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.

Why Did Moses Hit the Rock?

Published: 28 June 2011 | Written by Naftali Silberberg

Moses hitting the rock is one of the most mystifying episodes recounted in the Torah.

The well that supplied the Israelites with water dried up. G-d instructed Moses to go to Mount Horeb and extract water from a rock. Moses did so successfully, but in the course of executing G-d's command, he commits a grave error. As a result, it is decreed that Moses must die in the desert, and Joshua will be the one who will lead the Israelites in to the Promised Land.

Quality of Sobriety

Published: 20 June 2011 | Written by Rabbi Ben A.

"The entire community is holy and G-d is amongst them; so why do you raise yourselves above the congregation of G-d?" -- Numbers 16:3

This week we read of Korach, a cousin of Moses, who led a rebellion against Moses and his brother, Aaron, the High Priest, charging them with unduly taking high offices for themselves. Although both Moses and Aaron were divinely appointed to their posts, Korach suspected that they were merely grabbing power for themselves and trying to assert their superiority over the rest of the nation. "The entire community is holy and G-d is amongst them," said Korach, "So why do you raise yourselves above the congregation of G-d?"

Moses and Aaron had held their positions long before Korach's rebellion in the second year in the wilderness. What prompted Korach to challenge them at that time?

Recognition

Published: 13 June 2011 | Written by Tali Loewenthal

The power of recognition is a fascinating feature of our minds. What gives us the ability to recognize another person? Or the street on which we used to live? What about recognizing when someone is telling the truth? "I just knew she was being truthful. It was obvious."

One of our great problems in life is the fact that we often do not recognize the world around us for what it really is. For many reasons we allow ourselves to be deceived; in fact, it might be incredibly difficult to see things in a clear way. Then, sometimes, we suddenly recognize the truth. Immediately everything looks different.