The Prophecy of Moses

The Prophecy of Moses

In this week’s Torah portion, Korach, the Torah relates the story of the rebellion of Korach against the leadership of Moses and Aaron.  I think this is a good opportunity to present the seventh of Maimonides’ thirteen principles of faith, which is the belief in the superiority and authority of the prophecy of Moses. Maimonides…

My Child

My Child

I recently travelled to Australia with one of my children, which was a wonderful experience, giving us a lot of time together, without too many distractions.  As we were getting onto the plane, I handed our boarding passes to the stewardess, but it was not obvious that my son was standing with me, so she…

Parshat Korach and Agricultural Ethics – Korach 5774

Parshat Korach and Agricultural Ethics – Korach 5774

The Torah portion of Korach ends with an extensive discussion of the various tithes (agricultural taxes) that the Torah requires. The basic idea is that the Land of Israel and its agricultural products are considered holy, therefore there are special laws that apply to them. The most well known is the obligation in Biblical and…