Yeruchem Eilfort-Rabbi

By Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort CARLSBAD, California — This week we read the portion titled Pinchas. To understand Pinchas one must first look to last week’s portion, Balak. Balak was the king who had hired the gentile prophet Bilaam to curse the Jewish people. Balak had already seen that the Jews could not be defeated by

This week we read the portion titled Balak. Balak was the king of Moav who after seeing how his neighbors had unsuccessfully made war and lost against the Children of Israel decided that he would take a different approach to try and defeat them. While Sichon and Og, two mighty kings with mighty armies failed by using force of arms, Balak chose to try and attack the Jews spiritually – by attacking their spiritual connection with the Almighty. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]

This week’s Torah portion is titled Korach, who was known as a very bad person who came from wonderful stock. Korach was a rebel. He accused Moses and Aaron of nepotism. Korach was an expert at making populist pronouncements while in fact he was an elitist. Korach was insincere. Korach ridiculed the Torah and its number one expert, Moses. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]

This week’s reading  is Parshat Bi’ha’loh’ticha, which begins with the Mitzvah of lighting the Menorah. This special and symbolic Mitzvah was given to Aharon HaCohen and his children. When thinking about this portion it occurred to me that there are some powerful messages that can be applied to marriage, as this week I celebrate my 33rd wedding anniversary.  [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]

This week we continue in the Book of Numbers with the second portion, Naso, which means Count. It begins by continuing the census of the Levitical families started in our reading last week. In the course of this portion we come across a couple of very interesting, and frankly, somewhat ‘exotic’ commandments, Sota and Nazir. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]

This week we read a double portion, BeHar and BiChukotai, which mean ‘On the Mountain’, and ‘In My Statutes,’ respectively. In the first portion we learn many of the particulars and strictures associated with the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee year. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]

Tzarat was a consequence of numerous sins, most prominent of them was Lashon Harah – evil gossip. Interestingly, the person suffering from Tzarat was placed into quarantine, not so that the disease wouldn’t spread, but instead to demonstrate to the person with the disease that his anti-social behavior resulted in an anti-social situation. [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]

We are in the home stretch! Most of Passover is already behind us. Yet we contemplate the final part of the “King of the Holidays,” which also coincides with the holy Shabbos. Here, in the Diaspora, we celebrate and observe Passover for eight days, as opposed to Israel where it is celebrated for seven days. The Promised Land has a superior level of ‘organic’ holiness. The Sages found a way to somewhat compensate for that by adding an extra day of holiness outside the borders of Israel. Therefore, instead of having a single, climax-of-the-holiday day, we have two. One additional day of mundanity transformed into a day of holiness (nothing to sniff at). [Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]

It’s another one of those weeks! You know, the ones where the Rabbi has any number of possible themes that he can address. Another way of expressing the situation is by calling it, “A target rich environment.” So many subjects, so little time.[Rabbi Yeruchem Eilfort]