Tag: Torah sparks by Rabbi Schell
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Parashat Yitro – Shabbat rest becomes a taste of the redemption
Our Torah portion includes the “10 commandments”. While most of us recall the commandments not to murder or to honour our parents, many forget one of the 10 statements is to observe the Shabbat day. According to our tradition, this law is as important as any others. But why?Why do we observe Shabbat rest? The…
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Parashat Beshalach – Entering the dance floor of life
This Shabbat is known as Shabbat Shirah, “Shabbat of Song,” because on it we read/chant the epic poem, Shirat HaYam, “Song at the Sea,” contained in the Torah portion B’shalach. The musical/poetic nature of the reading is compounded with the haftarah portion that includes Shirat D’vorah, the “Song of Deborah” within the selected passage from…
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Parashat Bo – Never again!
Our Jewish tradition speaks frequently about the gift of memory. The festival of Passover is the prime example of the importance that Judaism places on memory. Every holiday and Sabbath are to be observed as “a memorial of the Exodus from Egypt.” In this week’s Torah portion we read the words that “this day shall…
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Va’era – The cup of Elijah
This week’s Torah portion begins with God informing Moses that God’s Covenant with the Patriarchs is not forgotten, and Redemption will soon take place. In Exodus 6:6-8, we have five different expressions relating to the Redemption: ‘Vehotzeti Etchem’ (I will take you out); ‘V’hitzalti Etchem’ (I will rescue you); ‘ V’Ga’alti Etchem’ (I will redeem…
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Parashat Shemot – Not everyone is bad
At the beginning of 2011, while protests were happening in Egypt against the regime of Hosni Mubarak, a joke did the rounds, which claimed that the Jews had warned the Egyptians that they would refuse to rebuild the pyramids if they got destroyed by the violent protests which swept through the country. This joke may…
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Parashat Va-y’chi: It is not the end of the story, but only the beginning
This Shabbat, we conclude the Book of Genesis with Parashat Va-y’chi. Whenever we finish reading a book, even a book of Torah, it is important to reflect on where we have been, what we have covered since the beginning of the book. Rabbi Jonathan Sacks notes that Genesis, like the Tanach as awhole, “is a story without…
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Thank God the Maccabees did not want to be called Adrian
After last weeks parashiot focusing on Jacob/Israel and his older sons, Parashat Vayeishev (24.12.) introduces the concluding narrative of the first book of Moses with telling us the story of Joseph who is first sold by his brothers into slavery and than rises to second in command after pharaoh in Egypt.It is interesting that Shabbat Chanukah nearly always coincides with the…
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Parashat Toldot: It is about seeing—and not seeing
Our parasha reports the way Isaac was tricked into giving Jacob the blessing for the firstborn, taking advantage of his blindness. But was Isaac really blind, was he really not able to notice that it was Jacob who stood in front of him, and not Esau?History is sometimes made by averting our eyes. The contrast…
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Parashat Chayei Sarah: After my death
Say this when you mourn for me:There was a man- and look, he is no more.He died before his time.The music of his life suddenly stopped.A pity! There was another song in him.Now it is lostforever. . . …
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Parashat Vayera: Our Isaac.
The story of the Akeidah, the “Binding” of Isaac, is certainly one of the most terrifying and troubling accounts in all of the Torah. The Rabbis since the dawn of Rabbinical discussion have been arguing its merits and problems. How could the same Abraham who argued with God to save Sodom and Gomorrah have acceded…
