Shlomo's Thoughts On The Torah

Aaron was known as a man of peace. He would work to make peace between people. But he was not for peace at any price. He would not sacrifice the truth for peace. He knew that appeasement never brings peace.

The weekly portion starts out with the Jews complaining to Moses about things but it ends with Balaam's blessings. It is to teach us that sometimes we have to take a step back and see how others see us.

Sometimes we are commanded by God to do things that we don't understand. Such as in the case of the Red Heifer. Just because we do not understand why we are commanded to do something does not make it invalid. It shows our limitations as humans.

The story of Korach and his followers is a common theme throughout history. A prime example would be the Mutiny on the Bounty. What happened to the mutineers tells us what would have happened if Korach had prevailed.

Now for a Quick Devar Torah Today is Gimmel Tammuz , the third day of Tammuz, an important date in Jewish history that many people are not aware of. According to tradition, it was on this day that Joshua stopped the sun during the battle in the Valley of Ayalon. The event teaches us something important about leadership. Joshua inherited the mantle of leadership from Moses. For years he was Moses&#...

One of the interesting sidelights in this week's parsha is the connection between the scouts and the mitzvah of tzitzit. When Moshe sends the delegation into the Land of Israel, the Torah uses the word latur —to tour or scout out the land. In modern Hebrew, the same root gives us the word for a tourist. At the end of the parsha, however, we encounter the mitzvah of tzitzit. There the Torah tel...

The lesson of following the cloud in the wilderness is that we have to trust in God even if we have different plans. We have to realize that God knows what is best for us even if we don't

Pesach Sheni teaches us that we all deserve a second chance. The catch is that we have to be deserving of it. If we do not work to achieve it we won't get it.

The Torah wants us to partake in the pleasures of life but in moderation. That is why the Nazir, a person who denies himself wine, grapes, a haircut or any contact with a dead body usually for a month. After this period, he has to bring a sin offering. It is a sin not to have permitted pleasure.

Every leader of a tribe brings an offering to the Tabernacle. It is the same offering but the Torah records each one. The lesson is that we are different but equal in the eyes of the Torah. The the sum is greater than the whole.

The Torah views the family as the basis of society. That is why it goes out of its way to show that falsely accusing a wife of adultery is bad. That if the family breaks down, so does society.

Today is Memorial Day in the United States. We have toacknowledge and respect those who gave their lives for us and the Constitution. The two are intertwined.

We read the Book of Ruth on Shavuout because it ties in all the aspects of the holiday. It concerns the harvest, which begins at this time. It shows that Ruth is the ancestor of King David. And of course, it shows that Ruth accepts the Torah from the outside.

The Torah is to keep all within due bounds, from the most powerful in society to the least. Otherwise, there would be no society.

We learn the Torah all night on Shavuout to emphasize that Torah scholarship is a meritocracy. It does not matter your background, what is important is what you do with the he gifts that God gave you.

On Shavuout we celebrate receiving the Torah at Mt. Sinai. The importance of the Torah is that it shows us that morality is objective. There is no such thing and individual morality. That goes for leaders as well as followers. We are all called upon to be moral.

We have entered the month of Sivan. In a few days we will be celebrating the holiday of Shavuot. This is the traditional day that we received the Torah at Mt. Sinai. We celebrate because we realize that the Exodus story is leading to this moment.

Today is the anniversary of the liberation of the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six Day War. Before this Jews were forbidden from praying at Jewish holy sites there. We celebrate the reunification of Jerusalem and the ability of people of all faiths to pray at their holy sites.

Two of the greatest people in our history were not born Jewish but joined the Jewish people. One was Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, and the other was Ruth. They chose to join the Jewish people in spite all the obstacles that they would face.

We count the Omer up and not down. Usually, we count down in anticipation of an event. The reason for the counting up is that we are preparing to become a people.

The reason that the Mishkan, or Tabernacle was in the center of the Israelite camp in the wilderness was to teach the Jews that the Torah is their constitution. That they are on a mission from God.

The Book of Numbers is called this because there are so much census taking of the Jews. The question is why? The answer is to show that there are no extra people. Everyone counts.

The name of the portion of the week is Bemidbar, in the wilderness. The Jewish people were organized by tribes surrounding the Tabernacle. This was to show that, while each tribe had its own mission and unique qualities, they were united in their mission for God.

Nations do not suddenly cease to exist. They get destroyed from within through corruption and violence. Long before the barbarians conquered Rome it was destroyed by these things.

The Torah states that if you carry out the mitzvot then you will be blessed with a good economy. The meaning of this is that the wealth is spread by the businessman hiring people to increase his earnings and paying the employee a decent salary so that all benefit.