Torah Commentary

Torah Commentary

Echoes of the Wilderness, Part IX: How Far Afield?

The final two portions of the Book of Numbers, Matot and Mas'ei, are most often combined. In their midst is the rarest cantillation in the entire Torah. It occurs in Numbers 35:5, which prescribes the size of pastures encircling the Levites' assigned town.

The Ones Who Cross Over

Our people are called by many names throughout the Tanach, but my personal favorite is one of the earliest: ivri, which means “Hebrew.”

On the Other Side of the Jordan

We read in Parashat Matot of the Israelites defeating the Midianites, and in Parashat Masei, the Israelites' movement since the Exodus are recounted. It seems that we are approaching the climactic scene where the Israelites enter the land that God promised to Abraham and his descendants.

Finding Holiness in Hugs, Home & Hoagies

The pandemic kept me away from Philadelphia for over a year and a half, the longest I had ever been away from my hometown. As the plane descended out of the clouds, I gazed down on the city and was overcome with emotion. So much of my life had happened down there: celebration and mourning, love and heartbreak, triumph and failure.