This week's parsha

Unless otherwise noted, "This week's Parsha" comprises articles taken from contributors to the Chabad.org website.  We show the original author's name here, so that proper attribution is given.  For the sake of brevity, footnotes cited in the original author's writings are omitted from this website.  If you need to see the citations, please refer to the original articles on the Chabad.org website.

The Meaning of the Mitzvah

The sages tell us that there is a link between the 613 commandments (mitzvot) and the human body.  They point out that there are 248 positive, active commandments, things we should do, corresponding to the 248 limbs or parts of the body.  There are 365 negative, restraining commandments, things we should not do, corresponding to the same number of sinews.  The purpose of the commandments is to express holiness by means of our physical bodies living daily life:  living as human beings, expressing G-dliness.

In order to think about the meaning of the commandments, let us consider the biological nature of the body.  It forms an integral whole, each part playing a vital role in the working of the person.  Over the years, medical research has revealed more and more about the functions of the various components of the body, right down to the level of enzymes, hormones, the DNA molecule and genetic codes.

Yet there are still processes that are little understood.  Even during our lifetimes, the practice of removing tonsils or adenoids "at the drop of a scalpel" has been curtailed because previously unrecognized uses of these organs have been discovered.

Read more: The Meaning of the Mitzvah

Do you live near Korach?

We are all influenced by society.  One who lives in a place with a low moral standard will eventually start believing that this is what morality is all about.  When all the people on the block act one way, a newcomer is likely to follow suit.

This is true with regards to cultural quirks, such as the fact that the average Moroccan citizen doesn’t appreciate baseball, or the fact that you’ll be hard-pressed to find an American who does a 25-hour workweek, or who closes his shop for three hours in the afternoon for a siesta.

How much more so in the world of right and wrong, where all too often objectivity is lost in the wind.  That is how millions of Germans came to believe that exterminating Jews was their calling.  Everyone else says so; they must be right.

Korach -- the filthy rich, rabble-rousing, charismatic opposition leader -- is the protagonist of the Torah reading in Numbers named after him.  But instead of focusing on his motives, let us zero in on his co-conspirators.  Were they simply a bunch of unemployed town criers?

Read more: Do you live near Korach?

In the Eye of the Beholder

In this week's Torah portion we read how the spies sent to explore the Land of Canaan reported that "there we saw the giants ... and we were in our own eyes as locusts, and so we were in their eyes."  (Numbers 13:33).

We were in our own eyes as locusts -- and thus, "so we were in their eyes."  How another person sees us depends on how we see ourselves.

Our sages insist that "nothing can stand in the way of will."  If we want something enough, we will find the resources to carry it out.  If we realize our own capabilities and talents, another person will also see them.  If, on the other hand, we see ourselves as something insignificant and worthless, to be trampled on, how can we expect others to see us any differently?

This is not to be confused with egotism or pride.  It is not about bragging or self-aggrandizement.  It is about recognizing who we are and what we are capable of -- specifically, with regard to our Judaism and our Jewish practice -- and that nothing can stand in our way unless we allow it to.  It all depends on how we see ourselves.

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