JOSEPH’S GIFT Shabbat in the Temple was characterized by an extra offering. It is described in this week’s parasha and is known as the Musaf offering. Today, when prayers have replaced the sacrifices, we have a Musaf or additional service on Shabbat. The Talmud associates the three daily services, Shacharit, Mincha, and Maariv, with the...
BUYING POWER Tucked into the first of this week’s two parashiot, is a fascinating insight into Jewish Business Ethics. The Israelites were now in their fortieth year in the desert. They were approaching the land of Canaan from the south. Their route northward entailed passing through part of the territory of Edom. In accordance with...
CONFLICT RESOLUTION If there is one Shabbat of the year when the message of the parasha is bound to be topical it has to be this week, Parashat Korach. Rebellion. Insurrection. Machloket. Hardly a week goes by without someone, some place, somewhere in the world having a dispute. However, as well as describing the full...
KALEV’S SECRET WEAPON Twelve men are sent out on a mission. The brief? Spy-out the land of Israel and report back. Ten men become overwhelmed at the challenges that lie ahead. They decide that they could not support the entry to Israel. Two men, Joshua and Kalev, oppose them. We understand how Joshua was able...
THE SEVEN BOOKS OF MOSES This Shabbat, we read Beha’alotcha, the third parasha of Bamidar, the fourth of the five books of the Torah. Yet there is a passage in the Talmud (Shabbat 116a) that states that there are not just five books of the Torah, but seven. The extra two are found in this...
