Terumah 5783 This week we read the nineteenth parashah in the cycle of Torah reading – parashat Terumah starting with Exodus chapter 25, verse 2. The word Terumah is used seventy-six times in the Tanakh which includes the five books of Moses – the Chumash, plus “Prophets” Nevi’im and “Writings” Ketuvim where Terumah is taken Continue Reading »
Dear Temple Beth-El community, It is unfortunate that once again we must address antisemitism in our own country. The Anti-Defamation League has notified Jewish communities of very disturbing events planned for this weekend with the following message: ‘White supremacist groups are trying to organize antisemitic activities as a “National Day of Hate” throughout this coming Continue Reading »
Reproductive Rights Shabbat For the past two years, I have spoken on Shabbat Mishpatim, now called #reproShabbat in many Jewish communities, organized by the National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW). Last year, the US Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision changed the landscape for women and pregnant people across the United States. Suddenly, our rights were drastically Continue Reading »
Our Torah portion this week is Parashat Yitro from the Book of Exodus (Sefer Shmot). Two major events occur in this portion. The first is when the Moses’ father-in-law, Jethro or Yitro, brings Moses’ wife, Zipporah, and his two sons, Gershom and Eliezer, to Moses in the wilderness. Seeing the situation Moses is in, Yitro Continue Reading »
What is the meaning of the word ‘Tu’, in Tu BiShvat? The birthday of the trees, or Tu BiShvat, falls on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shvat. In the Hebrew numbering system, letters are used to denote numerical values, with Aleph equal to 1, Bet equal to 2, etc. The teen numbers Continue Reading »
This Shabbat, we study Parshahat Bo from the Book of Exodus. The word ‘Bo’ is translated in English as ‘Come’ and, according to scholars, can be read as ‘come to Pharaoh’ in this Parsha. Bo depicts the last three of the Ten Plagues which descended upon Egypt: a swarm of locusts which destroyed all the Continue Reading »
Parashat Va-eira; Exodus 6:2-9:35 This week’s Torah portion Va-eira begins in the book of Exodus chapter 6, verse 2. In Hebrew this book is called Sh’mot – the Book of Names. The fifteenth century Italian commentator Ovadia ben Jacob Sforno teaches that “a name describes the individual features of a person. And these individual features are Continue Reading »
It is appropriate on this Martin Luther King Day Shabbat, that we read in parshat Sh’mot the story of how the Israelites became enslaved by the Egyptians, and how they started on their road to redemption. As I read through the parashah I am struck by Pharoah’s attempt to enlist the Israelite midwives in thesubjugation Continue Reading »
Parashat Vayechi Genesis 47:28 – 50:26 This week’s parsha is Vayechi, which means “and he lived.” It is the final portion of the Book of Genesis and the end of the Joseph Cycle. This being a family Shabbat, and with your indulgence, I’d like to specifically include our young people in sharing my comments. As Continue Reading »
There is a human tendency to look to the future through the rear-view mirror — to assume that what was is what will be, and that what is happening now will inevitably continue. The Torah does not share this view. It sees every moment as filled with possibility and potential for change. This attitude, this Continue Reading »
