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“But if the murderer shall at any time go beyond the border of the city of refuge…he has no blood-guilt.” (35:26-27)

In the Sifri, Chazal glean from here that even if the murderer were to take even one step outside of the techum, perimeter, of the City of Refuge, the laws pertaining to the City of Refuge no  longer protect his life. In other words, he takes his life in his own hands. The Gerrer Rebbe, z.l., the Imrei Emes, interpreted this halacha, law, homiletically. When a person experiences difficult periods in his life, the only way to deal with the challenges to one’s faith that often accompany such ordeals is to plant both feet within the confines of the bais…

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“Moshe wrote their goings forth according to their journeys at the bidding of Hashem.” (33:2)

Is there any question that whatever Moshe Rabbeinu wrote was at the bidding of Hashem? Moshe wrote the entire Torah at the bidding of Hashem. Why does the Torah emphasize this regarding their journeys? Horav Nissan Alpert, z.l., offers a profound perspective which he derives from the Torah’s focusing on Hashem’s “part” in the recording of history. One must know that history – whether it is Jewish history or world history – is Hashem’s handiwork. Every occurrence, every episode, is the direct product of Hashem’s design. The churban Bais HaMikdash, the destruction of our Temple, is recorded in history. Through…

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“These are the journeys of the Bnei Yisrael, who went from the land of Egypt according to their legions.” (33:1)

The Degel Mateh Efraim cites his rebbe, the Baal Shem Tov Hakadosh, who interprets the forty-two journeys that Klal Yisrael traveled as analogous to a human being’s life span.  Birth, leaving the womb, is like yetzias Mitzrayim, the exodus from Egypt, the beginning of the Jewish nation’s travels. The ensuing journeys lead onward to the ultimate destination, Eretz Yisrael, or – for the individual Jew – the eternal world of Olam Haba. The Papa Rav, z.l., develops this further. As a person journeys from place to place, even within a city, he is confronted with challenges to his spiritual well-…

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