This Shabbat we celebrate the festival of Shemini Atzeret. This festival has always puzzled me. My confusion I believe is in part because in a Reform context where only one day of each festival is celebrated (following the practice in Israel), Shemini Atzeret and the following festival Simchat Torah, are celebrated together. As a result […]
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 is no wonder that the rabbis arranged the reading of the Torah so that Nitzavim isalways read the Shabbat before Rosh Hashana. Rosh Hashana is not only the firstday of the New Year, but also the first day of the month of Tishrei. Tishreicorresponds to the astrological sign of Libra, the month symbolised by […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
