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Parshat Chukkat 5 Tammuz 5777 (June 29, 2017)
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WANT TO BECOME A MEMBER? Membership: $50.00
CLICK HERE TO JOIN OR DONATE TO THE RZA Pillar Membership:$180.00
We are in the process of collecting membership dues for 2017.
Please show your support and join as a member or renew your membership at this time.
Religious Zionists of America
305 Seventh Avenue, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10001
office@rza.org, www.rza.org
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Young Professionals BBQ in LA!
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50 Years of Yerushalyim
with the Borough of Queens
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Yesterday evening, the Borough of Queen's held a celebration in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Reunification of Jerusalem. The event was held at the Young Israel of Hillcrest and more than 200 people were in attendance. RZA Board Member Judith Rosen chaired the event. Rabbi Gideon Shloush, Executive Vice President of the RZA was invited to as a guest speaker. The title of his presentation: “Jerusalem: The Heart and Soul of the Jewish People.”
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Rabbinical Council of America
National Convention
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Last week, the RZA connected with hundreds of rabbis from across the USA at the annual convention of the Rabbinical Council of America. Sarah Robinson, Director of the RZA Aryeh Fellowship distributed lots of materials at a special table we had set up at the conference. Educational materials were distributed and attendees were encouraged to help further the mission of Religious Zionism. Many communities are now joining the RZA-Mizrachi as institutional members ($180).
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Sarah Robinson, Director of the RZA Aryeh Fellows, provided resources and brochures to RCA rabbis
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Left to Right:
Rabbi Howard Zack of Cong. Torat Emet in Columbus, OH;
Rabbi Neil Turk of Yeshiva University;
Rabbi Gideon Shloush, Executive Vice President of the RZA
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Left to Right:
Vice President Rabbi David Hellman of Young Israel of Brookline;
Rabbi Gideon Shloush Executive vice President of the RZA
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New Initiative: The Taylor Force Act
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Check out our New Promotional Flyer!
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The RZA-Aryeh Fellowship selects fifty outstanding undergraduate students from across America. Fellows join together to spearhead team-leadership projects to help spread Religious Zionism in our communities. Additionally, the RZA subsidizes fellow's flight to Israel during winter break where they return to Yeshiva and Midrasha as well as attended intensive seminars devoted to Religious Zionism education -- thereby bringing Am Yisrael, back to Eretz Yisrael, to learn Torat Yisrael. Each week we profile a different fellow. This week meet...
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Yonina Keschner hails from Woodmere, New York. A proud bogeret of Midreshet Torah V’Avodah, Yonina presently studies in the University of Maryland where she is studying business. Yonina is passionate about educating her community about Israel and is a cabinet member of Terps for Israel where she educates other college clubs about Israel. For Yonina’s RZA Aryeh Fellows leadership project, she collaborated with other fellows and ten organizations to create an Israel Week on the University of Maryland campus which included a shabbaton, lecture from renowned journalist Lucy Aharish and a showing of the movie Mekonen.
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Parshat Chukkat
Each week we feature a dvar torah from a Religious Zionist congregational rabbi in America and a leading torah figure in Israel.
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Rav Yoni Grossman
Tanach teacher in Yeshivat Har Etzion and Herzog College in Gush Etzion
Parashat Chukat is the parasha of the fortieth year. The events described within it occurred during the last year of the travels of Benei Yisrael in the wilderness, and the parasha concludes with the last encampment - "The Israelites marched on and encamped in the plains of Moav, across the Jordan from Jericho" (Bamidbar 22:1). In this location, the entire Sefer Devarim will be delivered, and only after the five books of the Torah are completed do the Israelites enter into the land, as described in the book of Yehoshua.
Our parasha is thus a parasha of a journey's completion, the journey from Mt. Sinai to the plains of Moav. In this context, our parasha clearly parallels parashat Beshalach in Sefer Shemot, where we read about the first journey Israel took - from Egypt to Mt. Sinai. We are therefore not surprised to find occurrences that repeat themselves in these parshiot, because both contain events typical of life in the wilderness (the need for water and food, etc).
Continue reading Rav Yoni Grossman HERE
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Rabbi Michael Davies
Rabbi of Cong. Dor Tikvah, Charelston, South Carolina
Parshat Chukat opens with a discussion of the interesting and detailed laws of the Parah Adumah, the Red Heifer. One of the many peculiar elements of this text, one that can easily be overlooked, is the language of acquiring this unique animal – ViYikchu Eilecha, and they should take to you. Why is this language in particular being used?
Rashi says that it means that the Mitzvah of Parah Adumah would be called by Moshe’s name. (Parenthetically, a Parat Moshe Rabbeinu in Modern Hebrew means a ladybug – not sure of the connection there.) What does this mean? I’m reminded of preparations for sleep away camp, which many of us have gone through with our children recently or recall going through ourselves at some point. What is one of the essential steps in getting ready for the final send off? Putting names/labels on all of our things. What does this signify? Ownership.
Continue reading Rabbi Davies HERE
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Eretz Yisrael in the Parsha
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We are pleased to add a new column to our Weekly Emails. Rabbi Moshe Lichtman is a respected author and scholar living in Beit Shemesh who has written extensively about the centrality of the Land of Israel. Each week we plan to include a selection from his Sefer “Eretz Yisrael in the Parashah.”
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Dvar Torah from
Rabbi Moshe D. Lichtman
Parshat Chukkat
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Chukkat
PUT YOUR FAITH IN THE GOD OF THE LAND
This week’s parashah contains the episode of Mei Merivah (The Waters of Strife), in which Moshe and Aharon are told that they will not enter the Land of Israel. Many interpretations have been given to explain what exactly they did to deserve this punishment. The Abarbanel lists ten and rejects them all, only to suggest an eleventh. Some of the more famous answers are: 1) Moshe hit the rock instead of speaking to it; 2) he said, “– Listen now, you rebels”; 3) he got angry with B’nei Yisrael for no reason, for they had a right to ask for water; 4) Moshe and Aharon said, – Shall we bring forth water for you from this rock?, implying that they – not God – would produce the water. The Abarbanel, himself, says that they did nothing so grievous here; they were punished for previous sins – Aharon for the Sin of the Calf and Moshe for the Sin of the Spies (for agreeing to send them in the first place). HaShem didn’t punish them at the time of the original sin, because He wanted to make a clear distinction between them and the rest of the nation (who really sinned).
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Yom Yerushalayim Mega Mission Photos
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Click here to see the photos from the historic Yom Yerushalayim celebration in Israel!
Photos courtesy of World Mizrachi.
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Yom Yerushalayim Honor Roll
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In honor of the 50th anniversary of the reunification of Jerusalem we are so pleased that more than 220 communities participated in the RZA YY Honor Roll. To appreciate the creativity and diversity of Yom Yerushalayim events that took place in Shuls and schools across North America, please click HERE to see sample flyers from participating institutions.
Click Here To See the Full List of Names!
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Show your support of Israel!
Please reply to this email to order your "United with Jerusalem" buttons.
These buttons are perfect to hand out at your events and celebrations.
$36 per 100 buttons.
Please contact our office at
212-465-9234 or office@rza.org
to order!
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Religious Zionists of America | World Mizrachi | 212.465.9234 | 212.465.9246 | mizrachi@rza.org www.rza.org
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