Va’E VaEt’chanan – 5779 Deuteronomy 3:23 – 7:11 “Shamor v’zachor” opines the poet in the beautiful L’cha Dodi prayer: “Observe and remember.” These words come from the Ten Commandments, or more specifically, the commandment to make every seventh day a shabbat, a day of rest and refreshment for both body and soul. In the book […]
Devarim (Shabbat Hazon) – 5779 Deuteronomy 1:1 – 3:22 We live in a complicated world, where senseless hate and violence are becoming ‘normalized’ and fear of ‘others’ is reaching new heights. This weekend, in Torah and Jewish observance, our tradition compels us to confront hate and fear though our weekly Torah portion, a special Shabbat […]
Mattot/Masei – 5779 Numbers 30:2 – 36:13 On Shabbat we will conclude the book of Numbers, which is a bigger deal than you might think: the narrative of our journey from Egypt to the Promised Land is just about complete, and some would say, ends here with Israel encamped on the edge of the Jordan […]
Sample Parent’s Blessings 1. May you live to see your world fulfilled, May you live to see your world fulfilled, May your destiny be for worlds still to come, And may you trust in generations past and yet to be. May your heart be filled with intuition and your words be filled with insight. May […]
Pinchas – 5779 Numbers 25:10 – 30:1 This week, instead of offering my own commentary, I’d like to share a sermon by Rabbi Jack Riemer. I have never met Rabbi Riemer, who is a retired conservative rabbi in Florida, but have long admired his homiletical genius from afar. When I read this week’s sermon I […]
Saturday Morning Torah Study Every Saturday 9:00 am – 10:00 am Saturday morning Torah Study is open to anyone interested in lively discussion of our heritage and its roots. You are invited to join a verse by verse examination of the Torah, a close reading of the text where all opinions and commentaries are encouraged. […]
Balak – 5779 Numbers 22:2 – 25:9 “Mah Tovu Ohalecha Ya’akov, mishkenotecha Yisrael – How goodly are your tents O Jacob, your dwelling places O Israel!” [Num. 24:5] With these words the pagan prophet Balaam blessed the people of Israel, despite his commission from King Balak to send a destructive curse instead. How do we […]
Chukat – 5779 Numbers 20: 1-29 On these hot days, we can all relate to what it’s like to be thirsty. It was no different for the Israelites traveling in the wilderness in the area now known as Kadesh. Moses and Aaron’s sister Miriam, the Prophetess, who was one of the Israelite’s spiritual leaders has […]
Korach – 5779 Numbers 16:1 – 18:32 If the first part of the book of Numbers is about making plans to keep things in order, this middle part is about how life gets messy. Last week the Israelites were condemned to 40 years of wandering the in wilderness because they let their fears trump their […]
