Category Archives: Shabbat

This week’s parasha, Shelach lecha, Numbers 13:1 – 15:41, takes its name from the first words of the second verse, “send for yourself,” which concerns the meraglim (spies) that were to go into the land of Canaan to check out the place before … Continue reading →

Parashat Nasso, Numbers 4:21-7:89, is almost always read on the Shabbat immediately following Shavuot. I find this interesting in that at Shavuot that traditionally we remember the giving of the Torah at Sinai along with Israel’s acceptance of the covenant … Continue reading →

This Shabbat we begin the fourth book of the Torah of Moses, Bamidbar, which is also the name of the weekly reading, Numbers 1:1-4:20. There is quite a difference in the book’s name in Hebrew and in English. Bamidbar, the … Continue reading →

“Holiness, Leviticus tells from chapter 19 onward, is not only the special preserve of an elite, the priests. It belongs to the people as a whole, for they are “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” (Rabbi Jonathan Sacks ז״ל, Covenant … Continue reading →

There are two things that I want to focus on this week as we consider the double portion of Tazria -Metzora, (Leviticus 12:1-15:33). First briefly of what tzara’at (13:2) is and probably is not. Then second, is the rabbinic understanding of … Continue reading →