What does G-d want from me?
ועתה ישראל מה ה’ אלקיך שאל מעמך
Musings in Perusings
בין שדי ילין
Will the third Base Hamikdash contain a פרוכת – a dividing curtain
צורת הבית
The Shape of the Third Base Hamikdash וְאִֽם נִכְלְמ֞וּ מִכֹּ֣ל אֲשֶׁר עָשׂ֗וּ צוּרַ֣ת הַבַּ֡יִת וּתְכֽוּנָת֡וֹ וּמֽוֹצָאָ֡יו וּמֽוֹבָאָ֣יו וְכָל צֽוּרֹתָ֡ו וְאֵ֣ת כָּל חֻקֹּתָיו֩ וְכָל צ֨וּרֹתָ֚ו וְכָל תּוֹרֹתָו֙ הוֹדַ֣ע אוֹתָ֔ם וּכְתֹ֖ב לְעֵֽינֵיהֶ֑ם וְיִשְׁמְר֞וּ אֶת כָּל צֽוּרָת֛וֹ וְאֶת כָּל חֻקֹּתָ֖יו וְעָשׂ֥וּ אוֹתָֽם. And if they are ashamed from all they have done [then let them know what I … Read more
Space
The Newtonian Stage: Space as a Container For over two centuries, the foundation of classical mechanics rested on a single, intuitive assumption about the nature of space: it was an absolute, rigid container. In Isaac Newton’s framework, space was the static, empty stage upon which the actors – mass and energy – performed. Under Newtonian … Read more
ואנחנו נעבור חלוצים לפני ה’ למלחמה
Why Reuvain is considered the Tribe of Teshuva Historical Background of Jewish Settlement in Jordan As the Jewish people stand on the eastern banks of the Yarden River, gazing at the culmination of a forty-year journey, the impending division of the Land of Israel is at hand. Yet, just before the conquest begins, the tribes … Read more
The Purpose of the Three Weeks
וישלך בית אל, שראצר ורגם מלך ואנשיו, לחלות את פני ה’. לאמר אל הכהנים אשר לבית ה’ צבא-ות ואל הנביאים לאמר, האבכה בחדש החמשי הנזר כאשר עשיתי זה כמה שנים. And they sent to Bet El; Shar’etzer, Regem Meleĉ, and his men – to seek out and pray before G-d. To wit: to the Kohanim … Read more
ואתחנן
The 515 Prayers and the Establishment of the Recital of צדקתך The Mystery of the 515 Prayers A famous Midrash[i] asserts that after being denied entry into the Land of Israel, Moshe Rabeinu prayed exactly[ii] five hundred fifteen (515) times to have the decree reversed—a number mathematically equivalent to the gematria of the word he … Read more
יפקד ה’ אלקי הרוחת לכל בשר איש על העדה
MAY G-D REMEMBER THE SPIRIT FOR ALL FLESH Background The Jewish people stand on the border of the Promised Land, the desert is behind them, and an entirely new vista opens ahead. In the camp, a landmark legal case has just concluded: the daughters of Tzelafĉad have successfully petitioned for their father’s physical inheritance in … Read more
זמרי בן סלוא
The Tragedy of Zimri Tragic Zimri: Misguided Sacrifice, Legal Loopholes, and the Sin of Baal Peor The narrative of Baal Peor, culminating in the catastrophic actions of the prince Zimri, is often read as a simple, tragic story of a respected leader succumbing to base lust. Occurring near the end of the Jewish people’s forty-year … Read more
בארה של מרים
The Wellspring of Miriam The Mouth of the Well: Law, Grace, and the Synthesis of Sustenance in the Wilderness The narrative of the Jewish people’s forty-year sojourn in the wilderness is framed by two distinct crises of water. The first[i] occurs at חורב, shortly after the Exodus from Egypt. The second[ii] occurs four decades later … Read more