The Torah introduces the meraglim stating, kulam anashim, “All were men.”  Chazal explain anashim as a term reserved for men who are honorable, upright, men of stature.  This explanation only intensifies the question that is on everyone’s mind:  How did such distinguished personalities err so egregiously?  Their reaction and the manner in which they later riled up the nation led to the people’s ultimate exclusion from entering Eretz Yisrael, transforming that night – the Ninth of Av – into our national day of mourning.  If these men were such kesheirim, men of integrity, how did they fall so catastrophically? I…

Rashi notes the juxtaposition of the meraglim debacle upon the story with Miriam in which she spoke against Moshe Rabbeinu.  She spoke negatively of her brother, underscoring his departure from his wife’s tent. He did not know when Hashem would summon him; thus, he must always be prepared.  Miriam looked askance at this behavior, feeling it was not fair to Tziporah, Moshe’s wife.  Her words were considered slanderous and, as a result, Hashem punished her with tzaraas, spiritual leprosy, which confined her to seclusion for seven days.  Due to her extraordinary distinction, Hashem had the entire nation remain encamped until…

Rashi explains that Moshe Rabbeinu’s mention of a tree is an allusion to a tzadik.  He wanted the spies to find out if a righteous person was living in the land, in whose merit the people would be sheltered from attack.  This refers to Iyov, who was a saintly and virtuous man – but who died right before the spies reached the land.  With this in mind, we infer that Moshe did not require the services of the meraglim to ascertain the Jews ability to conquer the land.  Hashem would provide for their triumph.  If a righteous man lived in…

Rashi adds, the Torah is underscoring the praise of Aharon – she’lo shinah; he did not deviate in any way from the instructions that Hashem had given him.  This is written after Aharon was consoled, for neither he nor his shevet, tribe (Levi), were to be included in the Chanukas ha’Mishkan, inauguration of the Sanctuary.  Hashem told him, Shelcha gedolah mi’she’lahem, “Yours is greater because you will light the Menorah, which would continue throughout their journey in the wilderness and in the Bais HaMikdash.” (Actually, the lighting of the Chanukah Menorah, which continues to this very day, is a continuation…

Some men were ritually impure due to contact with a human corpse, and they could not sacrifice the Pesach-offering on that day … These men said, “We are ritually impure through contact with a human corpse.  Why should we be diminished, so as not to bring the offering of Hashem on its appointed time?”  (9:6) One must be ritually pure in order to offer the Korban Pesach (or any Korban for that matter).  These men were tamei meis, ritually impure, due to their contact with a human corpse.  Confronted with the circumstance, they came to Moshe Rabbeinu and offered their…

The Torah describes Moshe Rabbeinu as the humblest of all men.  This does not mean that he was unaware of his unparalleled greatness, his extraordinary achievements, or his role as Klal Yisrael’s quintessential rebbe and leader.  On the contrary, Moshe understood exactly who he was.  Yet, his humility lay in how he perceived the source of his greatness.  He felt that he had been granted opportunities that no one else had received.  Had others stood at Har Sinai, had they learned Torah directly from Hashem, they, too, could have risen to his level of leadership. Chazal teach that the Torah…

The Torah juxtaposes the laws of Nazir upon the previous laws of the sotah, wayward wife.  Chazal (Sotah 2A) derive that one who sees a sotah in her degradation should take a Nazarite vow, thereby prohibiting himself from drinking wine.  One who witnesses the sotah’s punishment and realizes what led to it understands that he has just been availed a window into how easily people fall prey to temptation. He is able to observe how the yetzer hora, evil inclination, can ensnare a person and pull him down to the nadir of depravity.  Let us look at a before and…

Hashem charged Aharon HaKohen and his descendants with conveying Hashem’s blessing to His people.  The concept of the Kohen having koach ha’brachah, power of blessing, appears enigmatic on the surface.  True, the Kohen is biologically holy, born into the Priestly family, but what about the talmid chacham, Torah scholar, who has a distinction of his own?  He has earned his status. Through toil, effort, diligence in Torah study, the talmid chacham has elevated himself.  His sanctity is acquired because it is the product of ameilus and mesiras nefesh.  I am not suggesting in any way that the Kohen is not…

The sequence of the offerings did not follow the relative ages of the Nesiim; rather, it apparently went according to distinction.  Nachshon ben Aminadov, Nasi of Shevet Yehudah, the tribe that represented malchus, royalty, offered the first korbanos.  Shevet Yehudah deserved this distinction.  Chazal (Bereishis Rabbah 72:5) explain that Yissachar was second in line, because he represented the lomeid Torah, the talmid chacham whose nights and days were spent engrossed in Torah.  Zevulun, who supported Yissachar, was up next, indicating how much Hashem values and loves the machzik Torah, supporter of Torah. Veritably, it all boils down to how much…

The Torah is Hashem’s greatest gift to Klal Yisrael.  It is more than our guide for living – it is our life.  One would think that the giving of the Torah, which was a seminal experience like none other, would have occurred in a thriving metropolis, a cultured capital – not in a desolate wilderness.  Everything that Hashem does and how He does it is to teach us lessons for life and living.  Obviously, the giving of the Torah in the desert is no different.  Chazal teach that it was, indeed, deliberate.  Each commentator explores his own approach.  Perhaps we…

The pasuk commences by stating that the following are the offspring of Aharon and Moshe, but goes on to list only Aharon’s sons.  What happened to Moshe’s sons? Is Moshe considered a “father” to Aharon’s sons?  Chazal (Sanhedrin 19B) infer from here that, Kol ha’melameid es ben chaveiro Torah maaleh alav ha’kasuv k’ilu yoldo, “Whoever teaches Torah to his friend’s child, the Torah regards it as if he had begotten him.”  Thus, Moshe Rabbeinu became Aharon’s sons’ spiritual progenitor, because he taught them Torah. This statement is not poetic embellishment.  Chazal do not exaggerate.  As such, the commentators offer their…

While Bechukosai is one of the two parshios of the Torah identified with the Tochechah, Rebuke (Ki Savo), it actually begins with the idyllic blessings conferred upon he who follows Hashem’s decrees.  The Torah focuses on the Jew who listens, who follows, who acts positively. Sometimes, however, one will veer off the prescribed trajectory.  He will, unfortunately, require discipline to help him return and tow the line as everyone else does.  The interpretation of teileichu, follow, gives the commentators much food for thought.  Rashi interprets the phrase, She’tiheyu ameilim baTorah, to mean by engaging in intense Torah study, with the…

Being that this curse is toward the conclusion of the curses, it is apparent that it is more frightening than its predecessors, such as: hunger, privation, and death.  Veritably, this curse may refer to one who is in no danger.  There is no enemy – yet his heart is racing, the anxiety is gripping him. There is no threat; yet, he is filled with panic.  The curse is not the enemy outside, but the fear from within. Such a person is not afraid of anything, other than fear itself.  Once fear becomes the reigning force in one’s mind, he no…

At first glance, the sequence of the pesukim appears reversed.  One first sows his field, a process that continues for six years. Only afterward, “shall the land rest.”  Why introduce the mitzvah of Shemittah prior to mentioning the six years of labor?  Horav Yitzchak Rozenthal (Dayan, Yeshivas Midrash Bnei Tzion) distinguishes between chutz la’eretz, diaspora, whose sanctity is largely the result of human endeavor.  When a Jew studies Torah, and davens with kavanah, he sanctifies his surroundings. His kiyum ha’mitzvos, fulfillment of Torah precepts, elevates the mundane which envelops him.  His avodah, service, ushers in the kedushah.  Otherwise, it is…

Noticeably, when our fellow begins to falter, the Torah refers to him as achicha, your brother – not rei’acha, your fellow/friend.  A very simple explanation accounts for this textual change.  When a friend falters, suddenly our relationship with him takes an inward (toward ourselves) turn.  We are no longer friends; we are philosophers (hypothesizing reasons why we need not help).  “It is his fault.”  “I warned him, but he refused to listen.”  “Truthfully, we are not really that close.”  “He runs after me. I never sought him out.”  Each excuse is carefully presented – not to present reality, but to…

The above pasuk is chilling –describing tragedy upon tragedy.  A young woman ostensibly raised in a refined, hallowed Torah home goes off the derech, acting out her rebellion with acts of moral turpitude.  How does such a moral collapse occur – especially in such a family?  If I may use my writer’s license, I suggest a homiletic rendering of this pasuk/incident.  Several questions surface upon reading the text.  First, why does the Torah state that she desecrates her father?  It is the sacred institution of Kehunah that she profanes.  She is dragging the Priesthood through the mud – not her…

A passage in the Talmud (Yoma 86A) illuminates the concept of Kiddush Hashem, but also insinuates that we can view dereliction as a chillul Hashem, desecration of Hashem’s Name.  “What do people say about an individual who reads, learns and serves talmidei chachamim, Torah scholars, and handles all his relations (business, etc.) with his fellow man with emunah, faith, and makes sure his manner of speech is b’nachas, soft and pleasant? Fortunate is his father who taught him Torah/Fortunate is his Rebbe who taught him Torah. Look at so and so who studied Torah, and (as a result) his demeanor…

We have no shortage of enjoinments concerning the Yom Tov of Pesach.  We are often reminded to remember the Exodus from Egypt.  Indeed, it is a daily part of our Shema Yisrael and a component of our Tefillah.  On the night of Pesach, things change when we engage in an exclusive and intensified zeicher l’yetzias Mitzrayim, remembrance of the Exodus.  The commentators distinguish between the sippur, relating, the story of yetzias Mitzrayim. On Pesach night, in a family setting, we relate and explain the story, allowing for everyone at the seder table to listen, add and be a part of…

The tragic deaths of Nadav and Avihu, Aharon HaKohen’s eldest sons, on the day which would have been the most auspicious of their lives, leaves the reader with serious questions. The answers to these   questions are elusive. Chazal detail a list of “sins” attributed to these two tzaddikim – infractions which are endemic to the exalted spiritual level which they had achieved.  Nonetheless, we seek some kind of explanation.  We will focus on one such sin and apply its explanation to their behavior, which will result in enlightening us concerning the rest of the “shortcomings” attributed to them.  Chazal…

The mitzvos were given for the sake of life – not death.  Thus, if fulfilling a mitzvah entails danger to one’s life, such as pikuach nefesh— life-threatening issues which must be carried out on Shabbos – we act accordingly to prolong the individual’s life.  Chiddushei HaRim has a notable homiletic twist on the exhortation of V’chai ba’hem, as reference to our attitude toward mitzvah observance (and life in general). We are commanded to perform mitzvos with zest, vigor and enthusiasm, as if they are our source of life.  Perhaps, we can extrapolate and say that the area of life which…

To love one’s fellow as if he were loving oneself is much more than a guideline/criterion for governing interpersonal relationships. It is, in fact, the Torah’s definition of true love.  Conditional love, selective love, self-serving love, is not love.  It may resemble affection, but it is a far cry from satisfying the Torah’s criteria.  It is only when one achieves love that is kamocha mamish, truly as oneself, with the same sensitivity, concern and respect that one accords his own needs, does the term ahavah have true meaning.  Anything less, simply misses the target, as it is a pale imitation…

Parshios Tazria/Metzora deal almost exclusively with the laws pertaining to negaim, spiritual plagues, of which tzaraas is most prominent.  These are physical manifestations which represent spiritual flaws in the character of the afflicted person.  Thus, it begs elucidation that Parshas Tazria begins with the laws of tumas yoledes, the spiritual contamination of a woman who gives birth, followed by the exhortation to perform the bris milah on the eighth day of the infant’s life.  How do bris milah and the laws of tzaraas align?  Perhaps the laws surrounding bris milah and its underlying hashkafah, outlook, give us a glimpse into…

Since Parshios Tazria/Metzora address physical manifestations of spiritual maladies, it was suggested that it would be an opportune time to address both the Torah’s and Chazal’s exhortations concerning taking care of one’s health.  The immediate reaction will probably be, “What do health issues have to do with a commentary on the parshah?”  This is probably a good question.   Due to the importance of reminding everyone that we were placed on the world to serve Hashem, and sick people find it challenging to properly serve Him. It would be prudent for an individual to address his known and even unknown health…

On what should have been the most exalted and auspicious day of Aharon HaKohen’s life – the inauguration of the Mishkan with Aharon as the Kohen Gadol, alongside his sons who would serve as Kohanim –he was stunned by the sudden (what appeared to be) inexplicable and devastating loss of his two sons.  They did not just die.  They were struck by a Heavenly conflagration which burned from within, leaving their bodies intact.  The Torah describes Aharon’s heroic response: no response, Va’yidom Aharon; “And Aharon was silent (actually mute).” Prior to attempting to explain Aharon’s response and from where he…

The Torah praises Aharon HaKohen’s silence in the face of tragedy.  What distinguishes silence from speech?  Should Aharon not have eulogized his two sons for all the exemplary qualities they possessed?  Should he not have wept copious tears over the terrible personal and communal loss of two such shining stars?  Horav Aviezer Piltz, shlita (Rosh Yeshivas Tifrach), explains that, when Moshe Rabbeinu said, B’keruvai Ekadesh v’al pnei kol ha’am Eichabed; “I will be sanctified through those who are nearest to Me, thus, I will be honored before the entire people” (ibid 10:3), Moshe responded, “I knew that the Mishkan would…