Whether Parashot Mattot and Mas’ei are read together (as they are this year, as in most years) or separately (as they are in less than one-quarter of years), both are invariably read during the Three ...

Parshat Mattot begins with the verses (Bamidbar 30:2-3), “And Moshe spoke to the heads of the tribes of the children of Yisra᾽el, saying, “This is the matter which the Lord has commanded. If a man ...

The Tribes of Reuven and Gad decide to swap their share of the Land of Israel for the Land of Gilead, on the East Bank of the Jordan River. Moshe is initially shocked, but he eventually agrees[1] to ...

The Tribes of Reuven and Gad approach Moses and submit a request to remain in the Transjordan, an area newly captured from the Amorites and the Bashanites. The land is lush, they own much livestock ...

This week’s Torah portion is a double portion. The reason we have double portions is so that during a Jewish leap year, when there are 13 months instead of 12, we can “unpack” the double portions so ...

Mattot-Massei “You shall provide yourselves with places to serve you as cities of refuge to which a manslayer who has killed a person unintentionally may flee” Numbers 35:11 ...

Parashat Mattot opens up by presenting the importance of fulfilling vows. As the Torah states, “He shall not break [yachel] his word. He shall do according to all that proceeds out of his mouth” ...

On Sunday night, my family went to the July 4th celebration at the Hollywood Bowl. The concert was by the LA Philharmonic, accompanied by Vince Gil, and concluded with fireworks. The music was ...

“Moses said to them: If you do this, if all your shock-troops go to battle… until the land has been subdued… then when you return here you shall be clear before the Eternal and before Israel; and this ...

One of the core teachings in Torah portion Massei (the second of our double-portion) is the concept of the “cities of refuge” that will be established in the land (Numbers 35:9-34). The Cities of ...