Articles Parsha Thoughts

"And now, behold, I have brought the first fruits of the land which You have given me" (Devarim 26:10). The Israeli farmer was to…

A legal brief and a good story are two very different forms of writing. We have even coined a term, legalese, to describe the distinct writing…

The land of Israel is a special, holy land and thus, all produce grown on it has properties of holiness. This is the underpinning of such laws of…

“At that time I pleaded with G-d, saying, ‘O G-d, Lord…please let me cross the Jordan. Let me see the good land across the Jordan…

The narrative portion of the Torah has come to an end. The last book of the Chumash, that of Devarim, concentrates on the charge that…

“And the Egyptians were burying all their first born, who had been killed by G-d” (Bamidbar 33:4).   Occupied with grief and…

"And they called the people to their religious sacrifices, and the people ate and worshipped the Moabite gods" (Bamidbar 25:2).  How…

It is truly astounding how people can actually believe the most ludicrous of claims.  “And Moshe divested Aharon of his vestments, and…

"The Israelites marched for a three day journey “mei'har Hashem”, from G-d's mountain (Bamidbar 10:33). The Torah has been…

A fundamental question that has been debated since the beginning of Jewish history regards the degree of contact and integration one should have with…

Sefer Bamidbar can be viewed as a book of missed opportunities. A small group of Jewish slaves—the midrash claims no more than one in five—showed…

Judaism measures greatness by spiritual achievements. It should come as no surprise that many of our founding fathers suffered from physical ailments…

"He made a feast for them and baked matzah and they ate" (Breisheet 19:3). The "angels" had come to Sedom to rescue Lot from…

Our tradition seems to have a somewhat ambivalent view regarding sacrifices. The Torah devotes many chapters to describing—in great detail…

Sefer Vayikra serves as the “central” book of the Chumash; on one side flanked by Breisheet and Shemot, which detail the founding of the…

The prayer for the welfare of the State of Israel recited in many of our congregations assumes that the modern-day state is the "beginning of…

“Moses went to greet his father-in-law, bowing down low and kissing him” (Shemot 18:7). Unfortunately, relations between children…

The land of Egypt and the people of Egypt had undergone tremendous hardship and suffering.  Their  economy  had  been  destroyed, their material…