…a great leader means listening to others and also making clear decisions when needed. This is not always an easy thing to do. But with this dual approach, he helped the become team happy again, and Microsoft flourish. Parsha Puzzle Question: What does parshat Vayelech have in common with Bereishit, Lech Lecha, Metzora, Pinchas and Chukat? Answer: These six parshiyot…
…death instinct? Can understanding our subconscious mind help us control aggression and violence? Parsha in Passing Chukat means “statute” and this week’s parsha is all about the laws and statutes we don’t totally understand, but still follow with complete devotion, e.g. the Red Heifer, keeping kosher, and the shaatnez law against mixing different fabrics (wool and linen). After…
…the grain of creation. That is the ultimate answer to the question posed by Rabbi Yitzhak. Why does the Torah begin with creation? Because the Torah represents a way of life that respects the integrity of creation and the Creator, in whose image we are. Nowhere is this set out more clearly than in the sedra of Chukat. On the…
There are some, say the Talmud, who acquire their world in an hour and others who lose it in an hour. No example of the latter is more arresting and bewildering than the famous episode in this week’s parsha. The people have asked for water. God tells Moses to take a staff and speak to the rock and water will…
Amid the epic themes of Chukat – the mysterious ritual of the Red Heifer, the death of Miriam and Aaron, Moses striking the rock – it is easy to miss the significance of a short passage toward the end. It is brief, cryptic, almost unintelligible and certainly does not seem to represent a major idea. Yet the Sages gave it…
…that Moses was not destined to enter the promised land was not a punishment but the very condition of his (and our) mortality. It is also clear why this episode occurs in the sedra of Chukat, which begins with the rite of the Red Heifer and purification from contact with death. We also understand why it follows on the death…
The Parsha in a Nutshell Balak is the king of Moav, a country next to the Land of Israel. He becomes scared when he hears that the Israelites are heading his way. Together with the elders of Midian (another country near Israel), he tries to hire the famous non-Jewish prophet Bilam to curse the Israelites. Bilam asks God what he…
It is one of the great mysteries of the Torah. Arriving at Kadesh the people find themselves without water. They complain to Moses and Aaron. The two leaders go to the Tent of Meeting and there they are told by God to take the staff and speak to the rock, and water will emerge. Moses’ subsequent behaviour was extraordinary. He…
…cannot carry it alone” Ex. 18:17-18 He then told him to delegate and share his burden with a team of leaders, much as God is about to do in our parsha. Interestingly, Moses’ burn-out occurs immediately after we read, at the end of the previous chapter, of Jethro’s departure. Something very similar happens later in parshat Chukat (Num. 20). First…
…June – Shelach – Strong People Don’t Need Walls – Rabbi Shaul Robinson 21 June – Korach – Dying Twice: Korach’s mysterious end – Rabbi Dr Raphael Zarum 28 June – Chukat-Balak – Dwelling Alone: Blessing or curse? – Rabbi Shaul Robinson 5 July – Pinchas – Who is the God of the Spirits of all Flesh? – Rabbi Dr Raphael Zarum 12 July…