Torah With A Twist

K orach -   Read The Entire Story               In this week’s Torah Portion, we see the rebellion of Korach against Moses (and Aaron).  Korach is joined by members from the Tribe of Reuven, 250 or so Princes of the congregation and some fairly important people thereof.  They all rebelled against Moses and Aaron and felt, “It is enough for you (Moses) because of the congregation is holy, and G-D is in their midst!’  and why then do YOU lift yourself over the congregation of G-D?”    The blame towards Moses was that of stopping the people from full fulfillment of and for themselves.  The Tribe of Reuven showed their feelings of aggravation,disdain, and just maybe, a 'miscomprehension'.  Questioning authority, question hierarchy, questioning that of the Moses, the messenger.   Absolutely okay to question, but in what manner?  Sounds awfully familiar.  Reuven, being the eldest ...

Seek & Look Around.... “And what the land is, whether it is plentiful or bare, be there trees, or not……”  (13:20) It is explained by Rashi that “ TREE ” is metaphorically referring to an honorable and righteous person who shall protect and defend his domain! A very admirable characteristic indeed. We all are aware that Moses was sending in ‘the spies’, should he not have sent them in with a directive of searching for an honorable person and a home of righteousness, prayer, and sincere study of Torah?  Why then did Moses send them to just public areas?  I see the answer is rather simplistic in nature, but with deep thought; when a city/town has a population of honorable and righteous persons and those who govern, it is reflective upon the city/town itself!  As I’ve shared before, the influence of a person and his/her solid attributes and sincere beliefs are not bound by a ‘wall’, but rather felt by the community where he/she resides, and the ...

Naso - The Gift is your actions This week's Torah portion/Parsha enlightens us about the offerings that each of the Princes of the 12 tribes offered on the 12 days of the Inauguration of the Tabernacle in the wilderness.   A very obvious question arises here- Why is each of their offerings repeated since they are identical?  The Torah could have just revealed that each of these twelve princes on the twelve days offered the following offering, and be done with it! Why the need to repeat it in detail then, and repeat it again???? The Torah purposefully repeats each of the Princes’ offerings/gifts to teach us a very fundamental lesson – that 12 different men may offer the exact same gift, and each gift carries its very own weight and uniqueness!  We need to 'judge' the giver uniquely, and accordingly, and judge the gift according to the giver; each is individualistic, and differs from another!  The real joy and spiritual aspect should be then base...