What does shalom, peace, really mean to you? At the Rabbinical Assembly convention in Dallas this past week, I had a chance to explore this question while studying this week’s parshah, Behukotai, with Dr. Walter Hertzberg, who teaches Bible at JTS. The question arises because of a phrase early in the Torah portion, when God promises blessings if Continue Reading »
It’s always a pleasure to have a guest giving the dvar Torah, as we do for Lay-leader Shabbat this week. But since we always use this spot as a kick-start to the Shabbat morning dvar Torah, our darshan, Robert Fogel, welcomed my invitation to give you something to think about in advance of his teaching. Parshat Behar, which Continue Reading »
Earlier this week, the Boston Marathon went on without incident. One year after deadly bombings rocked the event, we had opportunity to look back at the attack and reflect on the courageous responses of the city of Boston, the running community, and other heroes who emerged from the story. This week’s parshah, Kedoshim, contains many famous phrases, Continue Reading »
Along the way during the seder, as we’re telling our story, we make mention of being chosen. “In the beginning our ancestors served idols,” but then God brought us close in order to do things differently. From the outset, this was our promised destiny. Even before learning that one day his descendants will be enslaved, Continue Reading »
We’re coming to the last Shabbat before Passover. For those who are expecting a long sermon in Yiddish exhorting you to prepare properly for Pesah, you may find yourself disappointed. We’ll have many opportunities to discuss the themes of the holiday throughout Yom Tov. This Shabbat, though, we welcome back our recent initiative, “Breakout Shabbat.” Continue Reading »
It’s not very often that the Torah tells us about illness. Generally, Biblical characters get old and die, or meet with a violent death. The language near the end of Genesis about Ya’akov’s illness suggests that even the concept of a terminal illness was foreign enough to be surprising to others. But this week, in Parshat Metzora, illness Continue Reading »
Have you ever encountered Westboro Baptist Church? I once saw them on a street corner near the UN compound. I was headed to a pro-Israel rally, and they were perched on the sidewalk chanting offensive, anti-Semitic lyrics to the tune of Hava Nagila. I walked by and burst into laughter at their pathetic, harmless attempt to Continue Reading »
We’re going to spend the next several weeks of Torah portions grappling with the theme of kedushah, usually translated as holiness. The problem, as I see it, is that we can’t define holiness with much certainty either. Whether our Torah is addressing the special regulations for the kohanim, or the dietary laws, both of which appear in Continue Reading »
I’m excited that on Shabbat morning, the teaching, Torah reading and davening will be done by members of the community–we call it Lay-Led Shabbat. I don’t want to steal Steve Teleky’s thunder, as he’s giving the dvar Torah. So instead, I’ll give a brief hint about my Friday evening dvar Torah on this week’s parshah, Tzav. A Continue Reading »
Imagine taking something that is precious to you, giving it away of your own free will and volition, and watching it go up in smoke. By the end, your prized possession is nothing but a pile of ashes, soon to be swept away so that the next person’s prized possession can be burned in its Continue Reading »
