“…And it shall be a fringe for you, that you may look upon it and remember all the commandments of G-d and do them…” – Bamidbar 15:39 וְהָיָה לָכֶם לְצִיצִת וּרְאִיתֶם אֹתוֹ וּזְכַרְתֶּם אֶת כָּל מִצְוֹת ה’ וַעֲשִׂיתֶם אֹתָם – במדבר טו, לט Rashi explains how the tzitzis fringes remind us of all the mitzvos. The numerical equivalents of the […]

“…The beginning of your dough you shall separate as challah… A gift to G-d…” – Bamidbar 15:20-21 רֵאשִׁית עֲרִסֹתֵכֶם חַלָּה תָּרִימוּ תְרוּמָה . . תִּתְּנוּ לַה’ תְּרוּמָה – במדבר טו, כ-כא The mitzvah of challah obligates us to separate a portion of every (large) batch of dough that we bake and give it as a gift to the kohen. The […]

“…There we saw the Nephilim, sons of the giant, who descended from the Nephilim…” – Bamidbar 13:33 וְשָׁם רָאִינוּ אֶת הַנְּפִילִים בְּנֵי עֲנָק מִן הַנְּפִלִים – במדבר יג, לג The Midrash (Yalkut Shimoni, Beraishis 44) relates that when the early humans took to worshipping idols, two angels named Shamchazai and Azael suggested before G-d that they could replace humanity in […]

“…And when Bnei Yisrael were in the desert, they found a man gathering wood on the Shabbos day…” – Bamidbar 15:32 וַיִּהְיוּ בְנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בַּמִּדְבָּר וַיִּמְצְאוּ אִישׁ מְקֹשֵׁשׁ עֵצִים בְּיוֹם הַשַּׁבָּת – במדבר טו, לב The Torah relates that a man gathered wood in violation of the Shabbos, and G-d instructed that he be put to death. According to the […]

“…We are unable to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we…” – Bamidbar 13:31 לֹא נוּכַל לַעֲלוֹת אֶל הָעָם כִּי חָזָק הוּא מִמֶּנּוּ – במדבר יג, לא Moshe sent spies to the Land of Israel, instructing them, “See the land, what is it: are the people who inhabit it strong or weak? Are they few or […]

“…Calev silenced the people regarding Moshe, and he said, “We shall surely go up and take possession of it, for we can indeed overcome it…” – Bamidbar 13:30 וַיַּהַס כָּלֵב אֶת הָעָם אֶל מֹשֶׁה וַיֹּאמֶר עָלֹה נַעֲלֶה וְיָרַשְׁנוּ אֹתָהּ כִּי יָכוֹל נוּכַל לָהּ – במדבר יג, ל Moshe sent spies to the Land of Israel. Upon their return, they reported: […]