Parsha Matot-Mas’ay: 80% of the Torah

Torah, Torah, Torah, Torah…. Why do I say Torah 4 times?  Because with this week’s double portion, we finished book 4 of the 5 books of Torah our man Moshe (Moses) wrote.  So, how do we finish the book called Numbers in English and Bamidbar, which means wilderness or speaking, in Hebrew?  The first of the two parshas (portions) is called Matot in Hebrew, which means staffs or tribes.  It starts off by talking about oaths and vows.  We then … Continue reading

Parsha Pinchas: A New Generation of Torah

It is that time again for a word or two on this week’s parsha (Torah portion).  The parsha is titled Pinchas (or Phineas for those of you with an English bent) and it is a strange beast.  The week before, we left our heroes fighting a plague for getting involved in idol worship and having Pinchas come to the rescue by killing a high ranking Jew and his Midianite lover.  In this parsha, Pinchas gets rewarded, and god tells Moshe … Continue reading

Parsha Balak: A Hidden Torah

Hello everyone, Welcome to the whacky world of Torah where things are not as they seem.  This week’s parsha (weekly Torah portion), at the beginning, seems one way, and then ends another way.  It is called Balak, and we start talking a lot about him.  That, however, is only to introduce our main character Bilim, who is hired to curse the children of Israel.  However, he tells his employer, Balak, that he will only do what haShem (god) tells him.   … Continue reading

Parsha Chukat: The Red Hefer of the Torah

Hello folks and welcome to the latest installment of ideas I have had or heard regarding the weekly torah portion… This week’s parsha (portion) jumps 38 years as we go into the last year of being in the wilderness.  However, before we get there, we read about how the ashes of a red cow can make a not pure person pure while making a pure person not pure.  Right after the details on how this process works, we read about … Continue reading

Parsha Korach: Who has the Biggest Mouth in the Torah?

The parsha (Torah portion) of this week is named Korach.  Korach was a leader of the tribe of Levy (the tribe of Moshe/Moses and Aharon), and he opened his mouth questioning the need for Moshe to be the leader, and Aaron should be the high priest.  He isn’t the only one that opens his mouth.  With him are 250 elders, including two from the tribe of Reuven, who feel oppressed by Moshe.  And of course we have the mouth of … Continue reading

Parsha B’ha’alotcha: The Right Way to Complain

I am constantly surprised each week at the parsha (weekly Torah portion) because there is always so much there. This week’s parsha is yet another example of this: there are the teachings I have learned in the past, two wonderful teachings I heard recently, and a few more that I discovered as I read the parsha. I don’t know yet which I will share here and now. let’s see and find out. The parsha starts out with Aharon being told … Continue reading

Parsha Bamidbar: Welcome to the Speaking Wilderness

[Editor’s note:  I originally wrote this in 2004, for an email list regarding the weekly Torah portion.  I deliberately put it out after shabbat because, the energy of the parsha does not end with shabbat – it only starts to wane with the ending of shabbat.  Think of the shabbat as the full moon for the parsha.  It builds starting Wednesday until shabbat  where it is at maximum strength.  Then, after shabbat, the energy of the parsha wanes as the … Continue reading