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Ben-Tzion Spitz

Jul 8, 2018, 3:49 PM

Pinchas: Secret Jews

If most of us remain ignorant of ourselves, it is because self-knowledge is painful, and we prefer the pleasures of illusion. -Aldous Huxley During my years in Uruguay, I met multiple people who had discovered, some quite recently, that they...

Sharona Margolin Halickman

Jul 6, 2018, 8:37 PM

Guess who was not involved in the sin of the spies?

When we speak about Chet HaMiraglim, the sin of the spies, we mention that Yehoshua and Calev were the only two of the twelve spies who did not bring a false report and they were therefore not punished as...

William Hamilton

Jul 6, 2018, 5:58 PM

Passion’s poison and purity

Times of Israel writer Sarah Tuttle-Singer offered a July 4th posting earlier this week. “On this day, 42 years ago, Jews were in mortal danger in a hostage nightmare in Entebbe, Uganda, and for the first time in our...

Jul 6, 2018, 12:55 AM

The lost masterpiece

Illustrative: Michal Baratz Koren's portrait of the five daughters of Zelophehad, who first raised before Moses the case of a woman’s right and obligation to inherit property in the absence of a male (Courtesy, Michal Baratz Koren)

If women like Zelophehad's daughters had gone out to spy the land, they'd never have spoken negatively of it (Pinchas)

Jul 3, 2018, 3:20 PM

Dynamic Equilibrium (Parashat Pinchas 5778)

Balaam encourages the Midianite women to prostitute themselves in a concerted effort to turn Jewish men to Midianite Paganism. The Midianite ploy is extremely successful and in order to staunch the tide of converts, Hashem strikes Am Yisrael with...

Ariel Ben Avraham

Jun 30, 2018, 11:40 PM

Parshat Pinchas: The powerful of the jealousy of goodness

“Pinchas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned My wrath away from the children of Israel, in that he was very jealous for My sake among them so that I consumed not the children...

William Hamilton

Jun 29, 2018, 5:58 PM

Justice Kennedy through a more spacious lens

‘Raising the young and pursuing the good’ are two of society’s highest aims. Achieving them, David Brooks reminds us this week, is not a do-it-yourself job. Their realization requires civic responsibility, generous mutuality, and strong community. By contrast, Justice...

Moshe-Mordechai van Zuiden

Jun 29, 2018, 5:54 PM

A warning to wicked leaders: G-d always wins

The Torah Portion of this week is named after a wicked person, Balak, while we normally see such naming as a homage. How can this be? "What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other name...

Jun 28, 2018, 4:06 PM

A people that dwells alone

Balaam and the Ass (Pieter Lastman / public domain)

Ever notice how when Jews assimilate, anti-Semitism increases -- and vice versa? (Balak)

Jun 28, 2018, 10:12 AM

‘Eagles and Bats’ Parashat Balak 5778

According to the Talmud in Tractate Megilla , there were forty-eight prophets and seven prophetesses whom Hashem sent to transmit His message to Am Yisrael. The Talmud adds that there were actually many more prophets over the years but...

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