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Chukkat/Balak
Sandwiched between the many deaths that occurred in Korach last week, and the passing of Miriam this week, we have the account of the parah adumah, which provides the means of purification from corpse contamination. Parashat Chukkat also contains the Moshe’s anger management issue at Kadesh, the death of Aharon, and the initial conquests which…
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Korach
The discontent initiated last week continues in parashat Korach. In the principal part of the parashah, a reactionary demagogue, Korach, positions himself at the head of generalized discontent and dismay after G-d’s decree that all the males of conscription age would die in the desert. Korach, claiming that only he can set things right, is…
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Sh’lach L’cha
This week we have what is one of the crucial parashiot defining B’nai Yisrael and their quest to enter the Promised Land. Parashat Sh’lach (or Sh’lach L’cha) describes the event of the 12 scouts and their resulting negative report, which leads to G-d’s decision to condemn most of the adult community to death in the…
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Beha’alotecha
This week we move forward with another rich parashah – Beha’alotecha. Topics covered include the menorah[i] and its lighting, consecration of the Levi’im, Pesach Sheni, the movements of the Israelites as directed by cloud and fire, the manufacture and usage of a pair of silver trumpets, the process by which the Israelites went on the…
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Naso
After taking a break for Shavuot, we return to our regular Torah reading with parashat Naso. The previous parashah, Bemidbar, was largely about census taking, and, believe it or not, we haven’t finished counting yet. The census of the Levite clans continues, along with the assignment of their various obligations. The parashah also covers camp…
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Shavuot
This week we’re finishing the counting of the Omer, leading up to the holiday of Shavuot, which begins Thursday evening. Shavuot[i] is an interesting holiday in that no specific laws are attached to it, other than refraining from work. In Torah, it marks the end of the grain harvest, 50 days after Pesach; while it’s…
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Bemidbar
Finally, after several weeks of legal instruction both to the kohanim and to K’lal Yisrael¸ we start a return to narrative in parashat B’midbar, although a significant part of the entire Sefer B’midbar mixes narrative and rules. This parashah covers a census of the tribes, arrangement of the tribes dwelling areas around the mishkan, census…
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Behar-Bechukotai
In this week’s combined reading, Behar and Bechutokai, Moshe, at G-d’s command, continues his teaching to B’nai Yisrael, this time focusing on sh’mita, yovel, and the release from debts and servitude, followed by a carrot-and-stick summary of the blessings that will accrue by following the rules, and the horrors that will ensue if the commandments…
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Emor
After last week addressing the entire community on the subject of kedusha, Moshe now turns to the kohanim (the “Sons of Aharon”) to describe the even stricter levels of purity required for them. Presumably the rest of the community also heard this instruction (see Lev. 21:24), as well as the following sections on offerings (“sacred…
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Acharei Mot – Kedoshim
It’s been a few weeks since we learned of the death of two of Aharon’s sons in parashat Sh’mini (see here), with the narrative interrupted by a long discourse on ritual impurity, and then Pesach, but now it’s back to the narrative … sort of. While the segue to parashat Acharei Mot is “After the…