Parshah Columnists

Life Lessons From the Parshah - Behaalotecha

The rabbi asked, “Do you want to learn?” Shmuel replied, “No. But I want to want to learn.”

The Torah specifies that “the people” did not abandon Miriam, whereas Rashi suggests that it was an honor accorded to her by G‑d.

Why should the first oil of the third pressing have priority for the kindling of the menorah over the second oil of the first pressing?

I would like to be an intellectually honest spiritual seeker, a warm and loving and dynamic wife and mother, a supportive friend; but at the end of the day I look in the mirror and see an annoyed and tired dishrag, and all I want to do is have a cup of coffee and a bar of chocolate . . .

Extreme humility is sometimes confused with low self-esteem. For Moses, these were as different as day and night.

The leaders of the Jewish people at the time, the Sons of Betayra, could not decide. Hillel, alone amongst the sages, knew the answer to the question.

The Menorah is a symbol of the mission statement of the Jewish people. Our task is to illuminate ourselves and the world around us with the warmth, enlightenment and inspiration of the Torah.

Even as G-d was providing them with the most incredible miracles, bread from heaven and water from rocks, they were busy moaning and groaning throughout...

There are many important lessons from the story of "the Second Passover," such as there are always second chances in life, or that G-d sometimes waits to see if we really want something badly enough to demand it and only then does He give it to us. But I'd like to share with you third idea...

Dina is sixteen years old, and it seems like everyone in her life is always trying to change her.

"There are seventy facets of the Torah" say the Talmud. Here are three perspectives on the Menorah in the Holy Temple

The chain of rabbis define the Torah laws, but every individual discovers his or her own reality in their subtle depths.

A lesson from the seven-branched menorah: You don’t have to be a carbon copy of somebody else to be a good Jew. The critical issue is, are you kindled?

The age-old struggle between Jew and Jew-hater is a misnomer. It's not us they hate

Religion is the natural playing field of hucksters and frauds looking to make a fast buck on the back of some else’s credulity. How can you and I possibly differentiate between the holy and the profane, the profound and the ridiculous?

There are those who stride off imperviously into the sunset, not worrying about those who fall behind. Others live more circumspectly; they are there to pick up the pieces when others fall.

They should have been among the elders who gathered at the Tabernacle, upon whom G‑d conferred of Moses' spirit, but instead remained in the camp. But why didn't they join the rest of the elders?

We may become strangers to Judaism, wandering on distant pathst. We may become spiritually defective, Jewishly impure, insensitive to the values and beauties of our faith. But we are not doomed to living apart from Judaism.

I am now raising my grandchildren's parents

We can inspire our children, or teach them to inspire themselves. We can be their wings, or teach them to fly.

Is there a way to master our past?

If education was a challenge in the age of horse and buggies and then mailmen, how much more so in the 21st century, when the outside world is at our doorstep, or better yet, in our bedroom....

The “Second Passover” is observed on the fourteenth of Iyar. The origin of this semi-holiday is quite fascinating . . .

The Jews tested G-d, and incurred His wrath. But G-d Himself set the example, by testing Abraham. Is this hypocrisy?

When you love someone just because, you can overcome many obstacles

Several weeks ago, on Shabbat afternoon, we had a fascinating discussion. How should we respond when we learn through the media that our fellow Jew has behaved improperly or even immorally?

We often find ourselves in unexpected locations, ostensibly the victims of circumstance. We feel frustrated when carefully laid plans are foiled due to circumstances beyond our control. But a Jew must always remember that the "Strides of man are determined "G-d"...

The common conception of how the system works is faulty. People see a career as "making a living." But a career doesn't "make" anything

By law, the menorah stood in a chamber into which only kohanim (priests) were permitted entry. But the law also states that an ordinary person may light the menorah. What is the point—and lesson—of this legal paradox?

We tend to think of life as composed of two kinds of time: "real time" devoted to career, family and friends; and "in-between" time -- waiting-room time, airport time, between-jobs time. Not so, says the Rebbe

Some might think it odd when they hear an alcoholic in recovery say something like “Being an alcoholic is the greatest thing that ever happened to me.”

“The flame is not yours,” said the Rebbe, “you are just its carrier. The lamp is ready to be lit—you need only touch it with the flame.” “Should I grab him by the throat?” asked the chassid. “By the throat, no,” replied the rebbe. “By the lapels, yes.”

Three Levite families, Merari, Gershon, and Kehat, carried three elements of the Mishkan through the desert -- the wooden acacia boards, the curtains, and the holy artifacts. The three elements symbolize three spiritual postures: stillness through introspection; expansive love; and the actualization of introspective stillness and flowing love through word and deed

There are, says Rabbi Soloveitchik, two ways in which people become a group – a community, society, or nation.

No leadership position is easy. Leading Jews is harder still. And spiritual leadership can be hardest of them all.

He was a world-famous figure, I was an anonymous student from 3000 miles away. Quickly it became clear to me that he believed in me more than I believed in myself