Shabbat Shalom The weekly parsha commentary – parshat (link to original page) Parshat Matot-Mas'ei   “These are the marching stages of the Children of Israel  that they went on from the land of Egypt, by their forces, through the hand of Moshe and Aharon.”                                                           (Bemidbar 33:1)   “These are the marching stages” – Why are these marches recorded? To illustrate the goodness of the Omniscient; even though He decreed their wandering in the desert, say not that they wandered ceaselessly, forty years,  without rest.  (Rashi, ibid.)   The Wandering Stages of Children of Israel –  Privilege, Blemished...

Shabbat Shalom The weekly parsha commentary – parshat (link to original page) Parshat Mattot – Massai "Until the Death of the High Priest" Pinchas Laiser In memory of the pure soul of Joel Joseph Fine Who was taken in the midst of his life On the 26th of Tammuz 5758. One of the surprising laws that appear in Parshat Ma'asei relates to the punishment of an unintentional murderer, who is sentenced to dwelling in a city of refuge "until the death of the high priest." The Torah does not specify a specific time period for the punishment, but connects...