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.
The name of the sedra, Chukat, means Jewish law. But a deeper meaning of the word is something that is engraved and scored onto a substance. Some laws defy logic and meaning, but these are the test of our soul whether we can draw on the faith deeply engraved within. Chukkim are laws that align…
In this double Sedra of Chukas-Balak, we encounter the enigmatic and perplexing personnage of Bila’am. Endowed with extremely high spiritual capacities (some say equivalent to Moses) he presents as an evil, conniving and greedy human being.
The difference between writing on paper and engraving in stone is the permanence of the latter. But often the engraved message can’t be read as the grooves have been filled with grime and dirt over centuries. So there is a need to wash and clean the grooves to read the message. This week’s parsha, is…
If you and I hit a rock it may not be a big deal, even if G-d tells us to speak to it. But the standards of behavior expected of a leader, especially one as great as Moses, are considerably higher. Hence his punishment was that much more severe.
We have previously mentioned that Chukim, the name of this week’s sedra, means laws with apparent reason and are a test of faith.
What is a Chok? Is reason a pathway to truth? The twelve decidors of the Final solution were Nazis 8 of whom had PhD’s. Belief begins where reason leaves off. There are many right paths — but only faith can decide which one is optimum at any point in time and life.
