Ibn Ezra: Spirit of Leadership (Pinchas)
Moses asks God who the next leader will be, using an unusual name: “God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint someone over the community” (Numbers 27:16).
Tag: chizkuni
Ibn Ezra: The Anger of a Stranger (Emor)
In Emor, a half-Israelite, half-Egyptian man blasphemes God and is then stoned to death. Why was he deemed a stranger? Could it have turned out differently?
Rashbam: Why Water? (Chukat)
The Israelites move towards the Promised Land, traveling through other kingdoms. They promise not to take any water – confounding later French commentators.