Parshat Behar addresses the inevitability of poverty. And though the common translation of Leviticus 25:35 says “If your kinsman, being in straits, comes under your authority,” the Torah uses the word “Ki”–not “if,” but “when.” It is bound to occur that we will encounter among us needy whom we must strengthen. In his commentary on Continue Reading »
The Kohen Gadol, the High Priest in ancient Israel, was subject to great privilege. He led a family that lived off the foodstuff of the masses, he wore special clothes, and he had extraordinary access to God through ritual and the sacred precincts of the Temple. In theory, he would never have to worry about Continue Reading »
It’s my annual custom to buy a few new haggadot each year in the weeks leading up to Pesah. This year things got rather hectic, so my first real opportunity to shop came the Sunday before Yom Tov at a Judaica store in Toronto. One of my new purchases is called The Haggadah Connection; the Continue Reading »
“Mah nishtanah haPesah hazeh mikol HaPesahim–How different is this Pesah from all others!” The last time I spent the seders with my parents was 1996, a month before my ordination from JTS. The last time we were in Toronto for a seder was 1977; I was in third grade. The only time in the interim Continue Reading »
The haftarah for Shabbat Metzora’ tells the story of a besieged Samaria, in economic crisis and on the verge of famine so extreme that cannibalism was an appealing option for some. Just before we pick up the narrative in II Kings 7:3, the prophet Elisha has announced great news: the market will recover immediately. But Continue Reading »
For the obsessive-compulsive among us, the next month on the Jewish calendar is one long field day. With Pesah soon to arrive, we start cleaning, and cleaning, and cleaning some more. The night before the seder, as Erev Pesah begins, we are even so obsessed as to go into all the rooms we’ve cleaned and Continue Reading »
The Shabbat before Purim is known as Shabbat Zakhor, because the word “zakhor–remember”–is the opening word of the special maftir reading. The Torah commands us explicitly to remember what Amalek did to us on our way out of Egypt, attacking the stragglers as they made their way to freedom. But whereas most mitzvot address some Continue Reading »
As we begin reading Sefer Vayikra, the Book of Leviticus, we find ourselves waist-deep in sacrifices. The central focus of ancient Israel’s ritual, sacrifices are foreign to us today. But in truth, we make them all the time. They may not involve quite as much blood and smoke, but still we sacrifice. Of course, the Continue Reading »
We find ourselves at the stage between collection and construction. The materials for the Mishkan have been gathered; the people have been more than generous. The time has come to put it all together, and eventually, Moshe will set it up. But first, there’s business to conduct: an audit. Seriously, now! The project was commissioned Continue Reading »
When Jesse Owens ran, or Baryshnikov danced, or Judy Garland sang, it was clear to those who witnessed them that they were destined to perform at the highest level. Sure, they had to work hard to achieve fame, but they began with a gift of raw talent, genius, a calling. Apparently, when the Biblical artist Continue Reading »
