במדבר פרק יב, א-ב וַתְּדַבֵּר מִרְיָם וְאַהֲרֹן בְּמֹשֶׁה עַל־אֹדוֹת הָאִשָּׁה הַכֻּשִׁית אֲשֶׁר לָקָח כִּי־אִשָּׁה כֻשִׁית לָקָח: (ב) וַיֹּאמְרוּ הֲרַק אַךְ־בְּמֹשֶׁה דִּבֶּר יְקֹוָק הֲלֹא גַּם־בָּנוּ דִבֵּר וַיִּשְׁמַע יְקֹוָק: Of all of the siblings in the Torah, the children of Amram and Yocheved seem to have the most solid relationships. Miriam is responsible for saving the life…
Category: 4 Numbers במדבר
God Speaks in the Wilderness: BeMidbar and Shavuot 5775
The summer after graduating college, I went backpacking with a friend in North Cascades National Park in Washington. The sun shone brightly on Lake Chelan as we were ferried deep into the woods, landing at the little outpost of Stehekin to begin our weeklong trek. It was a euphoric beginning, but soon both the weather…
Redemption Begins Within: Parah 5775
Purim and Pesah are both festivals of redemption, serving as bookends in the final and first months of the Hebrew year. But Purim is by far the lesser holiday. True, the Jews of Persia escaped from Haman’s genocidal threat, but they then remained in a vulnerable position, and in the final chapters of the Megillah they…
Sacred BBQ: Shmini/Parah 5774
Spring has arrived, and with it the smell of sacred BBQ. I don’t mean that literally, especially with so many vegetarians in our community, but the confluence of Parshat Shmini and Shabbat Parah means that there is a great deal of attention paid to the selection, slaughter, sacrifice and eating of animals. Chapter 11 of…
Filling the Void: Korah 5773/2013
To Fill the Void (למלא את החלל) is a new Israeli film written and directed by Rama Burshtein, a Haredi woman who had previously made films only for internal consumption by other Haredi women. This film has earned critical acclaim, and I found it to be mesmerizing. There is a great deal to discuss, but I want…
Rabbi Danny Nevins 