May, 2020 | Geeky Rabbi

Count Each Person. Each Person Counts.

This week’s Torah portion is a continuation of the first census. At the beginning of the book of Numbers, God says, Take a census of the whole Israelite community by the clans of its ancestral houses, listing the names, every male, head by head.

Several months ago, I was at a meeting of the Athens-Clarke County Census Complete Count Committee, and was asked to share a religious teaching that might connect to the then upcoming American Decennial Census. My mind immediately went to this verse.

May 29, 2020

Judaism and Religion

In the summer

In the summer of 1992, I had just graduated High School. I was excited to start college as a music student at Florida State University (I transferred to UF after one year), but I was pretty nervous about living in the dorms. I knew about Camp Coleman because my cousin and some good friends went every summer, and I thought to myself that going there for a summer as a counselor would be a good experience before I transition to college.

May 11, 2020

Judaism and Religion

After Death Comes Life

There are some people that know the Torah memorized. These individuals know where each verse begins and ends, and are aware of each and every trope. But even these individuals read the Torah portion every week, even though they know it completely; chapter and verse so to speak …

May 1, 2020