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At last, the great moment had arrived. For forty years, the Jewish People had wandered together through the desert. The older generation had already passed on. Even beloved Miriam was no more. By now, under the leadership of Moses, the young nation of Israel was finally ready to enter the Promised Land. But an incident occurred that would transform the nation's destiny.

The people run out of water. They cry to Moses, who turns to G-d. G-d commands Moses to produce water from a rock miraculously, by speaking to it. Instead, Moses hits the rock twice, which indeed produces water. It is the most subtle and enigmatic ‘sin’ in the entire Torah, yet because of it Moses’ greatest dream is shattered and he is denied entry into the Land of Israel.

What exactly was Moses’ sin? There are dozens of divergent interpretations. The common denominator behind all of them is that somehow this was a rebellion against G-d or a demonstration of an apparent flaw in Moses. But maybe we have to read the story differently?

It was the Rogatchover Gaon, Rabbi Yosef Rosen (1858-1936), who reframes the story completely. Moses’s error consisted of using Aaron’s wooden staff, rather than his own made of rock. As a result, Jewish women did not have a mikvah for a while and peace in the home was effected. The class explores this original insight and shows its parallels in the teachings of Kabablah and Chassidus.

Gimmel Tammuz 5775 - The Maamarim of the Rebbe

Korach relates the tragic story of the mutiny staged by a man named Korach (Numbers chapter 16), who organized a rebellion against Moses and Aaron, chosen by the Almighty to serve respectively as the Prophet and as the High Priest of Israel. The rabbis in the Midrash made a strange observation. “Korah was clever,” the rabbis declare, “so why did he commit such a folly”? What propelled the wise Korach to declare war against Moses and Aron.

Their question is intriguing. How did the rabbis know that Korach was clever? Never has this person or his wisdom been mentioned in the Torah before? Whence the certainty that Korach was a wise man? Perhaps he was a fool. The answer, of course, is that the rabbis discerned the wisdom of Korach from this very incident. The very mutiny of Korach against the authority of Moses and Aaron, demonstrates wisdom and perception. But why? On the surface, the mutiny seems to be a symptom of good old jealousy, of an unbridled ego craving power and fame.

The class explores and dissects the deeper argument of Korach. “The entire community is holy,” argued Korach to Moses and Aaron in this week’s portion, “and G-d is within them. Why do you exalt yourselves above the community of G-d?”

These are powerful words. G-d is within every person. Why does anybody consider themselves spiritually superior to anybody else? Truth and holiness are embedded in every soul; within every pulsating heart flows the cosmic energy, so why is Moses telling people what G-d wants? 

Where did Korach go wrong? We explore the nature of unity, diversity, and leadership in Jewish thought. And why the story of Korach is alluded to in the word “chatzaros,” which means courtyards. The laws of making an Eiruv Chatzaros, combining all the homes in a courtyard, capture the essence of Korach’s error and the meaning of true leadership. 

This text based class on Likkutei Sichos vol. 18 Korach, explores the unique punishment for all those involved in Korach's mutiny. What is the connection between the sin and the punishment? This class dissects different perspectives on unity and how diversity and harmony can co-exist. Korach actually wanted all Jews to be  equal as they are in their source in the "womb" of G-d, seemingly a noble cause. What was his mistake? 

This lecture was presented on June 3, 2015, in Los Angeles, during a tribute evening to Chaya Mushka Spalter, an 11-year-old girl who passed away on Pesach Sheni 5775, May 3, 2015.

Why did Joshua and Caleb disobey Moshe's instruction to bring back fruits from the Promised Land? In this class, presented to women, Parshas Shlach 5773 (June 2013), Rabbi Jacobson analyzes different ways of understanding the nature of Moshe’s instruction, the difference between the Talmud’s interpretation and the way Rashi explains it in Chumash. We ultimately discover how the manipulative intentions behind an otherwise kosher action can contaminate and undermine it completely.

This text-based class on Likkutei Sichos vol. 23 Parshas Shlach explains how the spies can fall so lowly.

This class was presented at Ohr Chaim Shul in Monsey, NY, on Sunday Parshas Shlach, 20 Sivan, 5775, June 7, 2015.

The Jews are poised to enter the ancient land of Canaan. Finally, the journey that began with the Exodus and stopped at Sinai is to reach its final destination. Moses will lead them and usher in a new dawn for civilization. Moses sends twelve spies, handpicked from the best and brightest men of the nation, to bring back a report on the land and strategic military information.

But then disaster strikes. Ten of the spies return with a terrifying report: The cities are fortified, the people are mighty. Even the produce is fearful. The people panic, and refuse to continue. They are ultimately punished to spend the next forty years in the desert, and only their children will enter Israel, under the leadership of Joshua.

Many interpretations are offered to explain the grave mistake of the spies -- how such great men could make such a terrible and costly mistake. The Talmud says they questioned G-d’s abilities. The Zohar says they were afraid of losing their status as leaders if they entered the Promised Land. Both explanations seem absurd. They have witnessed the greatest miracles of mankind; and would they really jeopardize the future of the entire nation because of their craving for power?!

The most remarkable of all the commentators on the episode of the spies was Rabbi Schnuer Zalman of Liadi. His insight turns the conventional understanding of the spies upside down. They were, in his view, not afraid of defeat. They were afraid of victory. What they said to the people was one thing, but what led them to say it was another entirely.

We come to discover why the day of their death, 17 Elul, is a day of mourning in Jewish law; why the concept of a Minyan is derived from the spies. We also gain an understanding of the mitzvos following the story of the spies, the mitzvah of wine libations, Chalah and Tzitzis.

This text based class, in Likkutei Sichos Behaaloscha Volume 18, explores a comment by Rashi linking a gesture of a little girl to a national event 81 years later. When the three-month old Moses lay floating in a basket on the riverbank, where his mother placed him to avoid the decree of the Pharaoh that all make Jewish children must be taken from their parents bosom and drowned, was watched by his seven-year-old sister, Miriam. That is when Batya, Pharaoh’s daughter, came along and rescued the infant who would not stop crying, craving some milk. It was little Miriam who “negotiated” the deal to allow little Moses to be nursed and calmed by his own real mother.

We may never know the full impact that Miriam’s gentle watch had on Moses’ great life. But one thing we know: 81 years later this moment would once again come back in the life of Miriam and Moshe, this time the other way around. Moses, and 3 million Jews, will stand there seven days, waiting for Miriam.