The Torah tells us about the experience of the Jewish people during their forty years in the desert: “He afflicted you and let you hunger, then He fed you the manna… in order to make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that proceeds from the mouth of Hashem does man live.” (Devarim 8:3) Hashem allowed the Jewish people to experience hunger before providing them with the manna so that they would recognize that their sustenance ultimately comes fro

In this week’s parsha, the Torah warns us: “You shall not test Hashem, your G-d, as you tested Him at Massah.” (Devarim 6:16) What does it mean that the Jewish people “tested” Hashem at Massah? Soon after the Exodus from Egypt and the splitting of the Red Sea, the Jewish people arrived at Refidim: “They encamped in Refidim, and there was no water for the people to drink. The people contended with Moshe and they said, ‘Give us water that we may drink!’ Moshe said to them, ‘Why

Why did Hashem command the Jewish people to treat the nations of Moav and Ammon differently, even though both descended from Lot and both later acted with hostility toward Israel? Moshe recounts in Sefer Devarim that, on their journey to the Land of Israel, the Jewish people were instructed to bypass both nations. Yet the Torah uses different language for each. Regarding Moav, the Torah states: "You shall not distress Moav and you shall not provoke war with them." (Devarim 2:

Why does the Torah introduce the laws of vows at the very moment the Jewish people are preparing to enter the Land of Israel? The Torah opens Parshas Matos with the following command: “If a man takes a vow to Hashem or swears an oath to establish a prohibition upon himself, he shall not desecrate his word; according to whatever comes from his mouth shall he do.” (Bamidbar 30:3). At first glance, this section seems out of place. The closing chapters of Sefer Bamidbar focus alm

We learn the laws of inheritance from a simple request made by five sisters. The Torah tells us that the daughters of Zelophehad, whose father died without leaving any sons, approached Moshe and asked: "Why should the name of our father be omitted from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father's brothers." (Bamidbar 27:3–4) They longed to inherit their father's portion in the Land of Israel, even though the prevailing laws of inheritance pr

One of the most difficult episodes in the Torah occurs in Parshas Chukas, when Moshe is commanded to bring forth water from a rock. Hashem instructs Moshe and Aharon: “Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it shall give forth its water.” (Bamidbar 20:8) Instead of speaking to the rock, however, Moshe struck it twice with his staff, and water flowed abundantly. Hashem then responded with a severe decree: “Because you did not believe in Me to sanctify Me in the eyes of the C

Moshe responded to Korach's rebellion by challenging Korach and his followers to a test: “Do this: Take for yourselves censers, Korach and all his assembly. Place fire in them and put incense upon them before Hashem tomorrow. Then the man whom Hashem will choose—he is the holy one. It is too much for you, sons of Levi.” (Bamidbar 16:6–7) Moshe explicitly warned Korach that this ordeal involved offering incense, an act that carried enormous danger. Korach surely knew the fate

Click to join the Campaign! Because of the sin of the spies, Hashem decreed that the Jewish people would wander in the wilderness for forty years before entering the Land of Israel. The Torah explains the basis for this punishment: “Like the number of the days that you spied out the Land, forty days, a day for a year, a day for a year, shall you bear your iniquities—forty years.” (Bamidbar 14:34) Hashem explicitly tied the forty years in the wilderness to the forty days that

The Torah relates that after Miriam was afflicted with tzara'as for speaking against her brother Moshe: "So Miriam was confined outside the camp for seven days, and the people did not travel until Miriam had re-entered the camp." (Bamidbar 12:15) Why did the entire nation delay its journey for a full week in honor of Miriam? Rashi, following the Mishnah (Sotah 1:9), explains that this was a measure-for-measure reward. When Moshe was placed in a basket on the Nile River as an

In this week’s parsha, the Torah states: “A man or woman who commits any of humanity’s sins, by committing treachery toward Hashem, and that person becomes guilty — they shall confess the sin that they committed; he shall make restitution for his guilt in its principal amount and add a fifth to it…” (Bamidbar 5:6–7) Rashi explains that the “treachery” (למעול מעל) described here refers to someone entrusted with another person’s property — such as a loan, deposit, or unpaid wag