Articles in Parsha Insights
B’Ha’alotcha: Manna and Shabbat
A Connection
Our Parsha describes the manner in which the Manna from heaven was delivered to our ancestors in the desert. It has been said that if one forgets which Parsha to read on any given Shabbat he should read the Parsha of the manna. This indicates a connection between the …
Naso: The Choices we Make
Show Me the Money
If I set two plates before you, one filled with cookies, the other with a million dollars, which one would you choose? Consider the benefit you and society could derive from the money. Contrast that with the short term pleasure and long term belly-ache that the cookies …
Naso: Who Is the Misfit Anyway?
A Deeper Meaning
The first verse of this Parsha, tells us to “raise the head of the tribal family Gershon”. In addition to the simple meaning of the words, “raise the heads,” which means take a census; there is a deeper meaning that lies submerged beneath the text. With a little …
Naso: Transforming The Desert
A G-dless Environment
The Temple service, described in our Parsha, was held in an arid and barren locale, the desert. G-d charged our ancestors with a special mission: transform the desert and make it bloom, bloom with the flowering blossoms of spirituality. In our day we have a similar mission: transform …
B’midbar: Celestial Formations
Around the Tabernacle
They traveled together, a single mass of two million people moving slowly through the sands. Each tribe precisely positioned, each group in perfect formation, their footsteps marked the desert.
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B’Midbar : The Counting Paradox
To Count or not to Count?
In this week’s Torah reading, (1), we read, in detail, about one of the several censuses taken of the Children of Israel in the years following their Exodus from Egypt.
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B’Midbar: A Question of Numbers
A Small Tribe
In this week’s Parsha we read that Moshe took a census of the nation. A quick scan of the numbers shows the tribe of Levi to be the smallest, with only twenty-two-thousand members. By way of comparison, the other tribes had anywhere from thirty to more then one …
B’Midbar Shavuot: Shavuot and the Desert
Seeking Inspiration
This weekend we will celebrate the last Shabbat before Shavuot. Since Shabbat is the source of blessing for the following week it is fitting to reflect upon the upcoming holiday during the course of this Shabbat.
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