Now Go and Study (Ki Teitzei)
Back in the first century, Hillel was asked to distill all of Judaism into one sentence. A brilliant rabbi and scholar, Hillel thought about Mitzvot,…
Justice and Justice Again (Shoftim)
Our liturgy teaches us that our words should lead to actions: Let us learn in order to teach … Let us learn in order to…
Preparing to Become Ourselves
It’s time to get ready for the High Holidays. There’s a story of a young rabbi that is furiously preparing for Rosh Hashanah and Yom…
Listening to the Sh’ma (V’etchanan)
Sh’ma Yisrael Adonai Eloheinu Adonai Echad – Hear O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. … Our second portion of Deuteronomy,…
Words About Words (D’varim)
If you’ll indulge me in a bit of self-reference, I’m going to use my words tonight to talk about words. God speaks the world into…
Sometimes We Have to Listen to a Donkey (Balak)
This Torah portion has something in common with the movie Shrek. Both feature a talking donkey. … The portion is named after the Moabite king,…
Some Things Just Don’t Make Sense (Chukat)
Our Mitzvot are anything but simple. There are some commandments that we perform at a very specific time, such as the command to honor Shabbat….
Are we Holy? (Korach)
Judaism repeatedly reminds us that argument and disagreement are a part of our religion. The backbone of the Talmud is impassioned argument, as rabbis argue…
How do You Spell ‘Knaidel?’
Knaidel …. K-N-A-I-D-E-L … Knaidel. With that utterance, Arvind Mahankali won the 86th National Scripps Spelling Bee. Arvind is a 13-year old Indian-American living in…
Oklahoma Tornado, the Pope and the Boy Scouts (Beha’alotcha)
Shabbat is a time to reflect on the week that has passed. It is through reflection that we process our life experience, whether they be…