“They called Rebecca and said to her, “Will you go with this man?” And she said, “I will go.” (Genesis 24:58) The Torah is typically parsimonious with words, so why … Continued
Parashat Vayera (Genesis 18:1-22:24)
“Avraham journeyed from there to the land of the Negev, and he lived between Kadesh and Shur.” (Genesis 20:1) If “honesty is the best policy” why does God fudge the … Continued
Parashat Lekh Lekha (Genesis 12:1-17:27)
“And Abram moved his tent and came an dwelled in the plains of Mamrei which are in Hebron; and he built there an altar to Adonai.” (Genesis 13:18) In Parashat … Continued
A View From Jerusalem – November 2016
New Beginnings Today, exactly 76 years ago, on the 10th of the Hebrew month of Heshvan 1940 the Nazi government issued the order to gather all Jews in Warsaw into … Continued
Parashat Noach (Genesis 6:9-11:32)
“Noah was six hundred years old when the flood came, waters upon the earth.” (Genesis 7:6) Yehuda Kurzer (President of the Shalom Hartman Institute of North America) says we read … Continued
Parashat B’reishit (Genesis 1:1-6:8)
“The Lord God took the man and placed him in the Garden of Eden to till it and tend it.” (Genesis 2:15) Here we go again. Parashat B’reishit begins the … Continued
Shabbat Chol Hamoed Sukkot (Intermediate Shabbat of Sukkot) / (Exodus 33:12-34:26)
“Moses hastened to bow low to the ground in homage.” (Exodus 34:8) Each day of Sukkot has a special Torah reading. The selection for Shabbat Chol Hamoed describes what happens … Continued
Parashat Ha-azinu (Deuteronomy 32:1-32:52)
“And Moses came and spoke all the words of this song in the ears of the people, he and Hoshea, son of Nun.” (Deuteronomy 32:44) Parashat Ha-azinu is the next-to-last parasha, … Continued
Parashat Vayelech (Deuteronomy 31:1-31:30)
“Then Moses recited the words of this poem to the very end, in the hearing of the whole congregation of Israel.” (Deuteronomy 31:30) Parashat Vayelech begins the epilogue both to … Continued
Parashat Nitzavim (Deuteronomy 29:9-30:20)
“The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words … Continued