The Man for the Job

If a person desires wisdom, he should spend time with the wise. If he desires to develop in righteousness, he should spend time with righteous people.

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Pinchas (פנחס | Phinehas)

Torah: Numbers 25:10-30:1

Haftarah: 1 Kings 18:46-19:21

Gospel: Mark 11:27-12:37

My covenant of peace

(Numbers 25:12)

Tammuz 20, 5777/July 14, 2017

The story of Pinchas, the son of Elazar, the son of Aharon, after whom this week's parasha, (Torah reading), is named, actually began at the conclusion of last week's reading. This division of the parashot is unique in this way, being the only time throughout the yearly reading of the five books of Torah that a narrative is begun one week and is only concluded the following week. It seems that our sages, of blessed memory, who determined the division of the weekly Torah readings, really wanted to keep us in suspense, as last week's reading of Balak closed with a real cliffhanger:

Life's Little Interruptions

It is easy to become impatient and upset with the things and people that get in the way of what we are trying to accomplish. We should learn a lesson from Balaam.

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Balak (בלק | Balak)

Torah: Numbers 22:2-25:9

Haftarah: Micah 5:6-6:8

Gospel: Mark 11:12-26

Lifted on a Miracle

Yeshua told Nicodemus, "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up."

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Chukat (חוקת | Statute)

Torah: Numbers 19:1-22:1

Haftarah: Judges 11:1-33

Gospel: Matthew 21:1-17

This is the statute of the Torah

(Numbers 19:2)

Tammuz 6, 5777/June 30, 2017

"HaShem spoke to Moshe and Aharon, saying: This is the statute of the Torah which HaShem commanded, saying, Speak to the children of Israel and have them take for you a perfectly red unblemished cow, upon which no yoke was laid." (Numbers 19:1-2)

The statute of the red heifer possesses such spiritual consequence for the nation of Israel that it is literally mind-boggling. The centrality of this commandment to Israel's relationship with G-d is so significant that it has taken on almost mythical proportions over the generations. It is universally understood to be the most intellectually un-graspable commandment contained within the body of Torah. What is it all about?

How to Split a Congregation

If you're looking for an efficient way to split a congregation or otherwise damage the kingdom of heaven, take a lesson from the story of Korah.

THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTION:

Korach (קורח | Korah)

Torah: Numbers 16:1-18:32

Haftarah: 1 Samuel 11:14-12:22

Gospel: Luke 18:35-19:28

Korach and his company

(Numbers 16:6)

Sivan 29, 5777/June 23, 2017

When we consider all the sundry personalities that populate the generation of the wilderness, none seems quite so familiar, quite so modern to us as Korach. He seems to have possessed all the maladies of our day. He was avaricious, egotistical, self-serving and manipulative. Unfortunately, these types are all too prevalent in our modern landscape. And possessors of these traits all seem to want the same things: power, wealth and prestige. Korach is filled with ambition and is prepared to stop at nothing to get what he wants. What he wants is the mantle of leadership over the entire nation and the crown of the High Priest. To get what he wants he takes on Moshe, Aharon, and G-d Himself, and all at the same time! This begs the question: If Korach was so ambitious, so brazen and so adept at demogoguery then why did he wait for this moment to strike? How come we have not heard his name before?