Weekly Torah Reading, Pineḥas, July 11, 2020
Numbers 25:10-32:42 An Eternal Priest Last week’s Torah reading ended with a certain Israelite hero slaying a flagrantly offending couple, thereby turning aside God’s wrath. The name of the hero is written Phinehas in English, although Phineas used to be …
Weekly Torah Reading, July 4, 2020
Inside Israel: Balak (Numbers 22:2-25:9) In this week’s Torah reading, the pagan seer Balaam is hired to curse the people of Israel, but every time he tries, he ends up blessing them instead. In the first of these blessings …
Weekly Torah Reading, June 27, 2020
Weekly Torah Reading, June 27, 2020 In Israel, Ḥukkat (Numbers 19:1-22:1) A Bit Too Confident This week’s reading relates that, toward the end of their forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the Israelites ran out of …
Weekly Torah Reading, Korah and Shelah-Lekha, June 20, 2020
In Israel: Koraḥ (Numbers 16:1-18:32) Ganging Up on Moses This week’s Torah reading recounts the attempted revolt of Koraḥ and his allies. According to Num 16:3, the rebels “assembled” (vayyiqqahalu) against Moses and Aaron. The same verb appears …
Weekly Torah Reading, June 13, 2020
In Israel: Shelaḥ Lekha: Numbers 13:1-15:41 To Be an Ish Commentators have long noticed a contradiction in the Torah’s account of the tribal leaders who were sent to spy out the land of Canaan. In this week’s reading, …
Weekly Torah Reading, BeHa’alotekha and Naso, June 6, 2020
Torah Reading Inside Israel: Weekly Torah Reading, Beha‘alotekha, June 6, 2020 Numbers 8:1-12:16 The Good Old Days In the book of Ecclesiastes, the author advises, “Don’t say, ‘How has it come about that things were better in earlier …
Weekly Torah Reading, Shavu‘ot, May 29, 2020
The Torah by Word of Mouth The festival of Shavu‘ot, which starts tonight, commemorates the giving of the Torah at Mount Sinai. It is marked with special celebrations and readings in synagogue, and many Jews stay up all night …
Weekly Torah Reading, BeMidbar, May 23, 2020
Numbers, 1:1-4:20 Don’t Look! This week’s Torah reading begins with a detailed census of Israel’s tribes. However, the Levites are not included in the census; they are listed separately afterwards. The Torah says that there were three …