Category: Rabbi’s Dvrei Torah

Here is a different suggestion for how we can understand the ‘blessings’ or the ‘curses’ which are presented as a choice for us to decide between in this week’s Torah portion. It’s either/or. We can choose blessing, or we can choose curse, says Parashat Ki Tavo. This is from a poem by Aaron Zeitlin (b.…

According to the great 12th century philosopher and scholar Moses Maimonides, this week’s torah portion, Ki Tetze, contains 72 mitzvot, commandments — more than any other portion of the Torah. Yet now during the month of Elul when this portion is always read, we tend not to focus on the minutia of the law as…

There is a curious phenomenon: Many people on airplanes tend to cry, or even weep, while watching movies on long-haul flights. Various theories have been suggested as to why, from the psychological to the physiological. I once started sobbing during the “oompa-loompa” song in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and the tears didn’t stop for…

This Shabbat is the Shabbat just prior to Tisha B’Av. It is called Shabbat Chazon, the “Shabbat of Vision”. In the Torah we read Parashat Devarim, and the haftarah begins with the words חֲזוֹן יְשַׁעְיָהוּ, chazon Yishayahu, “the vision of Isaiah.” Maybe we need to dust off of this word חֲזוֹן, chazon – “vision”. We…

We’ve all had the experience of having said or done something that reveals who we truly are. Sometimes those moments are heroic or profoundly kind, generous, or brave. Often, we find ourselves forced to admit we are not yet the person we aspire towards or think ourselves to be. The Torah in these week’s parasha,…

Which seems more intriguing to you, more poetic and inviting: the idea of “Numbers” or “In the Wilderness”? Which is more likely to be in your weekend plans – playing Sudoku or going for a hike, watching a sunset, enjoying your garden’s beauty? For those of us who struggled with math in school, it might…

Which seems more intriguing to you, more poetic and inviting: the idea of “Numbers” or “In the Wilderness”? Which is more likely to be in your weekend plans – playing Sudoku or going for a hike, watching a sunset, enjoying your garden’s beauty? For those of us who struggled with math in school, it might…

This week’s Torah portion, Bechukotai, is known for its stark, black-and-white warning, called the tochecha: Either follow God’s laws and observe the commandments – maintaining the covenant – and receive blessings; Or, disobey God and not observe the commandments – spurning the covenant – and receive the worst misfortune and suffering imaginable. The choice is…

This week’s Torah portion, Emor, reviews the details of all the major Jewish holidays: Pesach, Shavuot, Sukkot, Rosh HaShana, and Yom Kippur. While each has its importance and relevance for our lives, and each adds meaning and depth to our existence in its own way, on only one of these holidays are we specifically commanded…

Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel used to say: on three things does the world stand: On justice, on truth and on peace, as it is said: “execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates.” (Zechariah 8:16) Explanation by Dr. Joshua Kulp: Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel in this mishnah is not the same Rabban Shimon…