Category: Torah
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Parashat Tazria: Impurity is considered to be a spiritual disability
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. Instead, tumah is a spiritual state that prevents a person from participating in the worship life…
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Parashat Sh’mini: Risking mistakes with proper moral intention is what our work should be all about
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 up with Aaron officiating at his first ever sacrificial offering. The entire Israelite community, gather around…
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This year’s Purim celebration, I challenge you to try something new
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 result of the Jewish historical experience. Over the centuries, Haman became the embodiment of every…
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Shabbat Zachor: We can’t tolerate the political abuse of people who suffered under Apartheid
This coming Shabbat is called Shabbat Zachor – the Shabbat of Remembrance, one of the special Shabbatot leading up to Passover. In addition to the regular Torah portion congregations conclude the reading with an additional reading of Deuteronomy 25:17-19. These verses tell us to do something difficult – remember what Amalek did to us after…
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Parashat P’kudei: The freedom to create
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, from Chapter 38:21 to Chapter 40:38, which is the end of the second book of…
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Parashat Vayakhel: I feel blessed to work with those wonderful women
The Torah portion Vayakhel presents Moses’ speech to the Israelite community at one of the many special gatherings during their wanderings in the desert. The speech opens with a brief restatement of the commandment to keep the Sabbath. However, the topic of Moses’ message is the building of the Tabernacle. Moses solicits gifts—gold, silver, copper,…
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Parashat Ki Tissa: Do you believe in God?
‘I hear that nowadays Rabbis don’t have to believe in God – Rabbi, do you believe in God?’I have heard this or questions alike many times in my carrier as a rabbi, and to be honest, it’s a question I’ve asked myself several times, too. There are moments in life, when your belief in God…
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Parashat Tetzaveh: “Clothes make the man”
Parashat Tetzaveh continues with the theme that defines most of the rest of the Book of Exodus: the construction and institution of the Mishkan, the tabernacle. This week’s reading specifically focuses on the Kohanim, the Priests who perform the rituals and sacrifices on behalf of the people. Great detailed descriptions (more than forty verses, an…
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Parashat Terumah: “If you bring Me gifts, I will dwell among you”
Imagine the scene. Moses calls to the entire Israelite community, not long after leaving Egypt and receiving the Torah at Mount Sinai, to offer gifts for the construction of God’s first sanctuary, the mishkan. The people bring a remarkable array of precious metals, fabrics, animal skins, and precious stones—all from a group of people who…
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Parashat Mishpatim and the two men in one boat
The story is told of 2 men in a boat when one suddenly decides to start drilling a hole underneath his seat, the other man protests – “what are you doing, we’re all going to drown”. But the man drilling his hole says “it’s none of your business, I want to drill a hole, I…
