Weekly Torah Reading, Mattot and Mas‘ei, July 15, 2023
Numbers 30:2-36:13 The Right to Revenge One of the most widespread legal principles in the ancient world was the lex [or “ius”] talionis, the law [or “right”] of retribution. A person who, for example, injured someone was to be …
Weekly Torah Reading, Pineḥas, July 8, 2023
Numbers 25:10-30:1 The Return of Pineḥas This week’s Torah reading is named for its hero, Pineḥas (usually rendered in English as Phinehas or Phineas). His quick action in killing a flagrantly offending couple (Numbers 25:7) earned him a …
Weekly Torah Reading, Balak, July 1, 2023
Numbers 22:2-25:9 Dwelling Apart? In this week’s Torah reading, the pagan seer Balaam is hired to curse the people of Israel, but every time he tries, he ends up blessing them instead. In the first of these blessings …
Weekly Torah Reading, Hukkat, June 24. 2023
Numbers 19:1-22:1 Overconfident This week’s reading relates that, toward the end of their forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites ran out of water. They complained bitterly to their leaders, Moses and Aaron: “Why did you take us …
Weekly Torah Reading, Korah, June 17, 2023
Numbers, chapter 16:1-18:32 Ganging Up on Moses This week’s Torah reading recounts the attempted revolt of Koraḥ and his allies. According to Num 16:3, the rebels “assembled” (vayyiqqahalu) against Moses and Aaron. The same verb appears again in Num 16:19, …
Weekly Torah Reading, Beha‘alotekha, June 3, 2023
Numbers 8:1-12:16 The Good Old Days In the book of Ecclesiastes, the author advises, “Don’t say, ‘How has it come about that things were better in earlier times than now?’ for you are not asking about this out of wisdom” …
Weekly Torah Reading, BeMidbar, May 15, 2023
Numbers 1:1-4:20 The Nature of Holiness This week’s Torah reading begins with a detailed census of Israel’s tribes. However, the Levites are not included in the census; they are listed separately afterwards. The reason for this reveals something basic …
Weekly Torah Reading, BeHar-Be-Ḥukkotai, May 13, 2023
Leviticus 25:1-27:34 The Slave’s Life Twice, in this week’s reading, God tells Israel that they themselves will occupy the lowest rank in the society that they are to establish in Canaan. “For they are My slaves,” God says of …