Shlomo's Thoughts on the Torah

We are blessed being "a people who dwell alone". That means that the Jewish people are an exceptional nation. Our nation is not like other nations that have a shared language and land. We are based on the Torah.

Balaam should have realized that he was on the wrong path when his donkey started talking to him. But he was so determined to curse the Jews that he missed the obvious.

While Balak and Balaam are making their plans to destroy the Jews, the Jews are unaware what is happening. That is because they are under God's protection.

Why would Balak hate the Jews when they did nothing to him, and would only help? His hatred of what the Jews represent is the answer. He would rather be destroyed than be moral.

This week's portion ends with the attack on the Jews by Amalek. The question is why the hatred. The answer is that they do not hate the Jews as much as what the Jews represent, morality.

Amalek attacks when he perceives the Jews to be divided and weak. This is true throughout history. Evil does not strike when we are united and strong. They know that they cannot defeat us when we are united in our mission.

Moses's reaction to the complaints of the lack of water have to be viewed in the context of his losing his sister. The sin of the people was not recognizing that pain he was going through at the time.

When Miriam dies the people realize that the well was there in her honor. She does her job never asking for acknowledgement. She just does what is necessary.

Moses's mistake in hitting the rock was understandable but he forgot that he was the leader and the leader is always on duty. He cannot take a break from being the leader.

The commandment of the Red Heifer does not make sense. But this teaches us to obey the commandments even when they do not make sense to us. When taken in total they do make sense.

The rebellion of Korah and his squad was a rebellion of the elites against the leadership of Moses. They based their arguments on a falsehood. This teaches us that sometimes the elites are dangerous.

The purpose of the Exodus was to train the Jews how to live a Torah life once they entered the land. It is easy to keep the Torah while in Yeshiva, the real test comes when you are dealing with the real world.

The problem with the men that Moses sent to observe the land was that they were the elites of society. They realized that once the Jews entered the land they might not be needed to lead. That lead to their mistakes.

One of the problems with the emissaries that Moses sent was that instead of just reporting the facts they editorialized. And they misinterpreted the facts as well. The job was just to report the facts, not give their opinions.

The men chosen to scout the land were not the correct people for the job. Their mission was to report about the people and what if the cities were fortified. They overextended their mission. That is what lead to the disaster that was to follow. The men chosen to scout the land were not the correct people for the job. Their mission was to report about the people and what if the cities were fortifie...

Miriam was the holiest woman of her time. Yet she was stricken with Zora'at for speaking ill of her brother, Moses. How could this have been? The answer is that she meant well bit acted inappropriately.

The real reason for the Jews complaining about the food that they were given by God was that it came with the command that they had to be moral and ethical. They wanted the food but did not want the condition that it came with.

We learn that the Jews were guided in the wilderness by a pillar of fire. This teaches us to place our trust in God. That we should strive to succeed but our success depends on God's help.

We learn that to be a Levite meant that there was a five-year internship to carry out their duties in the Tabernacle. This is to teach us that we have to educate our youth to do the right thing.

The Menorah has been the symbol of the Jewish people since the building of the Tabernacle. It symbolizes our need to spread the light of Torah to a dark world.

The High Priest is commanded to clean the Menorah every morning. The purpose of this commandment is to teach us that there is no job beneath you.

In the Book of Ruth we see that greatness can be attained through our efforts. 3 characters are good but not great. 3 attain greatness through their actions.

Shavout is the anniversary of the giving of the Torah at Mt. Sinai. It is important to recognize the uniqueness of the Torah in the ancient world. Since then it has been our rule and guide to living.

The Priestly Blessing shows that if you want true peace you should first become enlightened by the Torah. Only with this understanding can we achieve true peace. Appeasement does not work.

The leaders of the tribes decided to wait until after the people gave their donations to the Tabernacle and then they would make up the difference. They discovered that if they did not donate fast they would miss out since the people gave enough.