The powerful and beautiful details found in the story, and the Midrashim describing the death of Aharon convey critical messages for us today.

Do we suffer for the sins of others - including our great-grandparents? Are non-Orthodox Jews really considered Jewish at all? Let's ask the Netziv what he thought over a hundred and fifty years ago.

If God came to you and gave you one chance to make the one argument that would convince Him not to destroy the Jewish people, what would you say? Moshe had to save them twice, once after Chet Hameraglim, and once at the Egel. What did he say that saved us? Why did it work?

The struggle for spirituality in a physical world plagued the Children of Israel in the desert, and attacks us just as strongly today.

First of all, I want to apologize to the podcast downloaders for the hiatus in uploading. If you could send me an email indicating that you listen via podcast, that would be appreciated, because I have know way of knowing who, if anyone, listens via podcast. On to the show...

The subject of the Sotah raises some seriously sensitive issues, namely, our struggle to reconcile the values underlying the laws of Sotah, and the apparent inequality between husband and wife, with today's view of marriage. As always, the text of the Torah serves as a platform for discussion, debate and hopefully deeper understanding.

While most of the parshah deals with tzaraat in many forms and its ramifications, the double parshah both begins and ends by describing the ramifications of uterine bleeding. What is the difference between niddah and zivah? Why does a woman become impure after childbirth? And what does all this have to do with original sin?

I gave this shiur last year while still reeling here in Israel the terrible murder of almost an entire family in Itamar. We look at Aharon's reaction to the sudden death of his sons. What did Moshe say to him to console him? Why was Aharon silent? And what lessons can we take away from national tragedy and mourning?

With our national return to our ancestral homeland, the night of Pesach leaves us in a quandary: How do we celebrate a future redemption that we believe has already begun? How did Chazal design the seder to reflect a future (and a missing past) that we have begun to realize? Answering these questions will help you bring meaning to your Seder.

For some, it's their favorite part of the Seder - the food is coming! But the famous poem begs an equally famous question. We'll analyze the question, and offer four different answers to enhance your Seder discussion.

This shiur is exactly what it sounds like: the source for the laws of the four Shomrim emanates from our parshah. By analyzing the text of the Torah, we come to derive how the halachot of the different types of watchmen emerge. We conclude with a powerful thought from the Ohr Hachayim on the idea of Shemirah Bebaalim.