Tetzaveh Ex. 27:20 – 30:10  Rabbi Gary Pokras  “… a perpetual burnt offering for your generations at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting before the Lord, where I shall meet with you there and speak to you.” (Ex. 29:42)  In Parashat Tetzaveh we are introduced to the establishment of daily sacrifices. The Hebrew word […]

Terumah Ex. 25:1 – 27:19  Rabbi Baht Weiss  There’s a verse we read this week in Parshat Terumah that says,                      “Ve’asu li mikdash veshachanti  betocham,”            “Build for Me a Sanctuary that I may dwell among them.” (Exod. 25:8)                  This reminds me of the line “If you build it, they will come,” from the movie […]

Mishpatim Ex. 21:1 – 24:18  Rabbi Gary Pokras   “You shall neither deceive a stranger nor oppress him, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.” (Ex. 22:20)  Two weeks ago, in our exploration of parashat BeShallach, we highlighted the central importance of our origin as slaves in Egypt. Our history of oppression helps us […]

Yitro Ex. 18:1 – 20:23  Rabbi Baht Weiss   Parshat Yitro is named after Moses’ father-in-law, Yitro in Hebrew, Jethro in English.  The beginning of the Torah portion tells us that Yitro is a Midian priest, not a Jew.  It acknowledges that Moses’ wife Tziporah is of non-Jewish descent.  Moses and Tziporah’s two children are Gershom, […]

BeShallach (Shabbat Shira) Ex. 13:17 – 17:16  Rabbi Gary Pokras  My father has a theory about Judaism; he says that it is impossible to observe a Jewish holy day without food. As a kid I said, “Oh yeah? What about Yom Kippur?” He smiled and answered my question with a few of his own: “What […]