Episodios

  • The Sword and the Spell — Pinḥas vs. Bilaam - Zealotry or Sorcery? A Clash of Worlds

    The Sword and the Spell — Pinḥas vs. Bilaam - Zealotry or Sorcery? A Clash of Worlds
    Jul 14 2025

    Parashat
    Pinḥas
    introduces us to the reward and eternal legacy of a man who acted with zeal,
    truth, and complete selflessness. But to fully understand Pinḥas, we must contrast him with
    another towering figure — one who also spoke with God, one who was considered a
    prophet among the nations — the notorious Bilʿam.

    Two
    men. Two missions.

    One
    sword. One spell.

    One
    rooted in truth. The other swallowed by ego.

    But
    what happens when these two meet?

    Let’s
    begin not in our parashah, but in the next:

    When
    the Jewish army goes to war with Midyan, who do they find there?

    Bilʿam.

    He’s
    not on the battlefield.

    He’s
    not in the beit midrash.

    He’s
    not prophesying.

    He’s
    collecting payment — for his wicked advice: “Send in the Midyanite women. Break
    their morality, and you break their protection.”

    And
    it worked.

    24,000
    men of Shevet Shimʿon died in a plague.

    176,000
    were guilty of idolatry.

    Bilʿam was being paid per Jew
    lost.

    But
    Hashem doesn’t forget.

    Enter
    Pinḥas,
    leading the army.

    He,
    the same man who halted the plague with a spear in last week’s parashah, now
    brings justice with a sword.

    The
    Midrash (Yalkut Shimʿoni 771) says Bilʿam tried to escape using sorcery — he flew into the air! But
    Pinḥas
    invoked the Divine Name, and Bilʿam crashed down. One clean stroke — and the man who thought
    his mouth ruled the world was silenced forever.

    וַיַּהַרְגוּ אֶת־מַלְכֵי מִדְיָן עַל־חַלְלֵיהֶם… וְאֵת בִּלְעָם בֶּן־בְּעוֹר הָרְגוּ בֶּחָרֶב

    (במדבר ל״א:ח׳)

    “They
    killed the kings of Midyan… and Bilʿam ben Beʿor they killed by sword.”

    Not
    by spell.

    Not
    by debate.

    By
    sword — because truth cuts deeper than illusion.

    Más Menos
    9 m
  • When Questions Have No Words - Pinchas Nadav Avihu - Balak

    When Questions Have No Words - Pinchas Nadav Avihu - Balak
    Jul 11 2025
    EDITORS NOTES When Souls Leave Early—And Still Lift Us The following is based on this week’s class and podcast. At the end of Parashat Balak, we meet a hero—Pinḥas—who steps into a collapsing world and halts a deadly plague. But according to the Mekubalim, Pinḥas didn’t act alone. In the moment he entered the tent with spear in hand, his soul left him in fright. And then… a miracle. The souls of his uncles, Nadav and Avihu—who died decades earlier in Divine fire—returned to strengthen him. They brought with them another soul: Eliyahu HaNavi. From that moment forward, Pinḥas became Eliyahu. As we sing at every Brit Milah, based on the words of the Zohar, Pinḥas hu Eliyahu. He lives still. And his story tells us something extraordinary: sometimes, a soul that has already reached its perfection doesn’t just ascend—it returns. Not for its own sake, but to lift others. When Words Fail—And Silence Speaks There are moments, like Aharon’s loss of his sons Nadav and Avihu, when words simply do not exist. Vayidom Aharon. He was silent. And I wonder: what questions filled that silence? · What did we do to deserve this? · Was this a punishment for the Golden Calf? · Can I ever be whole again? These are not academic questions. They are cries of the soul. I ask them too. This isn’t a devar Torah of logic. It’s an exploration of neshamah—of soul, emunah, and quiet strength. A space where we ask: Can a soul be complete even in just a moment? Can a child’s brief life be a mission fulfilled? Two Olam HaBa Realms: Chesed and Gevurah Kabbalah teaches us there are two forms of Olam HaBa—the Next World: 1. Olam HaBa of Chesed: a world of ascent, where souls grow through mitzvot, Torah, and the merit of those left behind. 2. Olam HaBa of Gevurah: a world of blinding closeness to the Divine. A realm of stillness, where ascent ends—not from failure, but from fulfillment. Some souls don’t come to rise. They come already elevated. And they often leave this world early—not as a loss, but as completion. The Zohar calls them nitzotzin de-kadmūn letushbaḥta—sparks that precede praise. Too pure for this world, they come for a moment, and return. Nadav and Avihu: Not a Fall, But a Flame The Torah says a fire consumed Nadav and Avihu. But the Zohar teaches: it was not punishment. It was devekut—a soul's longing for God so intense it could no longer remain in the body. Their death was not a failure. It was union. And Aharon? He was silent. Not in despair—but in faith. That silence echoes through generations of parents who have lost children. It is not ignorance. It is surrender to something higher. Some Souls Are Already There When a child is lost, the questions are too raw to answer. Why did this soul not get a chance to grow? Why the pain, the diapers, the dreams left behind? But the Arizal says: some souls do not need to ascend—because they are already there. A baby. A young tzaddik. A soul too radiant for this world to hold. Their life, though brief, was complete. We don’t always need to say Kaddish. Not because we lack faith—but because these souls lift us. The Story of Pinḥas—and the Power of Ibur When Pinḥas acted, his soul left him. But Nadav and Avihu returned—through ibur, a temporary soul infusion. They didn’t come back for themselves. They came to save the people. And with them came a third soul: Eliyahu. From that moment, Pinḥas was no longer just a man—he was a vessel for eternity. A Soul That Lifts When we lose someone so young, the world sees tragedy. But the mekubalim suggest something different: “There are souls that descend only to complete a small rectification.” — Sha’ar HaGilgulim They are not broken. They are not in need of us. We need them. Because their light still shines. Because their mission didn’t end—it simply changed forms. A Child’s Soul That Elevates Last month in Jerusalem, we heard from Ḥacham David Yosef שליט״א after our family suffered a painful loss: “There’s no need to say Kaddish. No need for added mitzvot. His neshamah is already at the highest place.” At the time, it felt like a door closing. Now I understand—it was a door opening. This was not a soul needing help. It was a soul helping us. The Silence That Lifts Vayidom Aharon. And David HaMelekh too, after losing a child, stood up, changed his clothes, and went to pray. Because he understood what we all long to understand: “I shall go to him. But he shall not return to me.” (Shmuel II 12:23) This is the Olam HaBa of Gevurah. Not a place of loss. A place of completion. A place where the soul is so close to God, there’s nowhere left to climb. A Final Thought: The Soul’s Whisper So, if you’re mourning a child, or grieving a tzaddik taken too soon, know this...
    Más Menos
    33 m
  • The Ripple Effect - From Balak to Mashiach

    The Ripple Effect - From Balak to Mashiach
    Jul 9 2025

    The Gemara in Sotah (47a) says something shocking:

    “As a reward for the forty-two korbanot that Balak offered, he merited that Rut
    descended from him… from whom came Shlomo HaMelekh.”

    Wait… what?

    Balak—the man who tried to annihilate Am Yisrael—gets to be the great-grandfather of Mashiach?

    If you told Balak that his offerings would lead to the birth of David HaMelekh, he would’ve canceled the korbanot and grilled the animals for himself.

    He didn’t intend good. So why the reward?

    Más Menos
    6 m
  • The Secret War and the Silent Holocaust - Parashat Balak – Three Arguments, Three Tragedies, One Redemption

    The Secret War and the Silent Holocaust - Parashat Balak – Three Arguments, Three Tragedies, One Redemption
    Jul 6 2025

    The Torah opens the scene quietly:

    וַיֵּשֶׁב יִשְׂרָאֵל
    בַּשִּׁטִּים,

    וַיָּחֶל הָעָם לִזְנוֹת אֶל־בְּנוֹת מוֹאָב.

    — “And Yisrael dwelled in Shittim, and the people began to
    stray after the daughters of Moav.” (בַּמִּדְבָּר כ״ה:א׳)

    One verse.

    No battle cries.

    Just the gentle pull of desire. Of loneliness. Of spiritual
    disarmament.

    Bilam, the wicked prophet, fails to curse Am Yisrael. But
    before leaving, he whispers to Balak:

    “אֱלֹקֵיהֶם
    שֶׁל אֵלּוּ שׂוֹנֵא זִמָּה הוּא”

    — “Their G-d despises immorality.” (סנהדרין ק״ו)

    And with that advice, the Moabite plan begins. Royal
    daughters of Midyan and Moav are sent to seduce the Israelites—not just with
    beauty, but with hospitality, charm, and warmth.

    At first, they are selling textiles , and clothing - an old
    woman at front.

    You want to see the better things - come to the back where there is a beautiful
    young girl waiting she’s hospitable

    She offers wine.

    Then, herself .

    Then, a request:

    “הִשְׁתַּחֲוֵה
    לְפְעוֹר”

    — Bow to Pe’or. Just once. Just a formality.

    It wasn’t just זְנוּת.

    It was ideology cloaked in love.

    A theological ambush.

    Más Menos
    9 m
  • Let the mother come and clean up the mess of her child - bedience Beyond Understanding CHUKAT

    Let the mother come and clean up the mess of her child - bedience Beyond Understanding CHUKAT
    Jul 6 2025

    There’s a profound Midrash:

    “תָּבֹוא הָאֵם וּתְקַנֵּחַ צֹאָת בְּנָה” –

    “Let the mother come and clean up the mess of her child.”

    (Tanchuma, Chukat 8)

    The child? Klal Yisrael, who sinned with the Egel HaZahav.

    The mother? The Parah Adumah, the red heifer whose ashes bring purity.

    But what’s the connection?

    The Chet Ha’Egel wasn’t wild rebellion—it was panic wrapped in reason. Moshe was delayed. Maybe gone. They needed a leader. An intermediary. Their intentions were leshem Shamayim. But the Alexandrer Rebbe, the Yismach Yisrael, teaches:

    “Sometimes the greatest mistake… is thinking we understand.”

    That was their error.

    They thought they were doing the right thing. They rationalized. They overreached.

    So along comes the Parah Adumah—the antidote. A mitzvah that defies reason. A chok. A decree.

    Even Shlomo HaMelekh, wisest of men, said:

    “אָמַרְתִּי אֶחְכָּמָה – וְהִיא רְחוֹקָה מִמֶּנִּי” –

    “I thought I could understand—but it is far from me.” (Kohelet 7:23)
    Más Menos
    9 m
  • Showdown of Epic Proportions: The Battle Between Moshe and Og Melekh haBashan Chukat

    Showdown of Epic Proportions: The Battle Between Moshe and Og Melekh haBashan Chukat
    Jul 4 2025

    🇺🇸 Better Than Fireworks: Giants, Mountains & Miracles

    🕗 July 4th | 7:30 AM Shacharit • Followed by Breakfast & Shiur

    This Independence Day, come for breakfast—and stay for a battle that shook the heavens.

    A mountain lifted, ants sent by Heaven, and the “worm of Yaakov” that crushed a giant.

    Discover how Moshe Rabbeinu defeated Og with nothing but spirit, and how you can too.

    Better than fireworks. Bigger than Bashan.
    Más Menos
    11 m
  • Obedience Beyond Understanding - CHUKAT

    Obedience Beyond Understanding - CHUKAT
    Jul 4 2025

    🎙 Obedience Beyond Understanding

    Parashat Chukat | Based on Yismach Yisrael, Alexander Rebbe

    There’s a profound Midrash:

    “תָּבֹוא הָאֵם וּתְקַנֵּחַ צֹאָת בְּנָה” –

    “Let the mother come and clean up the mess of her child.”

    (Tanchuma, Chukat 8)

    The child? Klal Yisrael, who sinned with the Egel HaZahav.

    The mother? The Parah Adumah, the red heifer whose ashes bring purity.

    But what’s the connection?

    The Chet Ha’Egel wasn’t wild rebellion—it was panic wrapped in reason. Moshe was delayed. Maybe gone. They needed a leader. An intermediary. Their intentions were leshem Shamayim. But the Alexandrer Rebbe, the Yismach Yisrael, teaches:

    “Sometimes the greatest mistake… is thinking we understand.”

    That was their error.

    They thought they were doing the right thing. They rationalized. They overreached.

    So along comes the Parah Adumah—the antidote. A mitzvah that defies reason. A chok. A decree.

    Even Shlomo HaMelekh, wisest of men, said:

    “אָמַרְתִּי אֶחְכָּמָה – וְהִיא רְחוֹקָה מִמֶּנִּי” –

    “I thought I could understand—but it is far from me.” (Kohelet 7:23)

    When a Roman philosopher mocked this mitzvah, Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakkai replied:

    “The corpse doesn’t defile, and the ashes don’t purify—it’s a decree of the King.” (Tanchuma Chukat 8)

    Sometimes the highest faith is not to ask “why”—but to do.

    The Parah teaches us that we serve not because it makes sense,

    But because He said so.

    That’s the tikkun for the Egel.

    That’s Torah.

    That’s true avodat Hashem.
    Más Menos
    2 m
  • Aharon HaKohen - The Honest Peacemaker Chukat

    Aharon HaKohen - The Honest Peacemaker Chukat
    Jul 3 2025

    He didn’t shame people out of sin. He loved them out of it.
    In this class, we climb the mountain with Aharon HaKohen — and uncover the quiet power of peace, truth, and unconditional belief in every soul.
    Aharon HaKohen: The Honest Peacemaker.

    Más Menos
    16 m