Old Testament (Tanakh)
What’s In A Word?
This past week we had another double portion, Achrei Mot-Kedoshim. This comes right after the death of Aaron’s sons Nadav and Avihu. Aaron had two other sons, Elezar and Itamar, but we will talk about them some other time. Today I am going to focus on what happened right after these deaths. It is a…
Read MoreOf The Heart
This past week we had a double Torah portion of Tazria-Metzorah. I just want to focus on a single verse from the first portion, Leviticus 12:3. This might seem an “interesting” verse to focus on, it is the verse dealing with circumcision: on the eighth day the flesh shall be circumcised. I have talked about…
Read MoreWalk This Way?
This week’s Torah portion is actually two, vayakhel and pikudei. I am going to focus this week on the first. We are all familiar with the story of the stone tablets that Moses smashed when he realized that the people were involved in the sin of the golden calf. What is interesting is that the…
Read MoreWhat’s It Worth?
This week’s Torah portion is Mishpatim and it can be a bit confusing if you didn’t grow up in a Jewish context or if you don’t know about Jewish tradition. It can even seem a bit barbaric because this is the portion in which we are introduced to the concept of an eye for…
Read MoreRoundabout?
Samuel David Luzato, know as the Shadal, from Padua is not be confused with Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzato. The Shadal brings up very interesting points about this week’s Torah portion, Beshalach. In Chapter 13 of Exodus God says that he is going to bring the Israelites, not on the shortcut through the land of the…
Read MoreCan You See It?
So this week’s portion is Bo and in it we learn about the Passover, but not just the order to kill the first born sons, but how to celebrate in the future. I was given a beautiful Passover Haggadah as a gift. It was given as a gift to someone on their bar mitzvah in…
Read MoreWhat’s In a Name?
This week’s Torah portion is Shemot, which means “names”. It is the first of the book of Exodus. There are many things to talk about in the portion but we will start with Rashi and Pharaoh’s three advisors and see where we go from there. At the very beginning of Exodus it tells us that…
Read MoreThe River of Life
This week’s Torah portion is Miketz, the continuing dramatic saga of the life of Joseph. This portion begins with the phrase “at the end of two years.” Now Joseph has already been in prison for ten years for a crime he did not commit. Two years before we pick up the story the chief cupbearer…
Read MoreAt What Price?
This week’s Torah portion is Vayeshev. But before I get to that, thank you everyone for your prayers and good thoughts. I tested positive about a week and a half ago and now am feeling better and hopefully will be coming out of quarantine soon. So this portion is about Joseph the sale of Joseph…
Read MoreWhat To Do?
This week we studied the portion vayeitzei in which Jacob dreams of a ladder to heaven. In the very first verse of this portion we learn that Jacob has left Bersheva, travelling to Haran, so we know he is on a journey. The rabbis, the ancient sages of Israel, tell us that when a righteous…
Read More