Video content by Uri Pilichowski
The Sedra Behaloscha 5780
In this week's video for Parshat Behaloscha, we explore one of the fundamental principles of our faith: the nature of prophecy. At the conclusion of our Sedra, we find a unique moment where God Himself defends the stature of Moshe Rabbeinu against the criticisms of Miriam and Aaron. Maimonides teaches that while all prophets receive Divine communication, Moshe was in a category entirely his own. God describes him as being trusted throughout My household, speaking with him mouth to mouth and not in parables. Commentators like the Ibn Ezra and the Rashbam offer different perspectives on what it means to [...]
The Sedra Emor 5780
This week's Torah portion, Parshat Emor, is filled with a vast array of topics, from the laws of the festivals to the counting of the Omer. However, the Sedra concludes with a deeply troubling and mysterious narrative regarding a blasphemer. This individual, born to a Jewish mother and an Egyptian father, finds himself in a violent struggle that ends in a tragic sin against God. Why does the Torah emphasize his lineage or mention his mother's name, Shelomit bat Divri? Rashi explains that this man essentially fell through the cracks of the community. With no tribe to call his own [...]
The Sedra Vayikra 5780
This week in Parshat Vayikra we explore the prohibition of Me'ilah, the improper use of sacred items donated to the Temple. Maimonides uses this law to teach a far reaching lesson about our attitude toward all Torah laws. He explains that if simple wood or stone can become sacred through a person's words, how much more should we respect the laws that God Himself wrote for us? Even when we encounter statutes whose reasons are not obvious, we must treat them with the same reverence as laws that seem logical. We should never view the holy as mundane or secular. [...]
The Sedra Ki Tisa 5780
This week we look at Parshat Ki Tisa, a portion filled with dramatic heights and depths. After the tragedy of the golden calf and the subsequent atonement, Moshe descends from the mountain with the second set of tablets. A peculiar detail emerges: his face was radiant with divine light, and the people were terrified to approach him. Why did they fear this light? While the Ramban suggests they thought Moshe had become an angel, Rashi teaches that their sin had changed their perspective. Before the golden calf, they could look at divine fire without trembling, but now even a reflection [...]
The Sedra Tetzaveh 5780
In this week's portion, we are commanded to build the altar for incense. This vessel is unique because it is mentioned separately from the other Tabernacle furniture. We learn in the Talmud that Moshe actually received a secret from the Angel of Death: that incense could stop a plague. We see this later in the desert when Aaron runs into the crowd to stop the death toll. However, we must remember that Judaism is not a religion of magic elixirs. The Ramban explains that the altar was designed to bring honor to God. The incense stops a plague because it [...]
The Sedra Vaera 5780
It is curious that Judaism puts little faith in miracles as a source of belief yet when God wants to demonstrate to Paraoh “My power, and in order that My fame may resound throughout the world,” God uses the miracles of the plagues. If God really wanted Paroah to believe in Him, shouldn’t God have addressed Pharoah directly? In contrast to the Jewish people at Har Sinai, God wasn’t looking to develop a long relationship with Paroah. God just needed Paroah to believe in Him enough to free the Jewish people. https://youtu.be/Js0XahRLnQw?si=lC1VHRtQCm4s9GuX
