The world is made up of disparate elements of mineral, vegetable, animal, human, and spiritual. Mineral is subdivided into the 118 (at last count) elements of the Periodic table. There are an estimated 400,000 specials of plants on earth. And up to 30 million specials of animals inhabit the planet. We humans are approaching 8…
Moses is close to the end of his 36 day soliloquy summarizing the history and laws of the Jewish people. He is about to die. His hopes and aspirations of entry to the Promised Land have been dashed. We would have expected an expression of sorrow, if not personal bitterness, to punctuate his final words.…
In this week’s parsha, Vayeilech, Joshua’s appointment as successor to Moses is confirmed. Succession is a sensitive and challenging process fraught with both personal and political implications.
In this week’s double Parsha of Mattot/Massei the people of Israel are about to wage war to fulfil their inheritance of the Promised Land. All systems are go, when two of the tribes seem to baulk and say they want to stay where they are, on the eastern side of the Jordan river.
In this week’s Parsha, Pinchas, the 12 tribes of Israel receive their allocation of the land of Israel. It was via a lottery. To most people, a lottery means random chance. To Jewish people lottery means a decision from Above.
Some people just thrive on being prophets of doom. One such person was the King Balak in this week’s parsha of the same name. Noting the approach of the Jewish people into his fiefdom, he spreads the stories of Jewish successes against Egypt, the Midianites and the Amalekites, embellished with stories of supposed Jewish excesses.…
In this week’s parsha we read of Moses’ sister’s Miriam’s passing. It was in her great merit that the Jewish people in the desert had water to drink. Miraculous wells of water flowed wherever Miriam was to be found.
Korach, the central figure, and name, of our Parsha this week, was a gifted individual. Smart, eloquent, wealthy, holding a high position, and a member of Moses’ own family, he had everything going for him. But he had a flawed character. He wanted more. He craved the leadership of the Jewish people. Or at…
The failure of the mission by the twelve spies is a mystery. How could they lose faith in G-d? But they didn’t. They simply mistook a well-known teaching not to rely on miracles, and therefore did not anticipate one. This teaches us that once we undertake challenges with our natural abilities, we create the opportunity…
There’s no point in lighting a candle if it doesn’t stay lit. Likewise, there is no point meeting people if you don’t raise their spirits and inspire their self-belief. The Parsha’s name, Beha’alotcha (lifting up), implies that we are all life-coaches with abilities to ensure the other’s success.
This week’s parsha, introduces the concept of Vidduy, public confession of one’s wrong doings and shortcomings. Verbalising these publicly, leaves a profound effect, intensifying regret and remorse. Both of these then lead to Teshuva, a tangible return to correct behaviour. Teshuva spiritually undoes the harm that may have occurred and transforms it into a plus.
Why again a census of the Jewish people? The census can be compared to an art collector admiring each piece of his/her art collection, in his personal gallery, admiring its beauty and noting its pricelessness. The census is G-d’s admiration of His collection – the souls of His people.
Words leave an indelible impression on the world imprinting a spiritual legacy that changes the Cosmos, especially a vow – a powerful use of words. Hence, we always add an exclusion clause ‘beli neder’ – “I say this but not as a vow”. Always keep your word. The world depends on it.
Pinchas was criticised by many as a young upstart who didn’t respect his elders by taking the law into his own hands. Later adjudged a hero, this didn’t stop criticism beforehand. Why? Because often we criticise for very wrong motives of envy, or result of egotism, or hostility. Don’t criticise until one’s motives can be…
