The Mishneh Torah (Hebrew: מִשְׁנֵה תּ וֹרָה‎‎, “Repetition of the Torah”), subtitled Sefer Yad ha-Hazaka (ספר יד החזקה “Book of the Strong Hand”), is a code of Jewish religious law (Halakha) authored by...

The Mystery of the Red Heifer | Parshat Chukat In Chukat part one we will examine the commandment of the Red Heifer, which comes to purity from defilement from contact with the dead, is...

In this week’s reading a fundamental change occurs in the direction of the wandering of the Israelites in the wilderness. Up to the beginning of Numbers 20, the Torah tells of events that occurred...

Even if you grew up in the Jewish world, chances are that you never heard the word Mussar until you encountered it here. But we assure you that Mussar is a venerable and well-established...

The story of the copper serpent presents a well-known theological difficulty, put by the Sages and cited by Rashi in his commentary on Numbers 21:8: “Can a snake cause death or give life?” That...

The Tale of the Copper Serpent | Parshat Chukat The copper serpent was fashioned at G-d’s behest.   We are not dealing here with standard devices (names, charms, incantations), but with special and unique...

When Moses wishes to prove to the Israelites that he has indeed been sent by God–as against the complaints of Korach and his associates–he asks Him to punish them in a special manner: “And...

Much has been said and will yet be said about the famous dispute in this week’s Torah reading which was not for the sake of Heaven (Avot 5.17), a dispute which may have been...

In Korach | Exposing the Inner Rebellion Part Two, we pick up where we left off in the previous lesson of Korach | Exposing the Inner Rebellion. In this lesson we expand further on...

The Power of Speech | Parshat Korach Discover the power of speech from Rabbi Nachman in this week’s Torah Portion Korach. Speech has tremendous power. Speak many words of Torah, say many prayers, and...