This week’s Torah portion covers Numbers 25:10–30:1, and it is titled Pinchas. Phinehas is the name used in English Bibles, so that’s the name I will use in this podcast. Phinehas was a prominent biblical priest whose leadership started in the wilderness wanderings and continued into the early period of the Judges. He was the…
This week we are reading Korah, which covers Numbers 16:1–18:32. In the aftermath of the negative report from the ten spies, God pronounced that the current generation must languish in the desert until their deaths. Following that news, it is not surprising that a serious rebellion occurs next. Korah is the antihero in this Torah…
This week’s Torah portion covers Numbers 8:1–12:16. The portion begins with God’s instructions on how to set up the Tabernacle’s golden seven-branched lampstand (8:1–4). The priests needed to make sure the six outer branches angled their light toward the central shaft to illuminate the table of showbread opposite. Back in Leviticus, God detailed exactly how…
This week’s Torah portion covers Numbers 4:21–7:89. The title Nasso means carry or elevate. Out of the 54 Torah portions, Nasso has the most verses, making it the longest single portion. The text is made up of seemingly unrelated passages that do not follow a strict chronological timeline. However, they all center around the theme…
This week we begin the book of Numbers, the fourth volume in our weekly Torah readings. Previously, we covered the grand sweeps of human history in Genesis and followed the sons of Jacob into Egypt. We reached a dramatic turning point in the Israelite story when Pharaoh finally let God’s people go. While Leviticus established…
This week’s Torah portion is known as Emor—which means “speak”—and it covers Leviticus 21:1–24:23. After God gave Israel the ten commandments, he commissioned Israel to be a “priestly kingdom and a holy nation” (Ex. 19:6). Israel’s requirement for holiness was directly connected to the character of God. Leviticus lays out the nation’s dietary restrictions, religious…
This week we are reading Leviticus 16:1 to 20:27. The reading calendar combines two portions, so this week’s assigned reading is on the longer side. The first portion is titled Acharei Mot, which means “after the death,” because the narrative picks up right after the burial of Aaron’s two sons, Nadav and Avihu. The second…
This week’s reading is called Tazria and it covers Leviticus 12:1–15:33. This portion is completely occupied by issues of ritual impurity. Last week’s reading, Shemini, was concerned with the structural boundaries between the sacred and the profane, as it pertained to the Tabernacle and priesthood. Tazria–Metzora shifts the lens toward the human body and the…
This week’s Torah portion is Vayakhel-Pekudei, which covers Exodus 35:1–40:38. This is our 22nd Torah portion in the annual reading cycle and our final Exodus study. The transition between the instructions for the tabernacle and its actual construction marks one of the most repetitive sequences in the Torah. While Exodus Chapters 25–31 provide the divine…
This week’s Torah portion is Ki Tissa, which covers Exodus 30:11–34:35. It is also the week Jews in Israel and abroad celebrate Purim. Purim is the joyous Jewish holiday that marks the survival of the Jewish people in the ancient Persian Empire after a plot to annihilate them was thwarted by the bravery of Esther…