Redeeming Relevance / Rabbi Francis Nataf

Since we are taught that each person is like a universe, to casually dispense with one individual is like dispensing with an entire universe.

Hoe the Torah establishes the value of the individual--and how that ensures humility.

As we continue to speak less, we will continue to have less room for defilement… and for sanctity

The fact it was specifically Midianite and Moabite women involved with Jewish men {Moshe and men involved with Ba'al Peor) shows that an existential bond existed between these nations and Israel.

What does this have to do Yom Kippur?

Why may Kohanim not attend to the dead?

How might Moshe looked back upon his life? Ironically, the man unsurpassed in so many ways may actually have seen himself as a failure. Yet that is certainly the impression one gets from reading through most of this book.

Understanding why these Ten Statements were chosen-as opposed to others omitted-could well lead us to a greater grasp of the essence of this venerable text.

And so Moshe’s ultimate message here, according to Netziv, may be that even if the curses are fulfilled, that is no reason to abandon God.

As we approach Yom Kippur, it is time for us to think creatively, the willingness to chart a new path, about what we can do better.

Of all the many fathers-in-law in the Bible, only Yitro & Lavan are singled out for this designation

Though God can’t benefit from gifts to him the best way to create a relationship is by giving to Him

Yitro may well be the prototype of the righteous gentile, maintaining a distinct non-Jewish identity

Parshat Nasso and the issue of the sotah and coming face-to-face with our own responsibility and not just throw it on others.

Peshat vs. Drash

In view of the seeming sanctity that the Torah imparts to blood, why would it tell us to spill animal blood indiscriminately?

With ubiquitous texting, social media, & email, society is mislead to think that words are ephemeral

Yosef wanting to see his father Yakov again is understandable. Perhaps Yosef could not have left Egypt to do so. But did Yosef’s desire to see him justify making his father leave Israel for Egypt?

Paradoxically, the sin of the calf ended up strengthening Moshe and the Jewish people with a new consciousness.

Apparently, God is only actively engaged when man is conscious of Him

One might think that there's nothing we understand better in the world than ourselves--after all, we spend every waking minute with ourselves. But is this self-understanding really the case?

No matter how hard we work on ourselves, we can never be totally prepared for the challenges ahead. And that is actually a good thing. Not only would life be less interesting, but a great deal of its meaning would otherwise be taken away. As Rebbe Nachman said, “If you are not a better person tomorrow than you are today, what need have you for a tomorrow?”

This story is actually a brilliant depiction of the interplay between divine providence and free will. Without taking away our ability to “surprise Him,” God – when needed – doesn’t hesitate to steer us in the direction He wants.

Vayikra, the Torah’s middle book, gives the critical light to the Torah's other books around it.

When we cannot fully understand God’s decision that accepting it shows our true allegiance to Him

The incident of the spies was a completely new and problematic transgression, it was not toward the rarified wilderness, but rather toward the earthly existence promised in the Land of Israel.

There is nothing wrong – and actually everything right – about loving God’s world. But to be significant, it must be a love grounded in enhanced awareness and appreciation of God.

The communication gap here is really two-sided. It certainly starts with Korach and his group, but it subsequently infects Moshe as well.

We are sorely lacking signs from God today. They are lacking, since our courage and resourcefulness often end when we have no indication of what God wants from us. This is the tragic situation of God’s hiding Himself

In one of the most mysterious verses in the Torah (Bereshit 35:8), we read about the death of Devorah the nursemaid, a character so minor that we have never really heard of her before