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…
The Little Prince and the Torah (Shavuot)
My favorite book is The Little Prince. I’ve probably read this delightful book dozens of times. In high school, I was inspired to take French…
Choosing a Path, Choosing Life (Behar)
This portion of Behar toward the end of Leviticus is similar to the rest of the book. God continues to instruct the Israelites regarding God’s…
Rembering One Life, Remembering 6 Million (Yom Hashoah)
Shabbat Shalom. In the movie Grand Canyon, Steve Martin’s character says, All of life’s riddles are answered in the movies! This quote came to mind…
Counting the Omer: Measuring Time, Measuring Ourselves
Jews have always measured time. The Mishnah informs us that we do not just have the one new year of Rosh Hashanah. Not content to…
Israelite’s Freedom, Israel’s Freedom: Reflections on President Obama’s Israel Trip
Sometimes, particularly in this book of Leviticus that we started reading from last week, the Torah can seem convoluted, murky … difficult to understand. When…
I Call to God, God Calls to Me (Vayikra)
One of my favorite Torah passages occurs in the first portion of Exodus. Moses had just killed an Egyptian taskmaster, and Moses ran away to…
Enough Already! (Vayakhel/Pekudei)
A few years ago, I got into electronic music production. I have what is known as a MIDI keyboard, a piano keyboard that plugs into…