In our tradition we are accustomed to seeing each festival as a separate moed (sacred time) and not connected to other festivals in any explicit way. Jewish mystics however saw the festivals as deeply interconnected mapping for us a journey from brokenness to a place of clarity and joy. The holidaycycle we are in now […]
It can easily be understood why this coming Shabbat, Shabbat Shuva, the one immediately following Rosh Hashanah and before Yom Kippur, can be seen as a letdown. We have just finished Rosh Hashanah, we are in the midst of the Ten Days of Repentance and are looking toward the marathon of Yom Kippur. Who among […]
A Life Affirming Path Set before each of us is the choice between life and goodness or negativity. The process of atonement or At One-ment, is what helps us navigate our way between the two choices. This week’s Torah reading discusses the idea that each person has a choice, at every moment, whether to go […]
In the opening of this week’s parasha, our ancestors the extraordinary expectation of our ancestors of us. Moses says: “The Lord your God commands you this day to observe these laws and rules; observe them faithfully with all your heart and soul. You have affirmed this day that the Lord is your God, that you […]
This week I read a commentary about our Torah portion by Rabbi Shira Milgrom titled: “We Are What We Remember.” And before I read her thoughts, I started to wonder whether that was true, and if indeed it was, what does our portion this week say about us? In it, we are exhorted to remember […]
The book of Deuteronomy stands apart from the four books of Moses that precede it. Our Torah narrative began with the creation of the world in the book of Genesis and the journey of our patriarchs and matriarchs. It then dramatically crescendoed in the book of Exodus with freedom from slavery in Egypt and continued […]
The book of Deuteronomy stands apart from the four books of Moses that precede it. Our Torah narrative began with the creation of the world in the book of Genesis and the journey of our patriarchs and matriarchs. It then dramatically crescendoed in the book of Exodus with freedom from slavery in Egypt and continued […]
There is a new concept introduced into this week’s parasha, Terumah. It is not the idea to build a place of worship. That is not unique or radical. Many faiths and religions make it a point to construct a centralised place of worship or gathering where the rituals are to take place. What makes the […]
This week’s Torah portion, Shemini is from the book of Leviticus and deals with a very strange and tragic incident: Nadav and Avihu, Aaron’s two oldest sons, while laying incense on fire that they brought to the alter were consumed by that fire. The Torah does not give us any reason for the unexpected death […]
