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The Battle of the Human Heart: Don’t Be Indifferent

Posted on August 20, 2021

This week’s Torah portion, Ki Teizei contains more laws than any other parashah in the Torah — 72, to be exact. The purpose was not to provide a code that the average Israelite would carry around to consult at any given moment; rather, it was to cultivate a certain sensibility, awareness, and attitude. Nowhere is Continue Reading »

Due Justice

Posted on August 13, 2021

The following verses resonate loudly to me from this week’s Parsha, Shoftim, from the book of Deuteronomy (16:18-20): (18) You shall appoint magistrates and officials for your tribes, in all the settlements that the Lord your God is giving you, and they shall govern the people with due justice. (19) You shall not judge unfairly; you Continue Reading »

We’re All in the Same Boat

Posted on August 6, 2021

In this week’s parashah, Moses teaches the Israelites a lesson that will be critical to their success as a nation. When you enter the Promised Land, he says, “you shall not act at all as we now act here, every person as he [or she] pleases.”(1)  To build a healthy society, he says, everyone must sacrifice Continue Reading »

Not by Bread Alone

Posted on July 30, 2021

Not many people know that I am fascinated by astronomy. Gazing at the cosmos, especially at pictures of the galaxies like those captured by the Hubble telescope, fills me with awe and wonder. But even more than by the majesty and beauty of the heavens, I am amazed by star power, by the fact that Continue Reading »

Shabbat Chazon — Vision

Posted on July 16, 2021

This Shabbat, the Shabbat preceding Tisha B’Av, is called Shabbat Chazon, named for the chazon, the vision of the Prophet Isaiah that is the Haftarah for this day. It is a dark and menacing vision of the impending doom the Israelites are bringing upon themselves. They are guilty of spiritual hypocrisy, says Isaiah, for they Continue Reading »

Parashat Matot-Masei: Learning as We Go

Posted on July 9, 2021

This week we have a double portion: Matot, meaning Tribes, and Masei, meaning Journeys. We are at the end of B’midbar, the book of Numbers, and in the fortieth year of wandering in the desert. This portion addresses diverse topics and makes for interesting reading. It begins with a list of laws relating to the Continue Reading »

Parashat Balak: The Premise of the Story

Posted on June 25, 2021

There is much to unpack from this week’s Torah portion, Parashat Balak.  It is a well- known story of a man sent to curse our people only to have the curse turned into a blessing, and it is a story seemingly out of place.  It is a story to which neither Moses nor the Israelites Continue Reading »

We Must Pray in a Room with Windows

Posted on June 18, 2021

In Talmud Berachot 34a, Rabbi Yochanan teaches that one may pray only in a room that has windows. His prooftext is from the book of Daniel, where we learn that while he was in exile in Babylonia Daniel prayed in a space that had a window facing Jerusalem. The message of this text is twofold. Continue Reading »

Shabbat Message: Faith Will Bring us to the Promised Land

Posted on June 4, 2021

A certain anecdote comes to mind when I think about this week’s Torah portion, Sh’lach Lecha. I have shared it before, but it is so apropos that I can’t resist sharing it again. Two shoe salesmen from Britain went off to Africa in the early 1900’s to seek new markets for their wares. After a Continue Reading »

Shabbat Message: We Want More!

Posted on May 28, 2021

  This week, we read Parashat Beha’alotecha from the Book of Numbers. The highlights include Aaron being commanded to raise light in the lamps of the menorah and the institution of a Second Passover in response to a group of Jews who were unable to bring an offering on time before Passover because they were Continue Reading »