Shabbat Shalom The weekly parsha commentary – parshat (link to original page) Shabbat Shalom Parshat Pinchas “I give him my covenant of shalom; it shall be for him and for his seed after him a covenant of everlasting priesthood –because that he was zealous for his God and effected appeasement for the Children of Israel.” (Bemidbar 25:12) Said Rabbi Yehoshua: Great is shalom, for the covenant of priesthood was made with shalom, as is written: “I give him my covenant of shalom” (Mashchet Derech Eretz Zuta, Perek Ha Shalom, Mishna 8) “Pin’has ben El-azar son of...
Shabbat Shalom The weekly parsha commentary – parshat (link to original page) Shabbat Shalom Parshat Balak “Now Bil’am saw . . . and he saw Israel dwelling by their tribes, and there came upon him the spirit of God.” Not as he saw them at first, with the intention of casting upon them ‘an evil eye’, but with love which he attained at that moment . . . and therefore is it written “there came upon him the spirit of God” – the Holy Spirit rested upon him out of love and affection.” (Haamek Davar, Bemidbar 24:1) ...
Shabbat Shalom The weekly parsha commentary – parshat (link to original page) Shabbat Shalom Parshat Chukkat And Moshe raised his hand and struck the boulder with his staff, twice, so that abundant water came out; and the community and their cattle drank. (Bemidbar 20:11) The Striking of the Boulder –Response Out Of Desperation or Fulfillment of God’s Command? Have we the right to investigate the feelings of Moshe our teacher at that moment? What was in the heart of ‘the servant of God’ – about whom God himself testified “in all my house, trusted is...
Shabbat Shalom The weekly parsha commentary – parshat (link to original page) Parshat Korah They assembled against Moshe and against Aharon and said to them: Too much is yours! Indeed, the entire community, all of them, are holy, and in their midst is God! Why, then, do you exalt yourselves over the assembly of God? (Bemidbar 16:3) – All of them heard words directly from the Omnipotent at Sinai. (Tanhuma, quoted by Rashi, Bemidbar 16:3) *** “All of them are holy” – “And you shall be holy” These two passages present us with the concept of kedusha – of...
Shabbat Shalom The weekly parsha commentary – parshat (link to original page) Parshat Shelach Lecha “The country in which they dwell — is it good or is it bad?” Onkelos, however, translated “Is it rich or is it poor” – for there are countries whose inhabitants are wealthy because their produce is inexpensive, and they are successful in their dealings and in commerce with their neighbors; and there are countries which are dependent upon their neighbors, and their own inhabitants are incompetent – even though the the land itself is good and not poor. (Ramban, Bemidbar 13:19) ...
Shabbat Shalom The weekly parsha commentary – parshat (link to original page) Parshat Behaalotcha “We recall the fish that we used to eat in Egypt for free” – Is it plausible that the Egyptians gave fish for free? It is written: “So now go – work; no straw will be given to you”? If straw was not given them free of charge, fish were given for free?! What, then, is the meaning “for free”? Free of the mitzvot. (Sifri, Behaalotcha, 87) Love for the Land is related to obligations imposed upon its inhabitants. For this reason people hated the...
Shabbat Shalom The weekly parsha commentary – parshat (link to original page) Parshat Nasso And make expiation on his behalf for the guilt that he incurred through the corpse. (Bemidbar 6:11) "For the guilt that he incurred through the corpse: He was not careful regarding impurity of the corpse. Rabbi Elazar HaKapar said that he denied himself wine. (Rashi, ibid.) The Difference Between Asceticism and Holiness Should one say that since envy and passion and honor etc., are a bad path and they remove man from the world, I will renounce them completely, distancing myself from them as much...
Shabbat Shalom The weekly parsha commentary – parshat (link to original page) Parshat Behar Behukotay "And you shall proclaim freedom throughout the land for all its inhabitants ; it shall be a jubilee for you; each of you shall return to his holding and each of you shall return to his family" According to the Kaballah: "Freedom" (dror) – linguistically related to "A generation goes and a generation comes" ("Dor holech v'dor ba") (Kohellet 1:4). And so "jubilee" (yovel) means that he will return to the spring (yuval) which nurtured his roots, and it shall be yours." (Ramban, Vayikra...
Shabbat Shalom The weekly parsha commentary – parshat Emor (link to original page) Parshat Emor "These are the appointed times of God, which you are to proclaim as proclamations of holiness, for these are they, my appointed times." " . . . the appointed times of God, which you are to proclaim . . ." – determined by us in the name of heaven. A gentile asked Rabbi Akiva, saying to him: Why do you establish appointed times? Does not The Holy One, Blessed Be He, say to you: "Your new moons and your appointed times fill Me with...