Tag: Torah sparks by Rabbi Schell
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Acharei Mot – Kedoshim: Holiness is about sharing
The 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 to describe in exquisite detail the means to achieving holiness. Surprisingly these laws are not by and large about rituals but instead about ethical precepts. Do not…
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Tazria-Metzorah: Our people’s approach to life
While 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, an image of the holiness of the Israelite people.Tzaraat is a substance that is supposed to remain inside the body; it is “unnatural” when it flows out,…
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Yom HaShoah: Reinstating the memory and names as a permanent remembrance
When 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. Jewish mourning rituals and customs are meant to help us cope, to face the loss realistically, and to find comfort. Jewish tradition helps us to understand that…
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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 to do with Passover, our festival of freedom, our deliverance from slavery? The Haftarah Commentary, by Gunther Plaut, offers the following opinion on the connection between Passover…
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Torah Sparks: Teach it to your children
An 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 by the stories we’ve learned. In less than two weeks, we are going to celebrate Pesach, Passover. The most important mitzvah for Pesach is to share knowledge…
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Torah Sparks: Shabbat haChodesh—Time is relevant
The 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 (Sabbath) observance. The holidays and fast days sometimes permeate the surrounding Shabbatot (plural of Shabbat) with holiday themes. These special Shabbatot may create the mood for an…
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Parashat Ki Tisa: Lights of Glory
At the conclusion of our parashah, Moshe descends from Mount Sinai with a new set of hewn tablets in hand. The Torah narrates, “Moses was not aware that the skin of his face was radiant [karan or], since he had spoken with God. Aaron and all the Israelites saw that the skin of Moses’ face…
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Purim: Apparel oft proclaims the man
In Hamlet, the character Polonius proclaims, “Apparel oft proclaims the man” – the only thing to add is that apparel no less proclaims the woman. Indeed, our clothing says a lot about all of us. At times, we wear clothes to be noticed, at other times to blend in. Our clothing indicates our status, the…
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Parashat Terumah – Let them make me a sanctuary
At the beginning of our parashah we read the following request from God to Moses: “Tell the Israelite people to bring Me gifts (t’rumah); you shall accept gifts for Me from every person whose heart is so moved. V’asu li mikdash v’shachanti b’tocham. Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them.”But,…
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Parashat Mishpatim – For you were strangers in the land of Egypt
Last week’s parashah contained a magnificent description of the revelation at Mount Sinai. God revealed Godself and gave the Decalogue. The “Ten Commandments” represent the first laws of the mutual covenant between God and Israel, and this week’s parashah contains more of these laws. Our sages pointed out that our parashah starts with the Hebrew…
