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Menachem Creditor

Jun 25, 2026, 6:30 PM

Friendship Over Fear (Chukat-Balak)

There is no shortage of wisdom in this week’s double Torah portion, Chukat and Balak. But this year, I found myself returning to the teaching of Rabbi Jonathan Sacks of blessed memory, whose clarity often feels not only wise,...

Ben-Tzion Spitz

Jun 25, 2026, 12:49 PM

A Breach in Our Armor (Balak)

“We must watch over our modesty in the presence of those who cannot understand its grounds.” - Jean Rostand The wicked prophet Bilaam teams up with the powerful King of Moab, Balak, to destroy the people of Israel. Bilaam attempts...

Jun 25, 2026, 11:05 AM

‘Early to Rise’ Parashat Balak 5786

Balaam: “G-d was incensed at his going; so an angel of G-d took an adversarial position in his way. He was riding on his donkey, with his two servants alongside.” If these words seem like déjà vu, then you have...

Menachem Creditor

Jun 23, 2026, 8:24 PM

Blessings Not to be Missed (Chukat-Balak)

If we read the five books of Torah as one great arc, Genesis is the family story. Exodus begins the national story, and from there through Deuteronomy, Moses stands at the center: prophet, teacher, intercessor, and, alongside God, the...

Sharona Margolin Halickman

Jun 23, 2026, 10:05 AM

The Origins of Rosh Tzurim and Gvaot

Bilam’s first bracha (Bamidbar 23:7-10) declares: “From Aram, Balak, King of Moav brought me, out of the mountains of the east saying, ‘Come curse Yaakov for me. Go denounce Yisrael.’ How can I curse whom God has not cursed? How...

Jun 22, 2026, 7:23 AM

Korach and Jewish Lessons on Leadership

One of the more dramatic stories in the Bible occurs in Numbers, chapter 16, when Korach, a Levite, along with two members of the tribe of Reuben, Datan and Abiram, foment a rebellion against Moses and Aaron as the...

Jun 20, 2026, 10:36 PM

When the Soccer Field becomes a Battlefield

Thursday night I went to the Canada-Qatar World Cup match at BC Place in Vancouver, Canada. Canada won 6-0. I am not saying my presence was the deciding factor, but Canada has won every World Cup game I have ever attended....

Jun 20, 2026, 9:52 AM

Some People Leave Behind Arguments. Others Plant Green Trees.

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This week, as Jews around the world read Parashat Korach, I found myself thinking about the difference between arguing and building. Korach’s story is remembered as a story of conflict. Yet what often remains after every dispute is a simple...

Jun 19, 2026, 5:29 PM

Why Was Moses Not Destined to Enter the Land? (Chukat)

It is one of the most perplexing, even disturbing, passages in the Torah. Moses the faithful shepherd, who has led the Israelites for forty years, is told that he will not live to cross the Jordan and enter the...

Jun 18, 2026, 10:32 PM

Confronting The Snake

It takes us just a week to read a story that spans almost forty years. Punished for ingratitude and lack of faith, the Jews were forced to wander in the wilderness. Parashat Chukat describes thirty-eight years of those travels....

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