticleParshat Naso: extreme reactions and normal behavior
Extreme Reactions and Normal BehaviorParshat NasoIn this weeks parsha we find the portion regarding the sotah woman, and following in close proximity is the portion regarding someone who accepts upon...
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