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Imagine… Parashat Behalotecha begins with the instructions that the light of the menorah was to be structured in such a way as to shine toward the people. The Torah teaches us that GOD uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary tasks and that they are judged by their hearts and given specific roles. We read that […]
Are you here to serve or to be served? The word Naso means to be lifted up or to be counted. I’d like to continue the idea from my last week’s message: “Are we being counted?” The last count was where God was organizing and counting the Levites. He had already counted the twelve tribes […]
GOD is Counting on you “In reality, GOD placed each member of the body as he saw fit.” (Rav Shaul, 1 Corinthians 12:18) In the writings of Rav Shaul an important teaching is implied: GOD knows which cells to place in the human body to fulfill its function, so when a cell behaves poorly, disease […]
You can’t dance at two weddings! I watched a short video this week where an Israeli woman was warning Norway, one of the many countries that are presently recognizing the Palestinian state and condemning Israel. She was holding two books in her hands; one was entitled the History of the Palestinians with Arabic words on […]
What is holding us back from being the best that we can be? This parashah Behar is the second to last in the book of Leviticus, Vayikra. So many things have been done to this book by the religious with their banquet of theological ideas. I prefer to develop it as an application for our […]
This week’s portion Emor, which means “to speak,” contains the following topics: First, the regulations governing the life and offerings of the cohanim; second, the Moedim, God’s Appointed Times in the Jewish calendar – Shabbat, Yom Teruah, Yom Kippur, Pesach, Shavuot and Sukkot; third, the ordinance regarding olive oil for lighting the menorah and the […]
Is there a Great Architect? Parashat Kedoshim begins in Vayikra 19:1-2: “יהוה spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the entire Israelite community and say to them: You shall be holy (kadosh), for I, your GOD יהוה, am holy.” Another way of saying this is: “Tell all the Israelites that they are to be a people […]
Is Our Morality Consistent with the Torah? This parashah Achare Mot begins in chapters 16 and 17 with the regulations on Yom Kippur for the Cohanim. It is to serve as a reminder to us of the death of the two sons of Aaron and as a warning about how important it is to follow […]
“Let my people go” This very special Shabbat falls in the middle of Pesach when we celebrate and commemorate the Eternal saving us from slavery in Egypt. Many of our sages call it the “festival of freedom” because it represents a “leap” from being slaves to being free. It is a moment when we rose […]
Am I as proud as Pharaoh or as humble as Moses? April 20, 2024 Shabbat Hagadol Leviticus 14: 34 – 35 says, “When you come to the land of Canaan, which I give to you as a possession and I put the disease of tzaraat in a house in the land you […]
