Category Torah

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…

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…

The word kadosh is usually translated as “holy,” as in the Holy Land, the Holy of Holies, the Holy Ark, and the High Holy Days. Three times a day, in the K’dushah part of the Amidah, the standing prayer, we…

After the successful registration last weekend, campaigning has returned to South Africa. And, as a result, it is inevitable that there will be debates about race, empowerment of different classes and the status of foreigners in South Africa. Once again,…

The portions of Tazria and Metzora are perhaps for many of you very uncomfortable portions of the Torah, dealing with all kinds of issues related to ritual purity and impurity. Ritual impurity, or tumah, has nothing to do with hygiene.…

The book of Leviticus has the unfair reputation for being boring and inaccessible. But this week’s portion, Sh’mini, has some of the Bible’s pomp and ceremony as well as drama and intrigue that proves that reputation wrong. The portion opens…

Purim is an unusual holiday in many respects. First, Esther is the only biblical book in which God is not mentioned. Second, Purim, like Chanukah, traditionally is viewed as a minor festival, but elevated to a major holiday as a…

In Parashat P’kudei, God gives very explicit instructions for how the Mishkan, the Tabernacle, is to be set up, including the frame, the metalwork, the jewels and the tapestries. It seems that not a detail is omitted. The entire portion,…