by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 29, 2022 | Bamidbar, Israel
The Book of Bamidbar, which literally means ‘in the desert’, is referred to in English as Numbers. Rather appropriately, it begins with a census of the Children of Israel (Numbers 1). This is, in fact, the third census taken during the two years since the...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 18, 2022 | Holiness, Naso, Passover, Prayer, Sukkot, Temple
Twice a year, during the intermediary days of Passover and Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles), a mass priestly blessing takes place at the Kotel (Western Wall) in Jerusalem. This event is usually attended by tens of thousands of Jews who are blessed by hundreds of Kohanim...
by Mordi Levi | f 22, 2021 | Community, God, Israel, Pinchas
After the plague which God sends to punish the Children of Israel for worshipping Baal-peor (Numbers 25), God instructs Moses to count all of the Israelite men aged 20 and up. They are counted by tribe according to their ancestral houses (Numbers 26:2). After the...
by Orly Gibson | f 6, 2019 | Naso, Videos
The Birkat Kohanim is an ancient prayer from the Torah that speaks to our highest hopes for blessing. The blessing originates from the Book of Numbers. This ancient and powerful blessing links us back to Aaron, the first High Priest of Israel, and to God- the origin...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 19, 2016 | Devarim, Israel, Joshua, Maps, Masei, Responsibility
A city of refuge in the Torah is a place where someone who murdered unintentionally can seek asylum. God commanded the Israelites to set aside six Levitical cities in the Land of Israel to be cities of refuge. Three of those cities were to be on the west side of the...
by Shira Schechter (Moderator) | f 9, 2015 | Pinchas
Pinchas was a hero. Previously he had been a virtual nobody, but when the situation warranted it he became a somebody. The rewards for doing so were tremendous, including becoming Eliyahu HaNavi, the prophet who will eventually herald the Final Redemption, may it...
