The Torah portion, or parasha, this week is Matot-Masei and is found in Numbers 30:2-36:13. This Torah portion first talks about vows made by women (vows made by men were addressed in an earlier parasha). If a woman makes a vow but her father (while she is living at home and too young to leave) or her husband forbids […]
The Torah portion, or parasha, this week is Pinchas and is found in Numbers 25:10-30:1. In this passage, we have two primary stories. In the first, Midianite women have entered the Israelite community to encourage the men to engage in idol worship and related sexual practices. God responds by sending a plague upon the people. Pinchas, the grandson of Aaron, stops […]
The Torah portion, or parasha, this week is Balak and is found in Numbers 22:2-25:9. In this passage, Balak, the king of Moab, sees that the Israelites have defeated the neighboring Amorites and he is afraid. He joins forces with the Midianites to hire the prophet Balaam, asking him to curse the Israelites to insure their defeat. God tells Balaam […]
The Torah portion, or parasha, this week is Chukat and is found in Numbers 19:1-22:1. In this passage, the people continue to struggle with wilderness living. Miriam dies along the way and is buried in Kadesh. Soon after, the people again complain about a lack of water. Specifically, their complaint is that they should have died when Korach […]
The Torah portion, or parasha, this week is Korach and is found in Numbers 16:1-18:32. In this parasha, Korach and his followers challenge the authority of Moses and Aaron – and indeed of God Himself– by claiming that Moses is giving himself special status and raising himself above the people. Datan and Aviram, members of Korach’s faction, challenge […]
The Torah portion, or parasha, this week is Sh’lach (sometimes called Sh’lach L’cha) and is found in Numbers 13:1-15:41. In this parasha, Moses sends twelve spies, one from each tribe, to scout the land of Canaan and bring back a report of the conditions the Israelites will find there. After forty days the spies return, bringing their […]
The Torah portion, or parasha, is Nasso and is found in Numbers 4:21-7:89. The passage contains several events. First, Moses finishes the census of the Levite families and everyone is given instructions on their responsibilities to temple service. The next section talks about how people who have committed crimes, are suspected of adultery, or have made a vow […]
The Torah portion, or parasha, this week is called Bamidbar and is found in Numbers 1:1-4:20. This week we leave Leviticus behind and move on to the book of Numbers. The first parasha rightly focuses on numbers. God instructs Moses to take a census of the people. The men of military age 20 years and older are counted. The totals […]
The Torah portion, or parasha, this week is Bechukotai, and is found in Leviticus 26:3-27:34. This parasha finishes the book of Leviticus, or Vayikra. Since the majority of the book focuses on mitzvot and the concept of holiness, it is not surprising that the passage here focuses on the outcome of following these mitzvot–peace and prosperity. The opposite outcomes […]
The Torah portion, or parasha, this week is Behar, and is found in Leviticus 25:1 – 26:2. Once they had settled in their land, the Israelites were to plant, harvest, and store the produce of their fields for six years. During the seventh year of the cycle, the shemittah, they were not to plant or harvest or to […]