Critical Moments by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine In every person’s life there are critical moments which decide the future, often for generations. One such moment occurred to Bilam who was hired to curse the Jews. As Bilam passed through a narrow passageway, an angel of mercy is sent to try to stop him from destroying himself. more »
by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine The age of the “red cow” is in dispute. According to Rabbi Eliezer is was brought at the age of 2; according to the sages it was brought at the age of 3. The medrash tells us that when Moshe was taught the topic and was told of the dispute, he more »
by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine The story of Korach is most instructive. Korach staged a rebellion against Moshe because he would have liked to have been the Kohein Gadol, the High Priest. Instead Ahron, Moshe’s brother, was appointed, and Korach could not sit still. The Medrash tells us that Yosef hid treasures in Egypt, and “one more »
by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine The great moment had finally arrived. The Jewish people were ready to enter the Promised Land. As they prepared themselves to enter, they had a simple request. “Let us send spies to report on the land.” Although the men chosen for this historic mission were of great caliber, surprisingly, they came more »
by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine Our teacher Moshe, was unique. Known to us as “the father of prophecy” he is the only prophet to have communicated so directly with Hashem. “Like a man speaks with his friend,” so was the communication of Hashem with Moshe. At the conclusion of the Revelation at Sinai, Hashem told Moshe more »
by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine In this week’s parsha we read the story of the Sotah, the woman who is suspected of being unfaithful. Her husband accuses her of improper behavior. She denies wrongdoing. The Torah provides a system to break the deadlock. “Write this portion of Torah [with ink] then dissolve it into water.” Miraculously, more »
by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine The Book of Bamidbar, or “Numbers” as it is known, begins with a mitzvah to obtain the count of the Jewish people. What is interesting is that the total is exactly the same as the count that took place just a few months earlier when the Jews built the Mishkan/ Sanctuary more »
by Rabbi Mordechai Rhine Moshe was instructed to take a tally of the Jewish families according to their tribes. Various reasons are given for this counting. Among them: To make the Jewish people realize how much they had been blessed. Just three hundred years earlier they had been a family of 70 people. Since that more »