The parsha (Torah portion) we read this week is quite a doozy. After being told, in earlier parshas, to remove the inhabitants of the holy land because they behaved poorly, we are now told what will happen to us if we behave poorly. It is not pleasant, but then I am getting ahead of myself. The parsha starts off innocently enough with the description of the ritual of bringing the first fruits to the temple. It then goes on to … Continue reading
Hello everyone, I hope you-all are doing well. We are into the home stretch of the torah cycle, and like a marathon, it is grueling. Let’s see what we are dealing with before we try to make some sense of it. This week’s parsha (Torah portion) picks up almost from where the previous parsha left off: with war. We start with the question of what to do when we capture women. From there we talk about a couple of issues … Continue reading
Don’t judge a book by its cover. Don’t be so judgmental. Judge fairly. Ladies and gents, here comes the judge… The name of the this week’s parsha (Torah portion) is called Judges (or Shoftim in Hebrew), and it is a seemingly haphazard, hodgepodge, patchwork parsha. Let’s see what kind of theme we can find in it! It starts out talking about appointing judges and how they should be honest. It then talks about idolatry and how to find someone guilty … Continue reading
So, how did you all answer the big question? Yeah, I’m talking about the question in the title: Are you willing to commit? This is the big question that starts this week’s parsha (weekly Torah portion). Ok, it isn’t really a question; it is really instructions to the ritual of choosing between a blessing and a curse. So, I started by asking you a trick question, for the question doesn’t really get asked until we go into the land, which … Continue reading
The name of this week’s parsha (Torah portion) is called Aykev which can mean the “heel” or “as a consequence of.” For what I wish to talk about today, I think I prefer the latter. This parsha is the 3rd installment of Moshe’s last words to the people. In it, Moshe (Moses) tells the people that following haShem’s (god’s) ways will provide wealth and health and a bountiful land and victory over more powerful peoples. He goes on to describe … Continue reading
hello everyone, Last week’s parsha (weekly Torah portion), we listened to Moshe review our journey from Mount Sinai to the edge of the promised land. In this week’s parsha, Moshe (Moses) talks about haShem (god) turning down his request to enter the land, all that haShem has done to get the people to this point, what will happen if the people forget haShem, which cities east of the Jordan are safe havens for unintentional murderers, the 10 statements (commonly referred … Continue reading
Hello everybody, This week we start the final chapter in the drama that we call the Torah. The book is called D’varim (Deuteronomy) which means “words” in Hebrew, for these are Moshe’s (Moses) final words to the family of Yisrael before they go and take the land haShem (god) has promised them. This week’s parsha (weekly Torah portion), btw, is also called D’varim. 🙂 So, what does Moshe tell the people? Before I start, remember that he is talking, not … Continue reading
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
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
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