Shabbat Parashat Chukat 5786

Chukat | 5 Tammuz 5786 | 20/06/2026

Dear Friends,

Shavua Tov!

Eretz Hemdah Family

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Parashat Hashavua: Better to Know Late than Never

Rav Daniel Mann

Chazal tell us that in the desert, the divine clouds were present in the merit of Aharon and the well that accompanied Bnei Yisrael existed in the merit of Miriam (Ta’anit 9a). Both of these supernatural physical matters are introduced in Parashat Beshalach (Shemot 13:22, and ibid. 17:5-6, respectively). The clouds appeared at the direct instruction of Hashem; the water’s arrival was preceded by a divinely mandated human event – Moshe hit a rock before the assembled elders, and the waters flowed. Aharon and Miriam are not mentioned in either context.

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Ask the Rabbi: Covering One’s Face During Birkat Kohanim

Rav Daniel Mann

In chutz la’aretz, when they do Birkat Kohanim (on Yom Tov), men cover their faces with their tallit. Upon making aliya, I rarely see people doing so. Is there a halachic machloket on the matter, or is it just a matter of minhag? What should I be doing?

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Moreshet Shaul: The Days that the Heaven is Above the Land – part II

based on Siach Shaul, Pirkei Machshava V’Hadracha p. 282

[We are in the midst of a discussion on the impact of significant Torah study on a person’s being.]

  One who sits down in the evening next to a gemara, an Ein Yaakov, or a Chumash, sets aside time for Torah study in the morning, or is a supporter of Torah – his world changes. You are fortunate that you have a kollel (the address was to a group in Tel Aviv) where Torah is taught in a broad manner, and they do not suffice with a little in the morning and at night. You support them and make sure to do that in a dignified manner. This turns your professions, your earnings, your concern for a good livelihood, into something spiritual – “as the days that the heavens are above the land” (Devarim 11:21) – spiritual days. They are not mundane, material days of work, but spiritual days. Even when one is occupied with other things, his actions are a result of a spiritual concern, of study that brings to action. The work is not plain work, but work that is related to Torah.

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P'ninat Mishpat:  Regulation of Land Rights in a Settlement Extension – part II

(based on ruling 84019 of the Eretz Hemdah-Gazit Rabbinical Courts)

The plaintiffs (=pl) used to live in an unrecognized settlement extension (=SE), which was the subject of past rulings of a beit din in the region (=pbdr) in 2014. Pl left SE in 2013, and returned in 2016, against the will of the settlement committee (=def), with the help of pressure from the regional council (=rc). Def instructed pl as to the boundaries of their lot, but pl expanded beyond them and ignored warnings to desist from such actions. In 2023, def started preparing neighboring lots for new units, including areas to which pl had asserted control, and def destroyed some of pl’s infrastructure. An official of rc wrote that he does not oppose pl’s use of the area, pl have called the police to stop the work, and the matter is before our beit din. Pl claim that since SE is not recognized as part of any jurisdiction but general national land, they are not bound by the instructions of def or rc. Pl claim that def’s decisions should not be binding because there was great animosity between def and pl and because the relevant rules were applied only to pl. Pl also claim to have chazaka based on the fact that they were present in the area before others arrived to SE and def was formed.

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