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PARSHA POSTS: MATOT

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Dana Greitzer Gotlieb

Jul 30, 2025, 7:22 AM

Are You a Spectator to Your People’s Story?

Tel Aviv cat. Photo by Dana Greitzer (AI-enhanced via DALL·E / ChatGPT)

Parashat Matot-Masei presents us with profound themes of collective responsibility, military service, and Jewish unity, just before the Israelites enter the Land of Israel. Before diving into the parashah, I want to ask a simple yet profound question: Who bears the responsibility...

Jul 27, 2025, 10:40 AM

Goodness and Godness And Violence – Parashat Matot

Torah Violence There are stories of violence in the Torah that are difficult to read. The orgy of the Golden Calf in Parashat Ki Tisa (Exodus Chapter 32) ends with the killing of three thousand participants. The story of Israeli...

Jul 25, 2025, 8:02 PM

From Sinai to Silicon Valley: Why the World Needs Jewish Values Now

This week’s Torah reading, Matot-Masei (Numbers 30:2–36:13), is a dual portion rich in moral clarity and historical memory. It opens with laws about vows and ends with the Israelites on the threshold of the Promised Land. In between are...

Nathan Lopes Cardozo

Jul 25, 2025, 6:43 PM

The Enigma of the Cities of Refuge

The commandment to designate six cities of refuge (arei miklat) for one who commits unintentional homicide remains one of the Torah’s great enigmas. On the surface, it appears to straddle justice, mercy, and vengeance in a confusing blend. But...

William Hamilton

Jul 25, 2025, 4:35 PM

Yes, I See Myself in These Pages

When Maryann Gray was 22 years old, she accidently took the life of an 8 year old boy who darted out in front of her car. She was totally devastated by what she’d done. Although the parents of the...

Jul 25, 2025, 1:15 PM

Rosh Chodesh Av, and the Secret of Overcoming Negativity

The month of Av begins this shabbos, and the Mishna comments "mishenichnas Av, mema'atin b'simcha/when Av enters, we diminish in joy" (Taanit 29a). Tisha B’Av, the 9th day of the month, is the date on which both Temples in...

David Seidenberg

Jul 25, 2025, 1:12 PM

Starvation = Genocide

It is a terrifying synchrony that in the last week of July, when Gaza was approaching level 5 conditions of famine, where widespread malnutrition will cause more and more civilian deaths, we read about the worst genocide in the...

Ruthie Hollander

Jul 25, 2025, 8:07 AM

The man who kept nine commandments

As a teenager, I stayed in a small European country for a summer with my family, where I met a rabbi who brought kosher food to a Jewish man convicted of murder. The rabbi’s kids — who often joined...

Jul 25, 2025, 8:05 AM

The Virtue of Failure

Recently, American tennis player Amanda Anisimova suffered a devastating defeat in the Wimbledon final, losing 6-0, 6-0 — a result so extreme it prompted a New York Times piece titled Why Amanda Anisimova’s Emotional Post-Match Interview Was a Masterclass...

Jul 25, 2025, 8:03 AM

Parshah through the Mediator’s Lens: Matot-Masei

Matot-Masei courtesy Copilot

The double Torah portion Matot-Masei (Numbers 30:2–36:13) closes the Book of Numbers with a tapestry of laws, journeys, and negotiations. Matot opens with the laws of vows and oaths, emphasizing the importance of speech and the power of commitment....

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