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 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 […]
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 name of the Sidra means “you will command”. This most unusual beginning of a Sidra has attracted rabbinic comment. In particular, our rabbis have noted the complete absence of Moses name from this Sidra. Since this is the only Sidra which does not mention his name, there must be a reason. Three reasons have […]
The name of the Sidra means LAWS. We shall also read, today, for the Maftir, a small section from the beginning of the Sidra of KI TISSA, which is called Parashat Shekalim. This is always read on the Shabbat which precedes the New Moon of Adar and it is the first of four special portions […]
The Sidra this week is named Yitro, who was Moses’ father-in-law. Perhaps, it was intended to honour him for the good advice which he offered to Moses in the course of his visit. The Torah tells us that he heard that the Israelites had been liberated from Egypt. It also tells us that he brought […]
This Shabbat has a special name. It is called Shabbat Shirah, because it contains the famous Song of the Sea. The Sidra takes its name from the second word which means when he expelled. The Israelites were now in the desert. We are told that God decided not to take them on the short route, […]
The name of the Sidra means Go and Appear. God told Moses to go back to the Palace and confront Pharaoh once more. Seven plagues had not convinced Pharaoh to release the Israelite slaves, and three more were still to come. At this point, Moses was told that the plagues had an additional purpose. They […]
The name of the Sidra means HE APPEARED. The first sentence of the Sidra tells us that God appeared to Abraham in a place called Elone Mamre. Elon is a name of a tree. Alon means a tree and today is has become a beautiful Modern Israeli name. Mamre was one of Abraham’s Amorite allies. […]
The name of the Sidra means GO. God addresses Avram, Abraham’s original name, for the first time, and instructs him as follows: “Go to the land which I will show you.” The Torah does not explain why God spoke to Avram. The call came out of the blue. Only in next week’s Sidra, we read […]