This past Tuesday was the 17th of the Jewish month called Tammuz and was a fast day. It was the day the walls of Jerusalem were breached. It begins a mourning period that culminates three weeks later on the 9th of the month of Av, the day that Jerusalem actually fell. A lot more happened on these two days, and perhaps those events will be fuel for another email. I hope all of you that fasted had an easy and … Continue reading
Hello and welcome to the latest installment of my Torah thoughts. This week’s parsha (Torah portion) is called Balak who is the current king of Moab. Our parsha begins with Balak seeing all that Yisrael had done to the Emorite (which comes from the root, “To say”) and Moab becomes afraid. So, Balak sends messengers to Bil’am asking him to bore into Yisrael so Balak can drive them from the land. He calls for Bil’am because what Bil’am blesses is … Continue reading
The time has come for another dose of Torah. This week’s parsha (weekly Torah portion) finds our intrepid heroes nearing the end of their journey to that land flowing with milk and honey. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves, however. The parsha is called Chukat which means, “Law of,” as in: This is the law of the Torah (teachings) that haShem (god) commanded Moshe (Moses) and Aharon to say to the children of Yisrael. The law is everything relating to … Continue reading
Hello everybody and welcome back to the wilderness, Today we feature chills and thrills from this week’s parsha (Torah portion) named after our featured “villain,” Korach. Let’s check in with our reporters and get a summary of what took place. The parsha begins with Korach, from the tribe of Levi, and Datan and Aviram, from the tribe of Reuvan getting together 250 leaders of the community for a chat with Moshe (Moses) and Aharon where they challenge them by saying, … Continue reading