Recent Writings
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Behar – Bechukotai: Walking upright and unafraid
Read more →: Behar – Bechukotai: Walking upright and unafraidIn our parashah, God vows to enact a series of blessings and curses for the Israelites—blessings if they observe the commandments, and curses if they do not. In…
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Parashat Emor: Making the Holy One, holy.
Read more →: Parashat Emor: Making the Holy One, holy.The point of being Jewish is to have a relationship with God. Yet, a relationship implies a certain give and take, and there is little in the Torah…
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Acharei Mot – Kedoshim: Holiness is about sharing
Read more →: Acharei Mot – Kedoshim: Holiness is about sharingThe holiness code detailed in Leviticus 19 opens with the command: “You shall be holy for I the Lord your God am holy.” The chapter then goes on…
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Tazria-Metzorah: Our people’s approach to life
Read more →: Tazria-Metzorah: Our people’s approach to lifeWhile Rabbis often dread having to preach about our Torah portion (who likes to speak about skin eruption called tzaraat), it is a very suggestive one, and presents,…
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Yom HaShoah: Reinstating the memory and names as a permanent remembrance
Read more →: Yom HaShoah: Reinstating the memory and names as a permanent remembranceWhen someone we love passes away, we experience deep sorrow and grief. We miss that person’s presence and caring. We miss the support and all that we shared.…
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Torah Sparks: Resurrection of the death?
Read more →: Torah Sparks: Resurrection of the death?This coming Shabbat, we have a dramatic haftarah reading from Ezekiel 37:1-14. The prophet shares the vision of dry bones coming to life. What does this vision have…
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Pesach Seder: A very Jewish version of a symposium
Read more →: Pesach Seder: A very Jewish version of a symposiumThe most well-known thing that Jewish people do during Passover is to gather together for a ceremonial festive meal called a seder. The main thing to understand about…
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Torah Sparks: Teach it to your children
Read more →: Torah Sparks: Teach it to your childrenAn old saying teaches that we believe what we see, but the reverse is often true: we see what we believe. And what we believe is often coloured…
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Torah Sparks: Shabbat haChodesh—Time is relevant
Read more →: Torah Sparks: Shabbat haChodesh—Time is relevantThe spiritual cycle of the Jewish year depends on an interaction among the flow of holidays, the marking of Rosh Chodesh (the new month) and the weekly Shabbat…
