by Rabbi Margie Cella This week’s double parashah concludes the book of Numbers. The nation of Israel prepared to take possession of Canaan. The tribes of Reuven and Gad and the half-tribe of Manassah...
by Rabbi Margie Cella Following a plague brought on by idolatry and immorality was stayed by the decisive actions of Eleazer’s son Pinchas, God commanded Moshe and Eleazer to take a census of all the [fighting]...
by Rabbi Margie Cella This week we read of the prophet Balaam, who was solicited by the Moabite King Balak to curse the nation of Israel. Though God gave him permission to go with Balak’s men, God was...
by Rabbi Margie Cella This is the first week that I will be connecting my drash to our new Torah Fund theme, Oseh Shalom. As we continue to pray for peace for our beloved Eretz...
by Rabbi Margie Cella This week’s parashah tells the story of the ill-fated rebellion of Korach, who, accompanied by 250 men, rose up to challenge the authority of Moses and Aaron. He was also joined...
by Rabbi Margie Cella At God’s command, Moses sent twelve men to scout out the land of Canaan before entering it. They spent 40 days traversing the land, returning with a cluster of grapes so large...
by Rabbi Margie Cella In this parashah we read how the people set out from Sinai, led by the ark, which went before them searching for a resting place. A cloud covered the Tabernacle, and when...
by Rabbi Margie Cella Parashat Nasso is the longest parashah of the year. It begins with Moses and Aaron taking a census of the tribe of the Levites according to their clans. Each was...
by Rabbi Margie Cella The fourth book of the Torah opens at Mt. Sinai, two years after the nation of Israel left Egypt; God has decided that it is time for them to head to Canaan. In preparation for the...
by Rabbi Margie Cella This week’s double parashah concludes the book of Leviticus. It begins with a description of the shemitah year, which is literally a sabbath year for the land: every...