04/07/2022 05:00:00 PM
There is always a lot to say about this week's Torah portion, Metzora, and its explanation of expiation for the person with scaly skin disease. The rituals involved are fascinating and mirror the priests' appointment rituals. As is often the case, expiation on behalf of the afflicted involves a sacrificial offering, and yet the Torah knows that now all people have the means to make an offering. The Torah acknowledges the different means...Read more...
03/31/2022 05:00:00 PM
With this week’s Torah portion, Tazria, we transition from the ordination of the priests and the bulk of the sacrificial system to skin diseases. In Hebrew, the skin disease in question, called tzara’at, is often translated as leprosy, but it was probably some type of psoriasis. It seems odd that the Torah would spend chapters discussing a skin infection that was not deadly and did not cause much harm to the infected person. For this...Read more...
03/17/2022 05:00:00 PM
While the whackiest holiday we have, Purim is also about a grave issue—saving the Jewish people. We may not be under threat from Haman (boo) today, but Jewish community and minor-holiday celebrations can sometimes struggle.
This week we did something fantastic together. We gathered a diverse group of Jews together to celebrate Purim. We started Sunday afternoon, a day I thought would completely fail when I saw the weather...Read more...
02/24/2022 05:00:00 PM
I’ve been thinking about the word “feeling” lately. I love that we use feeling or feel for both internal emotions and physical sensations. So often, we separate our inner state from the externality of our worlds, but the truth is worlds always play off each other. Things that we physically feel can impact us emotionally and vice versa. Maybe feelings are the only things that get us moving in this life. Over and over again, in this...Read more...
02/17/2022 08:00:00 PM
When Sarah and I went on our honeymoon to Italy some years ago, there were many places I wanted to visit, but I knew I had to see Michelangelo’s sculpture of Moses at the church of San Pietro in Vincoli in Rome. If you are unfamiliar with the statue, I encourage you to google Michelangelo’s Moses and see for yourself what makes the sculpture so famous. You’ll notice when seeing it that Moses has two horns atop his head. The horns come...Read more...
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