365Shorts

People suggest Hashem was angry about the spies. But there’s no evidence of that – after all Yohoshua sent spies. He’s angry about their report and how the people react. Why did they report the way they did? I used to argue that they reported as they did because Moshe asked all the wrong questions.… Continue reading Shelach

Moshe doesn’t go to Hashem for advice. Instead, he independently decides the test to be used. Why this test? Let’s consider the people involved. The Torah says they are ‘men of repute.’ The word used is ‘shaim’ or name. They care about their NAMES. They are the opposite of Moshe. So what does Moshe ask… Continue reading Korach

I have discussed how the Para Adumah is used to recall the time before death and risk. The time when we there was no loss of potential needed to drive us to make the good. The Para is never worked because mankind didn’t need labor in order live. It is red like Adam or the… Continue reading Pinchas

This is the only extensive area of Torah told from the perspective of others. It reminds me of Sisera’s mother. It is fundamentally empathetic, but it also shows the shortcomings of our enemies’ thoughts. Here, Moab are farmers and Midian shepherds. And Israel is a barbarian horde who kill entire populations. They spread fear and… Continue reading Balak

There is a strange thing that occurs three times in this parsha. Women are identified by their father’s names. The first of these instances involves Kozbi daughter of Zur. She is identified for two reasons. First, she is Midianite – just like Moshe’s wife. Her name shows she wasn’t Moshe’s wife. Second, her title indicates… Continue reading Pinchas

Kedusha is timelessness. There is no risk in Kedusha just the maximization of a soul (even through an animal’s sacrifice) in their connection to the timeless. An oath is a commitment. It is a human shadow of G-dly timelessness. This is why the word Chal (same as Chilul Hashem) is used. We can desecrate our… Continue reading Mattot-Massai

Two miracles occur in this first reading. First, Moshe speaks to “All Israel.” Before high powered speakers and mics, this wasn’t physically possible. Second, according to the Pshat he’s speaking in 9 seven places at once; many of which don’t seem to exist. Read literally the list is like: across the Jordan (downtrodden), in the… Continue reading Devarim

It says, in Hashem addressing Moshe’s complaint, “Rav Lach” There are various interpretations of this phrase which literally means “there’s much to you (feminine).” When Beckham was traded from Manchester United, people were shocked. One of the reasons Man U gave for the trade is they wanted fans attached to the team, not a single… Continue reading V’etchanan

We start this week with a very new concept. The 40 years in the desert aren’t presented as a punishment, but as a test so that Hashem will knows what is in the heart. It raises three obvious questions. First, how does Hashem not know what is in the heart? And second, what test involves… Continue reading Eikev

This reading states: “You shall not do like everything that we are doing here today, a man all the straight things in his eyes.” To boil it down, you shouldn’t do everything you see as upright in your own eyes. Instead, you yield to a greater authority. Why? In the Book of Devarim we went… Continue reading Re’eh