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 Shlach-Lecha is devoted, mostly, to the grave sin which was committed first by 10 of the 12 spies that were sent by Moses to investigate the land. As a consequence, the entire nation sinned by rebelling against God. It turned out to be the second most catastrophic event in the desert, equal […]
The Sidra of Behar is a relatively short Sidra and is devoted to holy periods of times which come only rarely. It speaks about the year of release, called Sh’mittah, which occurs every seven years and the Jubilee year, which comes every 50 years. During the Sh’mittah years all agricultural activities have to cease. […]
The Sidra of Shemini begins with an account of the dedication of Aaron and his four sons as KOHANIM. It took place on the eighth day, after seven days of purification from all their sins and sanctification to become servants of the Almighty. The eighth day has great significance in the Bible. Circumcision takes place […]
The Sidra of Tzav is addressed to the KOHANIM with the instructions to them how to prepare and offer up the sacrifices on behalf of the nation and also on behalf of individuals. According to a famous interpretation by Rashi, the word Tzav, which means ‘command’, denotes encouragement to perform it with urgency and […]
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 Sidra of Vayakhel begins with the statement that Moses assembled the whole nation together, which included the women and children. It was a rare assembly which was necessary after the grave crisis of the building of the golden calf and Moses’ smashing of the tablets. It was most encouraging that despite everything […]