Beit Midrash

Mad About You

This week’s Sedra begins with a discussion of nedarim – vows & oaths. While the world holds that an oral contract is "only as good as the paper it’s written on," Judaism & the Torah place great emphasis on the power of speech.

Retribution and Revenge

Near the end of Bamidbar, we encounter the law of the cities of refuge: three cities to the east of the Jordan and, later, three more within the land of Israel itself. There, people who had committed homicide could flee and find protection until their case was heard by a court of law.

Shadow and Fear

The story in which the Torah saw fit to end the Book of Numbers is the story of the daughters of Tzelofhad. It is precisely close to the Book of Deuteronomy, before entering the Land of Israelץ

Retribution and Revenge

Even justified acts of bloodshed, as in the case of war, still communicate impurity. That is what lies behind the idea of revenge.

Natural Life in the Land of Israel & the Tragedy of Galut

...Outside the Land of Israel, our engagement with the physical world comes at the expense of Torah and sanctity. We in fact see that the Torah studied in Exile shuns in an extreme manner many areas of natural life. Only when the Nation of Israel is in the Land of Israel is "normal," natural life enabled – for, in fact, even that which is material and physical is holy...

The Heat of July and August

It's hot outside. We all feel it in the scorching weather. The spiritual principle that is important to remember during such periods appears in the Torah portion of Masei

About Vows and Sensitivity

Take it upon yourself, without a vow, to correct one thing in your life, and these days will work their true action - to add goodness in the world.

How Vows Are Like Idol-Worship

The beginning of this week's Torah portion of Matot focuses on certain important details pertaining to the laws of vows and oaths. A Torah-mandated oath is one by which one forbids himself to engage in one or more otherwise permitted activities. This leads us to ask a very fundamental question...

Oaths and Vows

Can freedom and order coexist in the human sphere? Can there be a society which is both free and just at the same time?

Elijah and the Still, Small Voice

To preserve tradition and at the same time defend those others condemn is the difficult, necessary task of religious leadership in an unreligious age.

Love-Based Zealousness

The main story in this week's Torah portion is how G-d blessed Pinhas for stabbing to death two public sinners, in his zeal to protect G-d's name from desecration. This blessing is particularly noteworthy, for the Torah specifically mentions that Pinhas was the grandson of man-of-peace par excellence Aharon HaKohen. Do peace and zeal truly come together?

A Man Of Spirit

An artist may be able to create without knowing how to teach others how to create. That doesn't make him less of an artist. But even if an artist is not a great teacher, given a pupil of spirit, that pupil will flourish with very little instruction. Yehoshua's was like the Moon. Because he was 'a man of spirit', he shone from the inspiration of his teacher Moshe.

A Tiny Part of the Picture

The majority are good. The minority are evil. Stay away from the "Bilams" and "Bilamism"; get closer to Moses our Teacher.

How to Mend Tears to Reach Unity

A harsh conflict, which reached its apex with the sale of Yosef, split the family of Yaakov. Between the two leaders of their respective mothers’ parts of the family, Yehuda and Yosef.

My Personal Revelation

We generally relate to a ‘revelation of Eliyahu' as a profound moment in which Eliyahu the Prophet himself appears to us with a message. But is this really so? What is the personal and communal revelation of Eliyahu to all Jews of the world?

The Curse of Loneliness

The battle against antisemitism can be won, but it will not be if Jews believe that we are destined to be alone. That is Bilaam’s curse, not God’s blessing.

Extras In Our Own Epic

There’s something unusual about Parshat Balak. It’s the only parsha in the Torah where the Jewish People, the “stars of the show” seem to only have a “walk-on” part. We see Bilam and Balak close up as they plot to destroy the Jewish People, but Israel is only seen in the background – almost off-camera. Why is this?

A Prophet for the Nations

From Siach Shaul p. 425-6

As far as spiritual power, Bilam was a giant. Chazal derive that in prophecy he was on par with Moshe. Yet, there was a huge chasm between them.

Enemy's Compliments

This week's Torah reading abounds in compliments given to the Jewish people by the leading prophet of the non-Jewish world, Bilaam.

The Obvious and the Hidden

Similarities and Differences Between Obvious and Hidden Miracles? You Won't Believe It!