PRINCES BELONG IN THE PALACE I entreated the Lord at that time, saying: “O Lord God, You have begun to show Your servant Your greatness and Your mighty hand… Please let me cross over and see the good Land that is on the other side of the Jordan, this good mountain and the Lebanon.” (3:23-25)…
TO BE CLOSE TO HASHEM One of the things Moshe said to B’nei Yisrael when he rebuked them for the Sin of the Spies was: – You murmured in your tents and said, “Because the Lord hates us He took us out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hands of the…
LET’S GET OUR PRIORITIES STRAIGHT The Children of Reuven and the Children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock… They said to Moshe and Elazar… Let this land be given to your servants as a possession; do not bring us across the Jordan. (32:1-5) Moshe Rabbeinu’s reaction to this request was rather harsh. …
WHAT’S THE CONNECTION? Many parts of this week’s parashah are directly or indirectly connected to the Holy Land. Immediately after concluding the story of Pinchas (including the order to take revenge against the Midianites for their share in the deaths of 24,000 Jews), HaShem commands Moshe and Elazar to count the Children of Israel. What…
TEMPORARY TENTS OR PERMANENT DWELLINGS מה טובו אוהליך יעקב משכנותיך ישראל (במדבר כד:ה) How goodly are your tents, O Ya’akov, your dwelling places, O Yisrael (24:5). What exactly are “the tents of Ya’akov” and “the dwelling places (משכנות) of Yisrael”? Many answers have been given to this question. Rashi (based on Chazal) explains that they…
PUT YOUR FAITH IN THE GOD OF THE LAND This week’s parashah contains the episode of Mei Merivah (The Waters of Strife), in which Moshe and Aharon are told that they will not enter the Land of Israel. Many interpretations have been given to explain what exactly they did to deserve this punishment. The…
EYES ONLY FOR YOU They [Datan and Aviram] said, “We shall not go up! Is it a small thing that you have brought us up from a land flowing with milk and honey to kill us in the desert, that you make yourself a prince over us? Furthermore, you did not bring us to…
SLANDERING THE LAND We all know that the saddest day of the Jewish calendar is Tish’a B’Av, but how many of us know how it all started? And even if we know the historical facts, how many of us have truly internalized the lessons? It all started in this week’s parashah. Chazal have a tradition…
NO PAIN NO GAIN עת צרה היא ליעקב וממנה יושע (ירמיה ל,ז) It is a time of trouble for Ya’akov, but he will be saved from it. I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to say that the Jewish nation is currently experiencing its most difficult period in over 25 years. The past…
