What’s In a Word

This week’s Torah portion is Vaera, on of my personal favorites. And it is a favorite because of the relationship between the brothers Moses and Aaron and the way in which they help each other. Moses makes the excuse that he is a person that cannot speak well and so God sends his brother Aaron…

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Peace with Strength

This past week we studied Vayishlach, the portion that contains a continuation of the narrative between the twin brothers Jacob and Esau. There has been enmity between them since the birthright incident. Jacob has now been told that his brother’s hatred toward him has softened a bit,  perhaps now it is safe to approach Esau.…

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Where’s the Lamb?

This week’s portion is Vayeira, which includes the story of the binding of Isaac. This story is central to Judaism and Christianity. A misrepresentation of this story is also central to Islam. What I mean by a misrepresentation is that Islam believes that it was not Isaac who went up with Abraham but Ishmael. That…

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Walk or Swim?

This past week we learned about Noah or Noach, one of the most popular biblical stories especially with children. Probably because it tells of the animals going two by two on a great adventure on a boat. But if we dig a bit we see that there is a lot more going on in this…

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In The Beginning

Happy 5781 to you all! I had an amazing High Holy Day season, just finishing with Sukkot and Simcha Torah and I trust that you and your family had a wonderful season as well. So, better late than never, this past week we started all over. We have rewound the scroll and found ourselves back…

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Getting Back Up

Last week’s portion (yes I’m a few days behind!) was Ki Tavo. There is a verse at the top of the portion that says accursed is anyone who does not uphold this Torah. Now this sounds like it could be bad news for you and I who are not perfect. Are we accursed because we…

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Who Knew About Fish?

This week’s Torah portion, Re’eh has in it the kosher laws. Although we have spoken of it before, I remind you that the kosher laws were not meant for health but because they cause you to eat differently, to make different choices about eating than any other nation on earth. God’s purpose was not necessarily…

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Journeys

This week we have a double portion, Matot-Massei. These portions speak of the journeys of the children of Israel coming out of Egypt. Why is the word journeys plural here in the Torah? The answer is about the 42 encampments that were part of the journey from Egypt to the promised land. These were places…

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The Scarlet Pagans?

So I am going to take you back a few chapters before getting to this week’s portion, Pinchas. In Numbers 15 we were given the commandment of tzitzit, the wearing of tasseled or fringed garments. The sages say that the reason the men of Israel were given this commandment was because, as translated into English,…

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The Missing Letter

This week’s Torah portion is Shelach. But before we delve into that I would like to thank everyone for the positive response we have had to Kosher Pastor. We have had dozens of people signing up for the program from so many different nations, all over the world. It really seems that in these recent…

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