In the Torah section of Eikev (Devarim 8:11-18), we are warned: “Take care lest you forget the L-rd your G-d by not observing His commandments, His ordinances, and His decrees, which I command you today. Lest you eat and be satisfied and you build good houses and settle. And your cattle and sheep and goats…
In the Torah section of Va’Etchanan, we find a repetition of the famous Ten Commandments presented to the people of Israel in the desert subsequent to their miraculous exodus from Egypt. These commandments begin (Devarim 5:6), “I am the L-rd your G-d, Who has taken you out of the land of Egypt.” It is to this…
In the beginning of the Torah section of Devarim (Devarim 1:13), we find the unusual term eikhah (how) used as Moses rebukes the people of Israel: “How can I bear your cumbrance, your burden and your strife!” In commenting on the aforementioned verse, R. Moshe Sternbuch, a contemporary leading Torah scholar, notes (Daniel Yaakov Travis, A Voice in the Darkness pp….
In the Torah section of Mas’ei, we read (Bamidbar 35:31-33): “You shall not accept ransom for the life of a killer who is worthy of death, for he shall surely be put to death. You shall not accept ransom for one who fled to this city of refuge to return to dwell in the land,…
We read in the beginning of the Torah section of Matot (Bamidbar 31:1-2), “And G-d spoke to Moses, saying: ‘Take vengeance for the children of Israel against the Midianites; afterward you will be gathered unto your people.’” G-d tells Moses that he is to wage war against the Midianites as retribution for their wrong-doing towards…
Upon discussing the Torah section of Pinchas, the renowned rosh yeshiva of Yeshiva Torah Va’Daat, R. Avraham Yaakov Pam makes an intriguing comment (Sholom Smith, A Vort from Rav Pam pp. 194-195). We read how Moses asks G-d to appoint a successor to him to lead the children of Israel into the promised land. G-d tells him to place…
In the Torah section of Balak, we read one of the most unusual narratives in the entire Holy Scriptures. The king of Moav, Balak chooses to hire Bilam, a sorcerer, to curse the children of Israel and, thereby, attempt to force them away from the promised land and its surroundings, consequently averting the assumed danger…
In the Torah section of Chukat, we read (Bamidbar 20:7-13): “And G-d spoke to Moses saying: ‘Take the staff and gather together the assembly, you and Aaron your brother, and speak to the rock before their eyes that it shall give its waters. You shall bring forth for them water from the rock and give…
In the Torah section of Korach, we learn of a fierce attack that erupts. The attack is against none other than Moses, the selfless leader of the people of Israel who led them out of Egypt and intervened on their behalf with G-d. The attacker is Moses’ own cousin Korach – jealous of Moses’ leadership…
Upon reading the Torah section of Shelach, we learn that from the desert, Moses sent spies to scout out the land that G-d promised to the nation of Israel. Ten of the twelve spies returned with a negative account of the land, thereby weakening the will of the children of Israel who had come forth…
