Chukat D'var Torah (Last one of the year!)

First, God gave Moses instructions about what to do if someone dies (their body is unclean for seven days). Then, after people complained about not having water, God gave Moses a rod and told him to order a rock to give water in front of the community. But instead, Moses struck the rock with the rod. This caused God to tell Moses that he wouldn’t be allowed to lead the people into Israel since he didn’t trust God enough. Soon after that, Aaron died. Then, the Israelites moved through many different lands on their way to Israel, conquering some people and winning battles, and at the end of the portion, they paused in Moab.

Korach D'var Torah

Some Israelites were mad at Moses for making them wander around for so long, but Moses explained that it was God’s decisions, not his, and then God opened up the Earth, which swallowed those people. Next, there was a plague in the community, which made the people temporarily forget about their complaints about Moses. Lastly, God gave Moses instructions about what the priests and Levites should do with gifts and tithes involved with sacrifices.

Schlach D'var Torah

First, Israelites from each tribe scouted the surrounding land for 40 days. They found the “land of milk and honey,” but came back and reported that there were other people there that were much more powerful than the Israelites. The people panicked, and didn’t have faith that God would help them get there, which made God mad, and that made God force them to wander for 40 years as a punishment. Then, God gave Moses instructions about what offerings to make once they got to Israel. Finally, after an Israelite man was stoned to death by the other Israelites for gathering wood on Shabbat, God commanded the Israelites to wear tzitzit, which would remind them to follow his commandments.