Biblical names have interesting meanings. Very often the name of a hero ties in with the content or intention of the story. But the name Pinchas is an exception. His name does not seem to have any meaning in any known Semitic languages, nor does there seem to be any connection between the name Pinchas […]
The Sidra of Balak, the king of Moab, contains the unique Biblical story about Bilam, (this is how the name is pronounced in Hebrew), who was hired by Balak to curse the Israelites when they came near to his country’s borders. Our ancient Rabbis regarded Bilam as a gentile Prophet and asserted, quite surprisingly, that […]
The Sidra is named after Balak, the king of Moab, who was the ruler of that country at the time that the Israelites reached the Eastern bank of the Jordan in the plains of Moab, opposite Jericho. It was the 40th year since the Exodus. The Israelites were almost ready to cross over the Jordan. […]
The meaning of the name of today’s Sidra is LAW. Our Rabbis interpreted the Hebrew concept of Chok to refer to a law whose reason has not been revealed to us. The Sidra begins with the law of the Red Heifer, which has always been regarded as mysterious. It simply very difficult to understand why […]
The Book of Bamidbar consists of 10 Sidrot, which can be divided into two completely separate parts, representing 2 periods in the history of the Exodus. The first 5 Sidrot describe the events that took place within the first two years of the Exodus, until the end of the rebellion of Korach. The last 5 […]
Today’s Sidra is named after the man who led a major rebellion against Moses and Aaron in the desert. Many commentators believe that this rebellion took place immediately after the catastrophic mission of the 12 spies. Korach and his “gang” thought that Moses’ leadership had been weakened. They, therefore, took this opportunity to challenge him […]
The Sidra of Korach is named after the man who organized a very serious rebellion against Moses and Aaron in the desert, in the second year after the Exodus. The name Korach is striking because it means bald. In Hebrew we have a proverb: YATZA KERE’ACH MIKAN UMIKAN. It means: “You come out bald […]