We Cannot Be Jews Without Israel
During every single evening service, Jews recite the Hashkivenu prayer. Within the service, we recite it between the Mi Chamocha and the Amidah. It is a petitionary prayer in which we ask God to be able to rest…
The Plague of Gossip (Metzora)
You may remember that earlier in Exodus, God commands the building of the tabernacle. The measurements are precise and exacting - a certain number of cubits for this ... a specific color for that ... God doesn't just…
Still Enslaved, Even During Passover: Reflections on Hate
Soon after the Exodus from Egypt, God teaches us: You shall neither mistreat a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
Who Moved My Matzah? (Shabbat HaGadol)
(tell story about everyone bowing in synagogue … ) We do things that we're used to. We have a “usual” drink at the coffee shop, we sit in the same seat at meetings and conferences ... we tend to go to bed around the same…
Does Everything Happen for a Reason? (Sh'mini)
Everything happens for a reason. Many of us have probably said this, and if not, we’ve certainly heard it. Someone loses a job, ends a relationship, or the Bulldawgs lose a game. And to make sense of these sorts of…
Remembering to Forget (Shabbat Zachor)
Judaism has lots of interesting, unique, perhaps even esoteric rituals. But the most interesting that I've learned revolves involves a sofer, a Torah scribe. The ritual involves Amalek, an awful enemy of the Jewish…
Drawing Close to God (Vayikra)
This week starts the beginning of the middle book of our Torah, Leviticus. The editors of the Torah were the Levites, the priestly caste that enforced all of the laws and rituals that pertained to the Israelites. It is…
Is Shabbat Really a Day of Rest? (Vayak'heil)
These are the things that the Eternal has commanded you to do: On six days work may be done, but on the seventh day you have a Sabbath of complete rest, holy to the Eternal, whoever does any work on it shall be put to…
Jews Like to Touch Things (Ki Tissah)
Jews like to touch things. When we parade the Torah around the congregation in the hakafah, we place our prayerbook onto the Torah cover and then kiss it. Some of us will tap a finger onto a mezuzah before entering a…
The Best Gift You Can Give (T'rumah)
Why do we need this sanctuary? This room, with its Torahs and arks, the pews and prayerbooks, the ark and the Torah. Don't get me wrong, I love when we gather in here, especially when the heat is working ... There's a…