Pesach Day 7 Ex. 13:17 – 15:26; Num. 28:19-25 Rabbi Gary Pokras  We did it! We left Egypt! Now what?  As our celebration of Pesach concludes, the Torah narrative shifts from the moments of the actual Exodus from Egypt to what comes next:  “And it happened when Pharoah sent the people off that God did […]

Pesach Day 1 (Shabbat)  Ex. 12:21 – 12:51; Num. 28:16-25 Rabbi Baht Weiss   A week before Passover I engaged in one of my favorite activities, putting on a gray wig and beard, grabbing a wooden staff (stick) and walking down to our preschool classrooms to perform my role of Moses. It is always a great […]

Metzora 5782 (Shabbat HaGadol) Leviticus 14:1 – 15:33 Rabbi Baht Yameem Weiss  This week’s Torah portion Metzora speaks about contamination that can affect people’s homes.  Leviticus 14: 34-36 says, “When you enter the land of Canaan that I give you as a possession, and I inflict an eruptive plague (nega tzaraat) upon your house in […]

Tazria 5782 (Shabbat HaChodesh) Leviticus 12:1 – 13:59 Rabbi Gary Pokras  Once, a friend who is a Methodist minister asked me how I would handle a crisis of faith so deep that it would challenge my commitment to Judaism. I remember thinking for a while before answering his question with another question, which is what […]

Shemini 5782 (Shabbat Parah) Leviticus 9:1 – 11:47 Rabbi Gary Pokras    Things start to move quickly in Shemini: the altar and the priesthood are dedicated with pomp and ceremony, and then later, Aaron’s sons are consumed by Divine fire for not following the laws of sacrifices. With all this drama, it is understandable that […]