Commentary on the Sidra of Vayeshev 5775 By Rabbi Yaakov Grunewald South London Synagogue At the centre of the Sidra, in chapter 38, we find the story of Judah’s separation from his father and brothers. This was after Joseph’s disappearance. The family was in a state of deep shock. Judah, who had proposed Joseph’s sale, […]
The Sidra Ekev begins in the middle of chapter 7. It is a continuation of Moses epic address which he began in the previous Sidra of Va’etchannan. The basic theme of chapter 7 is about the conquest of the land from the seven nations who occupied it before the Israelites came. The last verses […]
We know that the Book of Bamidbar consists of two distinct parts. The first part of the book describes events that took place in the first two years of the journey in the Sinai desert. The second part, beginning with chapter 20 describes the events which took place in the 40th year of the journey. […]
The theme of this week’s Sidra is the mission of the 12 spies to survey the Land of Canaan. The 12 spies set out with high hopes. They were the leaders of their tribes and trusted by their people. There is a well-known saying that “power corrupts”. Here we have the best illustration of it […]
The Sidra begins with God’s command to Moses to send twelve important leaders to tour the land. Moses chose the Nesi’im, the leaders of each tribe for this task. This account, which tells us that God commanded the mission, contradicts the version that Moses gave to the next generation, in his farewell speech, 39 years […]
The Book of Bamidbar is divided into two distinct parts and covers two separate periods in Israel’s journey in the wilderness. The first part, which consists of the first five Sidrot, describes the events which happened immediately after the Exodus. It begins on the first day of the second month of the second year after […]
The first portion of the Sidra of Behar continues with the theme relating to sacred times. It speaks of the Jewish calendar being divided into seven cycles each consisting of seven years, with the fiftieth year being observed as a Jubilee year. The seventh and the 50th years of the cycle are holy. The Torah […]
The Book of Vayikra consists of 10 Sidrot which deal with the concept of holiness in all its manifestations. The first five deal with purification from various sins and diseases. They describe in detail the sacrifices which accompanied the process of purification. It also includes the list of pure animals, the meat of which was […]
The first few sections of the Sidra contain the various laws which apply specifically to the Kohanim. The Kohanim have to observe a higher degree of sanctity than ordinary Israelites but they also enjoy certain privileges. Kohanim are only allowed to defile themselves, and are indeed duty-bound to come into contact with the dead body […]
The name of this week’s Sidra means ‘After the Death’. It is an unusual name and it refers to the Sidra of Shemini where the dramatic and sudden deaths of two of Aaron’s sons, Nadav and Avihu are described in detail. That event took place on the first of Nissan in the second year […]