PARSHA POSTS: NASO

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Aug 13, 2024, 1:23 AM

The Best Prophetic Jew

When the late Rabbi Zalman Schachter Shalomi (aka Reb Zalman) of Boulder CO, was asked to comment on the role of the Jewish people amongst the nations he would often respond by suggesting the “Organismic Model”. Just like each...

Jul 10, 2024, 1:10 PM

Anti-Semitism—a Disease of the Mind

The Talmud’s Psychological Profile of anti-Semites Until eight months ago, anti-Semitism used to be something we read about in the history section of the library. But today it’s everywhere. And it’s overwhelming. Who would have believed that the world would...

Jun 16, 2024, 10:06 AM

Revenge in Judaism

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_-_The_Blinding_of_Samson_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg

Is revenge a Jewish value? It is well known that the Torah prohibits “taking vengeance against one’s countryman” (Leviticus 19:18). This prohibition governs interpersonal relationships among Israelites. Its point is: Don’t try to get back at your fellow Israelite...

Jun 15, 2024, 12:10 AM

The Pursuit of Peace (Naso, Covenant & Conversation)

The parsha of Naso seems, on the face of it, to be a heterogeneous collection of utterly unrelated items. First there is the account of the Levitical families of Gershon and Merari and their tasks in carrying parts of...

William Hamilton

Jun 14, 2024, 7:01 PM

Mob-rule or the rule of law? Having just celebrated a Festival about receiving the Law at Mt. Sinai, the choice between mob rule and the rule of law feels kind of ironic. Here’s where a closer look at our tradition’s...

Jun 14, 2024, 6:46 PM

Israel-Gaza War 5784: Naso – Establishing Shalom

Naso is a hodge-podge of seemingly unrelated narratives: Levitical assignments, unfaithful wives, Nazirites, priestly blessings, and gifts from the chiefs of each tribe for the Tabernacle. It's as if someone took cutting room floor snippets from several different movies...

Pinchas Goldschmidt

Jun 14, 2024, 1:11 PM

Naso: The ‘Legacy’ Rabbi vs the Self-Made Spiritual Leader: Which is Better?

What makes a great religious leader? How does an individual excel in their spiritual qualities – the ability to lead large groups of Jews, answering intricate questions on matters of Jewish law; conquering the vast corpus of Jewish literature,...

Jun 14, 2024, 1:08 PM

The Jealous Husband and his Faithful Wife: Parshat Naso

Screenshot of HaYehudim Ba'im, Eshet Manoach and Angel

This week’s parshat naso is one of the longest parshot. It was my oldest grandson’s bar mitzvah portion and he read the entire parsha beautifully. There are also many interesting passages in this parsha: vows, the laws of the...

Mordechai Silverstein

Jun 14, 2024, 12:32 AM

You’ve got to have heart

The priestly blessing is actually an intricately orchestrated ritual. It must be done standing; it must be done in Hebrew; it must be done word by word prompted by the shaliakh tzibor (the prayer leader); the kohen’s hands must...

Jun 13, 2024, 11:17 PM

Marriage Lessons from the Sotah and Shavuot

The topic of marriage has become a dominant theme in this week’s holiday observance of Shavuot as well as this week’s Torah portion of Naso and has implications for the trials and tribulations that we as a nation are...

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