Parashat Ha Shavua Commentaries

"Where's the beef?" Modern consumers (or advertisers) of fast-food were not the first to ask this question. Beginning with this parashah, Beha'alotcha, the book of Bamidbar recounts multiple episodes of rebellion and complaint among the Children of Israel during their journey from Mount Sinai to the Land of Israel. We read in Chapter 11 that the Israelites in the wilderness receive an ample supply of manna (which "tasted like rich cream"; Num. 11:8), but they are not satisfied. Read more...

"Take a census of the whole Israelite community..." (Numbers 1:2) Last month Americans filled out their own census forms as part of the U.S. census taken every ten years. The data from the census has many practical implications, including the number of members of the House of Representatives each state will have and federal government allocations for such things as education, welfare, and infrastructure. It also helps the government understand the nature of our family configurations and health status so that it knows who we are as a nation and how to plan for our future. Read more...

At its outset, today's Torah portion states that "The Lord spoke to Moses on Mount Sinai" and then commences a detailed exposition of the laws of the Shemittah--the seventh year, in which the land must lie fallow as testimony to God's exclusive ownership of all. Read more...

"Halachic Concepts in Hassidic Thought, or, Hassidic Concepts in Halachic Thought" is a class that I have the honor of sharing with Rabbi Aaron Alexander this semester (www.zieglerpodcasts.com). It stemmed from a fantasy of mine to write a doctorate on this topic, but truth be told, it flourished into something that has brought us, and our students, far greater joy. Read more...

If you tell a child, "don't move an inch," what do they do? They move, an inch. Why? Because they know you don't literally mean, "an inch" and, most children enjoy proving you wrong! Jewish tradition rarely suffices itself with literal reading. Even those with distaste for more mystical, esoteric readings of the Torah understand that the literal understanding of a verse is rarely its simple, plain (p'shat) meaning. Read more...