Make your voice count!
How many times have we meant to call our legislator, wanted to sign that petition but let it fall to the bottom of our e-mail inbox, planned to sign up for a shift at the soup kitchen or intended to…
Rabbi Adrian Michael Schell
Proudly Jewish - Proudly Progressive
Rabbi Adrian Michael Schell
Proudly Jewish - Proudly Progressive
Category Torah
Parashat Pinchas: Leading to better communication and understanding
Parashat Balak (last week’s reading) has quite a disturbing end. The short chapter reads like a report that predicts the end of “Project Exodus”. The situation in the camp is chaotic, all boundaries are fallen and no one cares anymore…
Chukkat: A wonderful role model
Reading Parashat Chukkat, we engage ourselves quite often in the discussion of Moses’ big mistake which resulted in God’s severe punishment. Why is he prohibited to enter the promised land, why can’t he enjoy the fruits of his hard work?…
Parashat Sh’lach Lecha: We looked like grasshoppers to ourselves
I think it’s fair to say that just about everybody knows that the Israelites were condemned to wander in the wilderness for forty years – a biblical generation. But what led to it, is less well known. This week’s parashah—Sh’lach…
What in God’s name is happening in this, our world?
The news on Sunday was shocking, confusing, and unspeakably tragic. What in God’s name is happening in this, our world? Last week Tel Aviv, this Sunday Orlando, and next week …? There is so much pain. In thousands of places…
The Torah belongs to us all
This coming Sunday we celebrate the giving of the Torah from God to the Jewish people. This extraordinary moment is recorded by the Torah as follows: “You stand this day all of you before Adonai your God; your captains of…
Parashat B’midbar – Lift up the head
Coming Sunday (5 June/28 Iyyar) we celebrate Yom Yerushalayim, one of several Jewish holidays com-memorating events of war in the modern State of Israel. This one recalls Israel’s regaining of the Old City of Jerusalem during the Six Day War…
Parashat B’chukotai: Once upon a time there was a king
Once upon a time there was a king who had a wonderful and very large palace. The palace was decorated so beautifully that it took people’s breath away when they entered. There was, however, one very long and wide hall…
Parashat Behar: Back to the top
After several chapters about purity and the sacrificial system, our Torah portion “Behar”, feels necessary to refer back once again to the time of the revelation of the Torah. This chapter appears as if it is an afterthought, something that…
Parashat Emor: The real essence of the Torah
A teacher asks his student, “What is the essence of the Shabbat?” She responds, “The essence of Shabbat is that it is a sign of God’s creation of all things in seven days.” “No,” the teacher responds, “that is not…