Behaaloscha

"Good, I'm patur! But how can I miss out on a mitzvah?" Their attitude was that missing a mitzvah is a deprivation. It is something that I am going to miss, and I do not want that to happen. It is not a question of punishment and it is not a question of blame. It is a se...

HASHEM said to Moshe saying, “Speak to Aaron and say to him: When you “light-up” the lamps, toward the face of the Menorah shall the seven lamps cast light.” Aaron did so- (Bamidbar 8:1-2)Aaron did so: To teach you the praise of Aaron that he did not change. (Rashi)What’s...

Beha'aloscha starts with the commandment to Aharon to light the Menorah. We all know the famous Rashi that why is this Parsha of Menora near the Parsha of the Nesi'im. Aharon was saddened that Shevet Levi was not part of the grand pageantry that was the Chanuchas Hamizbea...

"The rabble that was among them cultivated a craving, and the Children of Israel also wept once more, and said, "Who will feed us meat? We remember the fish that we ate in Egypt free of charge; the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. But now, our life is parched...

Parshas Beha'aloscha describes in great detail how, when the cloud lifted, the Jews would journey, and, when it came down, they would camp. It repeats this again and again. The Nesivos Shalom learns from this a lesson in avodas Hashem: There are times in our lives, whe...

It was a lesson I learned long ago, when I was a high school classroom teacher. I was new at this line of work, and found that my greatest challenge was to find ways to motivate the students. I tried various approaches, which all were basically attempts to motivate by giv...