To clearly convey my comments this week, I must introduce you to my “secondary” and “primary” sources and to a fascinating cast of prestigious characters. My “secondary” source, which first put me on track, is the commentary on Chumash authored by Ramban, Rabbi Moshe ben Nachman. Ramban’s commentary is second only to Rashi’s, and I try to at least sample some of his work every week.
This week, we read one of a series of double parshiyot, Behar and Bechukotai. Both parshiyot are rich in verses which lend themselves to diverse explanations and elaborations, many of which are to be found in the vast Midrashic literature with which we are blessed.
It is a lesson I first learned in a course I took on the skills of interviewing long ago. The instructor taught us that the way to really size up a candidate for a job is to determine how he uses his time. He taught us that one question designed to assist the interviewer to make that determination is, “Where do you see yourself in five years?”