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Parashat Balak - Numbers 22:2-25:9 Looking For Loopholes The portion of Balak is filled with supernatural interactions between God and a Gentile prophet by the name of Balaam. From our portion, Balaam appears to have been renowned for his spiritual acumen, and seems to have a close relationship with the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Yet in the end we find that he is dead set on destroying the Children of Israel. How did this come about? Let's take a brief look at Balaam's mistake. When Balak's men came to Balaam and asked him to curse Israel, he realized that his services would fetch a large sum of money. He only had one problem. He couldn't speak anything more than what God would allow him: "Though Balak were to give me his house full of silver and gold, I could not go beyond the command of the LORD my God to do less or more" (Num. 22:18). read more »	Parashat Korach - Numbers 16:1-18:32 Between The Dead And The Living A cursory reading of Parashat Korach suggests that the main topic of this portion is insurrection. Not only does Korach, Datan, and Aviram rise up against Moses and Aaron, but when the LORD punishes the rebels it seems that the entire Israelite nation decides to turn against them in response. They say, “You have killed the people of the LORD!” (Numbers 17:6 [16:41]). They blame Moses and Aaron for the LORD’s punishment against Korach. This indignation against Moses and Aaron incites the wrath of God against the Children of Israel and a plague breaks out among them. However, Moses and Aaron don’t take pleasure in the punishment of the wicked. Their compassion for the flock under their care drove them to make intercession on behalf of the Israelites. Moses told Aaron: read more »
Parashat Korach - Numbers 16:1-18:32 The Test of Humility If you've read this week's Torah portion, you already know that the story of Korah is a sad one. But there are many important lessons we can learn from the story of Korah. The primary, and most obvious lesson we can learn from Korah's mistake is in regard to humility. However, a deeper understanding reveals that his lack of humility stemmed from his disregard for mishchah, distinction. Let's explore this further. read more »	Parashat Korach - Numbers 16:1-18:32 Follow Your Heart? “Korach took.” These are the opening words of our parashah. With these words, the lid to Pandora’s Box was lifted and the seeds of Korach’s uprising sprouted forth to begin bearing their twisted fruit. Korach took something that didn’t belong to him. But what did Korach actually take? read more »
Football Is Legalistic The other night I was driving my family home from somewhere we had gone and my youngest son, who is obsessed with football, brought up the topic of the various ways a touchdown is considered valid or invalid. For instance, a play is considered a touchdown if the football crosses the plane of the goal line. However, he began explaining the difference between what is considered a touchdown in the NFL versus college football. Do both feet have to cross the goal line or just one? What if a player was in the end zone, but leaned across the goal line to catch the ball and immediately fell forward and the ball technically never crossed the goal line? What if a player was tackled a few inches in front of the end zone and slid, ball first, over the goal line? What if … As you can see, the scenarios are endless. But someone has to define what a touchdown is or isn’t in specific enough terms to allow the players to know if they have succeeded or not in scoring a touchdown. read more »	Parashat Shelach - Numbers 13:1-15:41 As most people know, James Bond—agent 007—is the flamboyant hero created by Ian Fleming in the 1950’s. This parashah is not about him, but one might think so, given the introductory subject of this week’s Torah portion. This week’s reading begins with the story of the twelve spies who are sent into the land of Canaan ahead of the Children of Israel. When many people think of spies and espionage, they imagine someone in the likes of Fleming’s popular fictional character. But the leaders of the tribes of Israel sent out to Canaan were not spies in the same sense as this British secret agent. Were they really “spies” in the traditional sense of the word? As we will soon see, these men had another purpose for being sent out altogether. read more »

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