Articles in Parsha Insights
Pinchas: Food for Thought for Your Dinner Table
Sunday: Commensurate Reward
For slaying Zimri, the man who committed a sacrilegious act in public, Pinchas was rewarded with the High Priesthood. What is the connection between the act and its reward?
Jewish law stipulates that a priest forfeits his priesthood through murder. Pinchas would have known this when he slayed Zimri, …
Balak: Food For Thought for Your Dinner Table
Sunday: Instant Wrath
Fearful of the Jewish nation, the Moabite king Balak, sent word to Billam, “Behold a people has come from Egypt . . . and [now] sits opposite me.” Our sages taught that G-d is angry for a millisecond every day and Billam was able to identify that moment …
Chukat: Food for Thought for Your Dinner Table
Sunday: A Prototype
The Red Heifer is introduced with the words, “this is the decree of the Torah.” This is not the only decree of the Torah, but it is a microcosm of all the Torah’s decrees. The underlying purpose of every mitzvah is twofold: to uplift the person who performs …
Korach: Food for Thought for your Dinner Table
Sunday: Ice
The name Korach shares its root letters with the Hebrew word Kerach, Ice. Korach led a rebellion against Moshe and the Divine order. What led Korach, a distinguished member of the tribe of Levi, to betray his tribesmen and his holy mission? It was his apathy. He was consumed …
Shlach: Food for Thought for your Dinner Table
Sunday: Why Joshua
Moshe prayed that Yehoshua be spared from the designs of the other spies. Why did Moshe only pray for Yehoshua and not the others? Some suggest that it was because Yehoshua was Moshe’s primary pupil and his failure would reflect negatively on his teacher.
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B'Ha'alotcha: Food For Thought For Your Dinner Table
Sunday: Eternal Lights
Aharon had hoped to deliver the inaugural ceremonies of the Mishkan, but when he saw that the tribal leaders were selected over him he was crestfallen. G-d comforted Aharon with the kindling of the Temple Lights. “Yours [the lights] are greater than theirs.”
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Naso: Food for Thought for Your Dinner Table
Sunday: Never Too Late
The Levites began to serve in the sanctuary at the age of thirty and their primary task was transporting the sanctuary across the desert. The desert is an arid environment with no water. Water is a symbol for the Torah. On a spiritual plane, the desert represents …
B’midbar: Food for Thought for Your Dinner Table
Sunday: Exalted Names
In the first census of the Jewish nation each family was identified by name, “By the count of their names.” In the second census the tribes were identified, but the families were not. The first census occurred shortly after the Exodus and the generation that left Egypt was …
