Parsha

How can I curse, says Bil’am, that which G-d did not curse? What rage can I bring against those whom Hashem will not rage against?

Just like Bilaam, we grow angry and blame others for our failings, for our inability to realize our goals, we blame circumstance and fate for our shortcomings when it is really our inability to see that has caused our failures.

Even at the height of personal anguish it's still possible to demonstrate such sensitivity.

The Ammonites are not interested in learning the truth - they only want to destroy Israel.

Because of the War of Independence and establishment of the state, the event was postponed and never took place. My grandmother would always say that she somehow felt that her life was missing something.

Why must the heifer be red? Scripture likens sin to red because, when a person sins, he forfeits his blood.

R' Chanina was accustomed to experiencing miracles, and therefore he did not fear the bite of the snake.

Precisely because the work that the second-generation did take place was less dramatic and required human participation that it created its own more organic resilience, making it a better model

We believe in nonsense and promote ridiculous ideas that can’t be rationally defended and refute themselves as quickly as we utter them.

The good influence a Jewish woman can have is most effectively exerted in her home, the strongest fortress for moral values.

If we hold him by the hand, who will remove him from our protection?

Before summarily dismissing Korach, let's first allow him to speak and examine his claims – perhaps they will allow us to understand whence his self-immolating uprising.

Rashi explains that the Torah coupled these two incidents together on purpose, in order for us to notice that the spies saw what happened to Miriam, but did not learn a lesson from it. In his words: "And these wicked people witnessed it, but did not learn their lesson."

In the case of Yaakov, there was already a covenant with Hashem and mutual expectations.

They thought that if Hashem was sending them to scout the land, it must be that there were alternatives to invading and conquering it.

Bigness is measured from the chin down, but greatness is measured from the chin up. A person may be the biggest and tallest player in the NBA and still be a mental midget.

Why twelve? If what is really important is the number ten, God could have theoretically created anywhere from eleven to nineteen tribes, and we would still have had decision-making with a majority of ten...

When my father visited Russia, Jews there asked him: 'How many are marching for us in America?' He was embarrassed to tell them how few there were.

Rav Ovadia said, “So for me it’s permissible, but for you it’s prohibited?”

He that can work is born to be king of something. -Thomas Carlyle

The true mark of humility is the ability to accept criticism and be a tolerant person, even to those who mistreat and verbally abuse you.

Why do we need both Hashem and Moshe to inform us that we're moving forward once again? Wouldn't one method, presumably the divine one, be sufficient?

When Ahron saw the nesi’im give their gifts for the Mishkan he felt bad that his shevet did not have a part in the gifts to the Mishkan.

If the field workers assist us in fulfilling the mitzvot associated with agriculture in the Land of Israel, the caregivers assist us in the mitzvot associated with honoring our parents.

I don’t think it would be an exaggeration to suggest that the whole reason God created man, male and female, was for us to better understand our relationship with Him.

It’s more important for me not to disappoint a fellow Jew.

The Chasmonaim were punished because they wrongfully adopted a calling that wasn’t theirs.

It's not normal to permit a reality such as this, and those living near the Gaza border have put up with it for 20 years.

In last week’s parashah, Hashem spoke to Moshe at Mount Sinai. Now, it's referred to as the Desert of Sinai. Is that the same place? Since the people haven't departed the mountain yet, it must be. Yet if so, why change the reference from "mountain" to "desert"?

After my son, Rabbi Eitam, was murdered with his wife in a terrorist attack, I told my students that no one promised me that G-d is an ATM machine.