פרשת בלק / ט”ו בתמוז תשפ”ב
When Bilaam states that the Jews are a people that dwell alone he means that due to their morality and ethical behavior that will not find many others who would join them. When everyone else is immoral then the moral person finds himself alone.
פרשת בלק / י”ד בתמוז תשפ”ב
When Balaam has an argument with his donkey, he misses the main point. The donkey is speaking to him. It is a classic case of the march of folly. That is following a disastrous path even when you know it will end in disaster.
פרשת בלק / י”ג בתמוז תשפ”ב
One of the observations of Balaam was how the tents of the Jews in the wilderness were set up so that one could not see into another. The entrances were adjusted for this purpose. The Torah is teaching us that we must respect each other’s privacy.
פרשת בלק / י”ב בתמוז תשפ”ב
Balaam is warned at the very beginning of this week’s portion that his attempt to curse the Jewish people is doomed to failure by no less than God. Yet he persists in the project. Why? He could not admit that he made a mistake in accepting this job.
פרשת בלק / י”א בתמוז תשפ”ב
In this week’s portion Balaam is the main character but it is named after Balak. The reason for this is that while Balaam does most of the work, he does so at the behest of Balak. Balaam is simply a hired gun. The reason that Balak hates the Jews is simply he hates God centered morality.
פרשת חקת / ט’ בתמוז תשפ”ב
When the well that was following the Jews in the wilderness dried up after the death of Miriam the people complained that they had a better life in Egypt. What is amazing is that the people complaining were born after they left Egypt. They were totally taken care of by God. They did not have to earn their food. They were not grateful for all that God gave them.
פרשת חקת / ח’ בתמוז תשפ”ב
When Miriam died the well stopped giving water. The Jews were unaware that it was due to Miriam that they had water. It reminds us of all the people who are involved in supplying us with our daily needs.
פרשת חקת / ז’ בתמוז תשפ”ב
In this week’s portion Moses hits the rock in the wilderness to bring out water. God tells Moses that he did not do as instructed. He should have spoken to the rock. He was punished for this. The fact that the Torah records this is to underline that Moses was human and not a God.
פרשת חקת / ו’ בתמוז תשפ”ב
One of the lessons of this week’s Portion is that Aaron, Miriam and Moses prepared the leadership to come after them. Do not assume that they will learn by osmosis. They need to be educated both in knowledge and in spirit.
פרשת חקת / ה’ בתמוז תשפ”ב
When the Vilna Gaon (d. 1797) read the American Constitution, he was convinced that the redemption was beginning. Article 6 states that there be no religious test to hold office in the US. This meant that Jews were full and equal citizens of the country. This was unheard of before then. The Zionist movement can be traced to the Vilna Gaon’s understanding of US Constitution.