A Pivotal Pause For The Para Aduma
Unlike the two previous sedras of Shelach and Korach, each of which were two-thirds story and a third juxtapositional mitzvot, Chukat’s three mitzvot are part of the same mitzvah topic – namely, para aduma (the red heifer), with the bulk of the sedra being a string of episodes in the Midbar-wandering period.
I Have Tried To Become Wise But It Is Beyond Me
Because if it is corruption we are worried about, there is no greater corruption and source of impurity than the presence of death itself.
What’s Your Legacy?
We are living in a world of chaos, never sure what tomorrow brings. As I write these words it is impossible for me to know what our days will look like by the time you read my message.
Making Your Spouse First
The attitude that one knows that you’ve got my back isn’t born overnight. It’s achieved with a persistent series of small acts and gestures where husband and wife demonstrate that you are first in my book.
Reining In The Ego: When Even Horses Bow To Providence
Like many Israeli leaders, Netanyahu often peppers his speeches with biblical verses, usually used as cultural or historical touchstones rather than as expressions of personal religiosity. Keinon points out that Netanyahu’s use of the Shema prayer is less typical and perhaps indicative of a deeper religious arousal.
A Fascinating Din Torah
When one makes peace in his home, the Torah considers it as if he established peace among the entire Jewish Nation.
Were We Saved From Destruction Without Teshuvah?
Perhaps the fullest picture of what is truly unfolding emerges only when we consider most, if not all, of these perspectives together.
The Five Stages of Torah
Only when there is silence, and the complete absence of ego, can the truth be heard, understood, and accepted. The Torah is the absolute and whole truth and can therefore only be given when there is absolutely nothing else competing against it.
Losing Sleep for What Matters
Obviously, staying up all night isn’t about qualitative learning, but about demonstrating excitement. One only stays up late, or all night, for something truly important or exciting.
From Korach to Chukas
Destruction and death come to those who do not serve G-d out joy but out of fear alone.
July 4, 2025: The United States and American Jews at a Crossroads
In place of conventional warfare, terrorist organizations have emerged that have taken terrorist activities to a new level.
Ben Zoma’s Four Questions
We can learn from people with good character. And we can even learn from people with bad character how not to live our lives. We can extract true lessons when we hear how an enemy criticizes us. We can learn from children and those in all strata of society.
Silver Coins
The common practice is to use silver coins, whether silver dollars minted in the U.S. or special silver coins minted now in Israel with the proper silver content, concluded Rabbi Dayan. Where this is not possible, though, you can redeem with other movable items or possibly even cash of the requisite amount.
Daf Yomi
To Have Or To Hold
‘Renting Is Not Owning’
(Avodah Zarah 15a)
A Time for Gratitude
I’m not sure whether people fully grasp the magnitude of the miracle. Just the day before, the floors of the building that was hit had been cleared. Entire departments had been relocated to reinforced areas.
Q & A: Mi Sheberach (Part II)
Is there a halachic source for the Mi Sheberach other than its presence in the siddur?
Our Need for Personal Growth
Man’s fate is in his own hands – he decides for himself and for the world. Hashem did not create us as finished products, but with the need and responsibility to develop ourselves properly.
Will You Rage Against The Entire Community?
Someone who understands reality on such a level also begins to see that all of humanity is really bound together as a cohesive whole.
Post-Revolt Priestly Presents
The rise in rank for words and letters is due to Korach being above average in words and letters per pasuk. Korach is a short sedra (in a sefer with many long sedras) with fairly long pesukim (in a sefer with lots of short-pasuk sedras).
When There Are No Halakhic Responses to the Elimination of the Iranian Threat
The theological questions from October 7 appear to be answering themselves in a way we can more readily understand.
Illegitimate Dispute – Korach
[Democracy] is contingent on both sides respecting each other and not crossing red lines. When that breaks down, democracy ceases to function and it degenerates into illegitimate anarchy.
TORAH SHORTS: Parshat Korach: Polonius vs. Nachmanides
Advice is like snow—the softer it falls, the longer it dwells upon, and the deeper it sinks into the mind. – Samuel Taylor Coleridge
A Lesson in Humility
A humble person does not take credit for his power, his riches, or his intelligence, because he knows it is all from Hashem.
The Question of Charity – Giving During Davening
I believe that Hashem is sending these unfortunate people to us as a gift to enhance and strengthen our prayers.
From Being Needed to Needing G-d
In a balanced and nurturing environment, sacrifice enhances rather than detracts from quality of life.
The Five Spiritual Stages of the Creative Process
If the Torah does, in fact, require organization, why specifically divide it into five parts?
Maintaining Perspective
Who is the biggest victim of identity theft? Every one of us. One of the greatest tactics that our evil inclination employs is to confuse us about who we really are, and what defines us.
Is it proper for Jews around the world to set aside their usual tzedakah...
Of course, our monetary funds are limited. There are so many worthy causes and we cannot support them all. However, we have a responsibility, halachically and morally, to assist those in greatest need.
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