Category Archives: Torah Portion

Chukat: Walking Into Darkness

Posted on June 14, 2013 by

“I don’t get no respect.” -Rodney Dangerfield “Rebbe!” the man cried. “Nobody gives me respect! Everybody steps all over me and my opinions!” —“And who told you to fill the entire space with yourself, so that wherever anyone steps, they … Continue reading →

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Korach: Learning How to Dance

Posted on June 7, 2013 by

There are two rebellions this week. First, Korach, a Levite, was passed over for the leadership of his tribe and then challenges Moshe over the position of High Priest. No good rebellion can be “sold” as a means for personal … Continue reading →

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Shelach: Going Up

Posted on May 31, 2013 by

But the men who had gone up with him said, “We cannot attack that people, for it is stronger than we.” Thus they spread calumnies among the Israelites about the land they had scouted, saying, “The country that we traversed … Continue reading →

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Behaalotecha: The Journey of Grass

Posted on May 24, 2013 by

Then Moses said to Hobab, son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are journeying to the place about which the L‑rd said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Go with us, and we will be good to you.” -Numbers … Continue reading →

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Bamidbar: Desperately Loving a Prostitute

Posted on May 10, 2013 by

On the face of it, the connections between the sedra and the haftarah of Bamidbar are slender. The first has to do with demography. Bamidbar begins with a census of the people. The haftarah begins with Hosea’s vision of a … Continue reading →

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Gathering Jerusalem

Posted on May 3, 2013 by

He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. -Acts 28:30-31 So ends Luke’s … Continue reading →

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Behar-Bechukotai: Christians by Choice

Posted on May 3, 2013 by

But if you will not listen to me and will not do all these commandments, if you spurn my statutes, and if your soul abhors my rules, so that you will not do all my commandments, but break my covenant, … Continue reading →

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Shoshie’s Rules

Posted on April 25, 2013 by

In Parashat Emor we are commanded, “Do not desecrate My Holy Name, and I shall be sanctified within the Children of Israel.” These two mitzvot (commandments), desecrating God’s Name and sanctifying it, can be interpreted as very general principles that … Continue reading →

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Acharei Mot-Kedoshim: Why We Fail to Walk with God

Posted on April 19, 2013 by

My ordinances you shall do, and My statutes you shall observe, to walk with them, I am the Lord, Your G-d. -Leviticus 18:4 What does the Torah mean “to walk with them?” The Ksav Sofer, a famous Hungarian rabbi, commented … Continue reading →

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The Torah’s Great Principle

Posted on April 18, 2013 by

Rabbi Akiva said, “Love your fellow as yourself” is a great principle of the Torah. A similar principle is gleaned from the famous story of a proselyte who wished to convert to Judaism on condition that someone would teach him … Continue reading →

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