Congregation Shema Yisrael - Torah Parasha Commentaries

The parasha for this Shabbat, entitled Pinchas, covers Numbers chapters 25-29, and is named after a man some might suggest took the law into his own hands. In the previous chapters, the King of Moab attempted to hire Balaam to curse Israel – something God was never going to allow, since He had already blessed […] Source

This week, we have a double parasha.  Chukat, which means “statute,” Numbers, 19:1 – 22:1, and Balak, Numbers 22:2 – 25:9, the Moabite king who wants to destroy Israel. I’m just going to focus on some major points from each parasha. Chapter 19 explains the sacrifice of the red heifer. The red heifer was designated […] Source

This week’s parasha is titled Korach, named for the leader of one of the largest and most severe revolts against the leadership of Moses and Aaron during the wilderness journey.  Our passage for this week covers Numbers, Chapter 16:1 – Chapter 18:32. While all those who served at the Tabernacle and later at the Temple […] Source

Our parasha begins in Chapter 13 where Adonai instructs Moses to send out men to explore the land of Canaan, which He was giving to the sons of Israel. A leader from each tribe was sent to explore the land with instructions from Moses to see if the land was good or bad, fertile or […] Source

The parasha for this week is entitled B’ha-alotecha, meaning “when you raise up”, and covers Numbers chapters 8 through 12. It begins with God’s command to consecrate B’nai Levi, the Levites, for the service of the Tabernacle. God chose the entire tribe of Levi to belong to Him in place of all the firstborn sons […] Source

Today’s passage is titled, B’Midbar (in the wilderness), and covers Numbers 1:1–4:20.  Numbers 1 starts off with Adonai commanding that a census be taken among the people of Israel.  The purpose of this census, as given in verse 3, is to determine the number of fighting men, ages 20 and above, who can go to […] Source

This week we have a double parasha, Behar and Bechukotai, covering Leviticus 25:1–27:34 and ending the book of Leviticus. Our parashas for this week remind us of the importance of keeping our promises to the Lord. We begin in Leviticus 25, which records the Sabbath year and the year of Jubilee. The Lord commanded that […] Source

This week’s Parasha is Emor and covers Leviticus 21-24. Chapter 21 covers the holiness of the priest and the offerings as required by Adonai. It starts with, “and the Lord said to Moses”.  This is a phrase that would be repeated throughout this section of Leviticus. The Lord tells Moses to speak to the priest […] Source

Holiness. This single word bridges our two parashas for this week. Acharei Mot (‘After the Death’) and Kedoshim (‘Holy Ones’), which cover Leviticus 16–20. These parashas contain many commandments from the Yom Kippur service to the command to love our neighbor. This morning, we will examine Adonai’s holiness and what it means that He calls […] Source

This week’s Torah portion is a double portion entitled Tazria-M’tzora, which translates to “She conceives” and “Leper”, respectively. To briefly summarize the portions, Adonai describes the rituals of purification for a woman after childbirth. He sets forth methods for diagnosing and treating a variety of skin diseases, as well as methods for purifying clothing. The […] Source