08/17/2023 05:00:13 PM
This week we turn to Parashat Shoftim, which derives its name from the Hebrew word for judges. Unsurprisingly, a central focus of this Torah portion is how to build a fair society governed by the rule of law. We read many verses here that align with our modern sensibilities: judges may not take bribes, the king is not above the law, and even in the heat of war we must not destroy the environment. If only leaders at home and around the...Read more...
08/10/2023 05:00:11 PM
This week's Torah portion, Parashat Re'eh, takes us on quite a journey through a wide range of topics. It opens by instructing the Israelites to utterly destroy the symbols worshipped by other nations and violently root out idolatry in their midst. Given that these other religions were said to endorse child sacrifice and self-harm, perhaps we can understand some of the anxiety and anger they caused the biblical author. Still,...Read more...
08/03/2023 05:00:02 PM
This week’s Torah portion is called Eikev, which means consequence or reward. Moses speaks quite a bit about the rewards that the Israelites will receive by way of a good life on the land, good harvests, increasing herds, etc. if they can only follow God’s commandments.
Much of what is alluded to is thanking God by remembering what was done for the Israelites through the wilderness in relative safety and...Read more...
07/28/2023 05:00:00 PM
This week’s Torah portion, Va’etchanan, contains two poignant texts from our tradition: the Sh'ma & V'ahavta and a repetition of the Decalogue (i.e. the 10 Commandments). Even before getting to these most famous words, Moses speaks at length about the importance of following God's instructions, articulating the rewards and consequences depending on the Israelites' adherence to the rules. For instance, Deuteronomy 4:40...Read more...
07/20/2023 05:04:33 PM
I don’t know about you, but I can definitely do without reminders of my experiences that were less than positive. I can remember too many times in my younger life when my mother would ‘remind’ me of all the things that I’d really love to forget. It is not pleasant when someone brings up difficult memories of behaviors that could and should have gone differently and we could have done better. While harsh, it was her way of offering a...Read more...
07/13/2023 05:03:24 PM
This Shabbat, we read the double portion of Matot-Masei, which covers various logistical concerns as we bring the book of Numbers to a close. The Israelites tie up loose ends with enemies, attain some territory, and make plans for the future settlement and administration of the Promised Land. Included in this parasha is a battle with the Midianites, which the Israelites win. Win is actually an understatement; they emerge so overwhelmingly...Read more...
07/06/2023 05:04:43 PM
I am sitting in front of the news, completely stunned that there were more than 20 mass shootings that were reported over the July 4th weekend alone. That brings the total to date to nearly the number of days in the whole year, and we are only half-way through it. We the people should know that this is absolutely not normal! There is nothing sensible or reasonable about the amount of carnage that ensues from the plethora of these random acts...Read more...
06/29/2023 05:00:09 PM
The story of Balak and Balaam is one of the better-known narratives in the Book of Numbers. After all, the names of the two main characters are fun both to say and to mix up! In addition, Balaam blesses us with the opening line of a favorite prayer, Mah Tovu. But as much as we may love to sing those words, ask any kiddo who knows about this week’s parashah and they will tell you the real reason for its fame: the talking...Read more...
06/22/2023 05:00:28 PM
Parashat Chukat opens with a full chapter on the slaughter of a red heifer and various ways to contract and address ritual impurity. On its face, this part of the Torah portion is much less engaging than the narrative sections that follow, in which Moses loses his siblings, his temper, and his ability to cross into the Promised Land. I would wager that everyone in this community has experienced grief, anger, and personal limitations. I would...Read more...
06/15/2023 05:00:49 PM
In this week’s Torah portion, Korach, there is a beautiful image of Aaron’s staff sprouting almond blossoms. The stick he’s been using for support miraculously shows signs of life, and those blossoms even turn into almonds. In the context of the Torah portion, the almonds are a sign of God’s choosing Aaron as the religious leader of the Israelites in the face of rebellion from some other Israelites. However, I can relate personally to...Read more...
06/08/2023 05:00:08 PM
In this week's Torah portion, Sh'lach, we encounter the Israelites nearly reaching the promised land. They've traveled from Sinai and are about ready to enter. Moses sends in scouts, and most come back with a negative report. They tell the people they look like grasshoppers compared to the giants that live in the land. Our sages tell us this is the great sin that kept the Israelites from the land for 40 years. No, it wasn't their refusal to...Read more...
05/25/2023 05:00:29 PM
Chag Shavuot Sameach! Tonight, we celebrate the festival of Shavuot. As you may know, Shavuot is the second of three harvest festivals we celebrate. We began with Pesach (Passover), we’ll have Shavuot tonight and tomorrow, and finally, we’ll reach the third festival this fall when we celebrate Sukkot. Shavuot is probably our least observed festival as it lacks a seder, a sukkah, and fun lulav shaking, but it is undoubtedly just as...Read more...
05/18/2023 05:00:00 PM
When I stand with students as we pass the Torah from one generation to the next at our B'nei Mitzvah services, I always bring up the idea that we receive so much from our elders. Many of the values, likes, dislikes, and even favorite phrases each of us have come from our parents and grandparents. These things are part of our family's cultural DNA. Our families set our course in so many ways. There are many beautiful ways this plays out...Read more...
05/11/2023 05:00:09 PM
We come to the end of Leviticus this week as we read the double portion, B’har-Behukotai. As in other places in the Torah, we find in Behukotai a section that tells us what we will gain if we keep God’s commandment (a place in the land and bountiful crops) and also what we lose if we fail to keep God’s commandments. The Torah says failure to keep the commandments will result in our people being scattered among the nations, and God...Read more...
04/20/2023 05:00:09 PM
When we talk about Leviticus being a difficult book of the Torah, it is for mainly two reasons; the litany of sacrifices and the focus on disease. This week’s double portion, tazria-metzora, focuses on the disease section. The condition is often translated as leprosy, but as I have said in years past, this is not the Hansen’s disease we know today as leprosy. The portions discuss an ailment closer to psoriasis than Hansen’s...Read more...
04/05/2023 05:00:37 PM
Life has a tendency to feel obvious, as though our present circumstances were always meant to be. Yet, we often overlook the countless opportunities that could have shaped
our lives differently. What if our ancestors had made different choices or if our parents had made different decisions about our upbringing? Truly, nothing about our existence is guaranteed. The fact that each of us is here, living the life we have, with our...Read more...
03/30/2023 05:00:00 PM
While not the primary objective of making sacrifices, accountability was undoubtedly an outcome of the sacrificial system for our ancestors. In many cases, bringing an offering to the Tabernacle or the Temple meant that our ancestors needed to take responsibility for their mistakes. Sacrifices allowed them to take responsibility but not dwell on those mistakes. Once they made their offering, the cosmic equation was balanced, and all would be...Read more...
03/23/2023 05:00:00 PM
While on sabbatical, Sarah and I would occasionally look at each other and say, “Is this really happening?” I am tremendously appreciative of the sabbatical I was granted over the last few months. In particular, after several years of coping with the pandemic, I didn't realize how much I needed a respite to recharge. Many of the experiences my family and I had while away are indescribable and will remain with us for the rest of our...Read more...
03/16/2023 05:00:00 PM
This week’s Torah portion is a double portion, Vayak’heil - P’kudei, and it begins with Moses gathering the whole community and telling them that God commanded us to observe Shabbat, a day of rest. Immediately following that reminder of God’s first gift to the people is a recapping of the gifts needed from the Israelites to build the Mishkan - these are strictly to be free-will gifts only from those whose hearts...Read more...
03/09/2023 05:00:00 PM
Even our best traits can have their drawbacks. Aaron was known as an incredibly empathetic man. He was deeply connected to the people, and he understood their experiences in a way that Moses simply could not, given his unique upbringing. Aaron knew what it was like to live under the burden of slavery, to suffer under Pharaoh’s decrees, to wonder if he and his people had perhaps been forgotten by God. This ability to relate to the...Read more...
02/23/2023 05:00:00 PM
This week’s Torah portion, Teruma, begins with God asking the Israelites to bring gifts freely and generously for the building of the mishkan.
The portion quickly moves into which gifts are needed and what ritual items they will be used to make. Amongst the items to be crafted are two cherubim with large wings. They are to be placed on each end of the top of the ark, facing one another with their gaze downward, at the space between...Read more...
02/16/2023 05:00:00 PM
As one might guess from its name, parshat Mishpatim contains a lengthy list of laws, rules, and judgments. We find laws covering so many topics: worship, slavery, property, moral behavior, criminal and civil matters, Divine promises, and more. From its frenetic bouncing from one subject to another, we glean the chaos spreading through the new Israelite community as they work through the complications of living in...Read more...
02/09/2023 05:00:00 PM
This week, as we read Parshat Yitro, we are standing at Sinai as the mountain is trembling with thunder and engulfed in smoke. It is an awesome, fearful sight.
There are many midrash about this important moment in our history yet I found myself drawn to a drash by Akeidat Yitchak, a 15th Century commentary on Torah by the Spanish rabbi Isaac ben Moses Arama. In his commentary, when God created earth, God resided there at first but...Read more...
02/02/2023 05:00:00 PM
In this week’s Torah portion, Beshalach, we find a pinnacle moment in the story of our ancestor’s escape From Egypt. This week we read Shirat HaYam, the Song of the Sea, or the splitting of the sea. The Israelites walk through the sea unscathed, but the Egyptians are swallowed up as the water comes crashing down. Living in Israel for the last month feels very similar to splitting of the sea in Torah. After 18 months out of office,...Read more...
01/26/2023 05:00:00 PM
Moses and Aaron confront Pharaoh and his advisors many times throughout the Exodus narrative, demanding that Pharaoh release the Israelites from their captivity. At the start of parshat Bo, after yet another plague, Pharaoh offers what may be generously called a compromise. Pharaoh offers to allow “the notables of Israel” to leave. Moses refuses, demanding: “We will all go, our young and our old, our sons and our daughters, our...Read more...
01/19/2023 05:00:00 PM
Amongst our many skills and talents as human beings, we collectively have great ability to perceive patterns. Our neocortex, the outermost layer of the brain responsible for recognizing patterns, is so developed that it outperforms even the most complex computer algorithms. We are so good that we can even find patterns when none exist!
Many readers of parshat Va’era find a pattern in the description of the plagues...Read more...
01/12/2023 05:00:00 PM
This week’s Torah portion, Shemot, is a very rich portion indeed! We begin the book of Exodus this week and learn of the Israelites’ slavery in Egypt, the birth of Moses and his story all the way through his being summoned by God at the burning bush to lead the people out of Egypt.
As I read the portion this year, one of the most compelling sections was when Moses says (Exodus 4:10): “Please, O my lord, I have never been a man...Read more...
12/29/2022 05:00:00 PM
So much can be said about this week’s Torah portion, Vayigash. It’s easy to summarize: Joseph reveals himself to his brothers, who then return to Jacob and bring the entire family down to Egypt, where they are given lands by Pharaoh. However, when we read Torah in this manner – focusing merely on the major narrative beats – we miss so much. We miss Joseph’s brothers’ reactions – dumbfounded out of shock, shame, or fear, so...Read more...
12/22/2022 05:00:00 PM
During Chanukah, we have a special Haftarah portion from Zechariah which contains the famous line immortalized in song by Debbie Friedman: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, said YHWH of hosts.
Chanukah celebrates the military victory of the Maccabees followed by the miracle of the oil upon the rededication of the Temple. Chanukah, however, offers us much more than this narrow view of Jewish...Read more...
12/08/2022 05:00:00 PM
Sometimes our closest relationships are the hardest. Jacob and Esau never seemed to have much affection for each other. Even before they were born, the Torah tells us they quarreled in Rebecca’s womb. In this week’s Torah portion, Vayishlach, Jacob sends messengers to meet Esau and announce that Jacob is returning to the land. After meeting with Esau, the messengers tell Jacob that his brother plans to meet him with 400 men at his side....Read more...
