No one likes a whiner. Even Moses, the most humble man ever known – and surely one of the most patient – couldn’t take too much whining. Moses, who had the patience to sit on a mountain top for forty days and nights meditating and waiting for the Torah, reached his limit with the...
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Many haredim are so afraid that if they see women, they will be led astray to sin that they want to hide women – and images of women – in the public sphere, so as not to be tempted. Send women to the back of the bus. No pictures of women – not even...
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Your actions have cosmic significance. God not only cares about what you do, your actions have an influence in the heavenly realms. In this week’s Torah portion we read, “If a man vows a vow to the Lord, or swears an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he shall not break his...
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“Come then, put a curse on this people…For I know that he who you bless is blessed indeed, and he whom you curse is cursed.” …Numbers 22:6 Balaam was a non-Jewish prophet (he talked to God, God gave him instructions) in the days when Israel was wandering in the desert. He is famous as...
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And Moses made a serpent of bronze, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he looked at the serpent of bronze, he lived. …Numbers 21:9 He (King Hezekiah) removed the high places…and broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses...
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This week’s Torah reading, Korach, starts out with Korach and his band of followers challenging the leadership of Moses, saying “Aren’t we all holy? Weren’t we all at Sinai? What makes you so special?” It’s a very troubling story, both for what Korach did — seeking his own glory — and for what...
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