by Rabbi Margie Cella This week’s double parashah brings us to the end of the book of Numbers, as the nation of Israel prepares to finally take possession of the promised land. The tribes...
by Rabbi Margie Cella At the end of Parashat Chukat the men of Israel were being drawn into idolatry and immorality by the women of Moab. The plague was finally stayed when Aaron’s grandson Pinchas...
by Rabbi Margie Cella Parashat Balak tells the story of the prophet Balaam, who was solicited by the Moabite King Balak to curse Israel. God initially told Balaam not to go with Balak’s men, but ultimately...
by Rabbi Margie Cella Parashat Chukat begins with the strange ritual of the red heifer: a cow with no blemishes, never yoked, pregnant, or milked that is sacrificed by the priests, who then mix the...
by Rabbi Margie Cella This week’s parashah tells the story of the ill-fated rebellion of Korach, who, accompanied by two hundred fifty men, rose up to challenge the authority of Moses and Aaron....
by Rabbi Margie Cella The story of this week’s parashah is a familiar one to many of us: God instructed Moses to send twelve men to scout the land of Canaan. While there, they cut down a branch...
by Rabbi Margie Cella The parashah begins with God’s command to Aaron to light the lamps of a golden menorah. The Levites are consecrated in place of the firstborn, and given...
by Rabbi Margie Cella At 176 verses, Naso is the longest parashah in the Torah. It begins with another census of the Leviim, including a delineation of their specific jobs. Next there is the...
by Rabbi Margie Cella Two years after leaving Egypt, God instructed Moses and Aaron to take a census of the men of fighting age (twenty and up) by tribe and family. Each tally is noted; the total is 603,550....
by Rabbi Margie Cella Parashat Bechukkotai, which concludes the Book of Vayikra, Leviticus contains a series of blessings and curses; which ones we receive will depend on whether we are obedient to...
