Friday Shabbat Shalom
Aug 4, 2023
“Circumcise the foreskin of your heart and stiffen your necks no more,” implores Moses (Deut. 10:16), attempting to convince the Israelites to open themselves up — and cleave to the God who so passionately, and often inexplicably, loves them… In its exhortation to lay naked one’s heart and make supple one’s throat, it asks us to lower our defenses, to surrender, to make the leap of faith that is absolutely necessary to live a fully realized and awakened existence.
Jul 28, 2023
“Within the limits of the law” is the principle referred to by the rabbis of the Talmud as Lifnim meshurat hadin and it is deployed by the Talmud to describe cases when the Sages, the masters of Jewish law, stop short of deploying the full measure of their power and don’t prescribe the entirety of what the law would entitle in the situation.
Jul 21, 2023
The morning I wrote this... In the eastern sky there was the tiniest sliver of the crescent moon, just rising, heart-breakingly beautiful. It was just a few days before the month of Av began, with that same crescent moon setting in the west. We are heading towards the end of the Three Weeks, the period between the 17th of Tammuz and the 9th of Av, the season of loss and horror in our mythic history.
Jul 14, 2023
This week Parsha Mattot-Maasei contains some very difficult passages about the Israelites being commanded to kill the Midianites. When the Israelites go to battle, they kill all the Midianite males as well as their 5 kings and they also kill Balaam, the prophet who was supposed to curse the Israelites but instead ended up blessing them.
Jul 7, 2023
In this week's Torah portion, Pinchas, we read a wonderful account of how Judaism shifted the world’s paradigm on how to treat people, especially women.
Jun 30, 2023
The second portion of this week’s double parshah of Chukat/Balak is centered around the character of Bilaam, the seer - and prophet-for-hire -- those who he cursed would indeed be cursed; those who he blessed would indeed be blessed. The Moabite king Balak hires Bilaam to join him and curse the Israelites, whose power and number intimidated him.
Jun 23, 2023
The rabbis of the Talmud taught that Korach was a Torah scholar or Talmid Chacham because of the Halachic questions he asked Moses. They also taught that Korach was wealthy, but used his wealth, not for the benefit of the Israelites, but to further his personal goal of usurping Moses.
Jun 16, 2023
Imagine getting an email from the President of Israel inviting you to attend a gathering called Voice of the People Strategy Lab: The President's Initiative for a Worldwide Jewish Dialogue that would be the first step towards healing the rifts within the Jewish people. Who could say no? Not me!
Jun 9, 2023
Our parashah, BeHa’alotekha, contains one of the classic symbols of Jewish religion, the menorah. The menorah is a symbol that was absorbed from the outside culture but became a primary channel of Jewish teaching and values. This development itself illuminates the Jewish way through history.
Jun 2, 2023
This week’s Dvar Torah on parsha Naso -- which contains the very well-known Birkat Cohanim or priestly blessing -- is adapted from the speech that Rabbi Efrat Zarren-Zohar gave in acceptance of the JPRO Miami Lifetime Achievement Award.
