Akhan

Found 5 Search results

1. Families

   Rabbi Ezra Bick

   The key to understanding the unique nature of Parashat Pinhas is the significance of the families in this census. The families are emphasized throughout the counting process.

2. The Trespass of Akhan

   Rabbi Michael Hattin

   This lesson considers the trespass of Akhan and its terrible consequences for the entire people of Israel. The core lesson of this tale is the indispensable bond of Jewish nationhood that tightly links all the people of Israel together, to the extent that the fortunes of the larger community or even the national grouping are sometimes affected by the acts of an individual. Having begun the process of settling the land, the formerly twelve disparate tribes will need to quickly assimilate the painful lesson of Akhan if they are to survive as a state. All human acts, of omission or commission, of good or evil, of selfish greed or altruistic love, impact upon the larger human and even cosmic reality of which the perpetrator and his innocuous deed represent only small but not insignificant parts.

3. The Second Encounter Between Eliyahu and Ahav - Part 1

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Eliyahu's second appearance before Ahav is the opposite of the first: It takes place not on Eliyahu’s initiative, but rather as a result of God's command, its purpose is a renewal of the rains, and ultimately there is cooperation between Eliyahu and Ahav. This dialogue serves as the first in a series of actions by Eliyahu that are aimed at changing the national reality such that Israel will be worthy of God restoring the rain. Ahav, who understands the gravity of the situation, goes to Eliyahu submissively. However, upon seeing him, Ahav rebukes Eliyahu with a subtle comparison to Akhan who had brought catastrophe upon his nation out of personal interests.

4. The Dynamics of Oppression

   Rabbi Michael Hattin

   Suffering the Canaanites to maintain their cultural presence in the land constituted an invitation to intermarry with them, for they were the dominant culture.  Intermarriage, in turn, necessarily led to an adoption by the Israelites of the easier way of life – idolatry. 

   Otniel, the first judge, represents the final link with the generation of Yehoshua and the elders that succeeded him.  Additionally, as a champion of the settlement of the land who personally battled the Canaanites and prevailed, Otniel recalls another dimension of Yehoshua's inspired leadership. Though he is a tribal leader - as opposed to Yehoshua - he is presented as a national savior as are many of the other judges in the Book of Shoftim. 

5. The Curse of Concealed Sins

   Rabbi Chanoch Waxman