Numbers, the Book of

The name of the fourth book of thhe Torah is Bamidbar, which means ‘desert’. Why such a peculiar name?

Lighting up another means helping to ignite his latent abilities by appreciating his unique role and mission in this world.

We are still “married” to our ideals and spiritual vision; we simply need to be reunited with our true, inner selves.

When we realize the importance of our individual roles, we are empowered to tackle and transform our personal wildnerness.

The positive impact of “great is the righteous and great is his neighbor” is not proportionate to the negative effect of “woe is the wicked and woe is his neighbor”.

Our Sages say: “Woe to the wicked and woe to his neighbor” in reference to the tribe of Reuven being affected by Korach’s rebellion. A closer look at three different sources for this teaching, offers three ways to understand a neighbor’s impact.

Every step of our past is by divine design for where we need to go in the present.

In describing the rebellion of Korach, the Talmud says Korach created discord—even though he claimed to champion equality.

Contrasting the blunder of the ten spies that Moshe sent versus the success of the two spies Joshua dispatched conveys a fundamental lesson in our personal growth.

Why did the leaders of the tribes who were so enthusiastic about donating to the Sanctuary make such a limited contribution? This points to the importance of using our talents well. (Based on Likutei Sichos vol. 28 Naso sicha 2)