What are the Jews? Not a religion, for there are many who would say they are Jewish but are not religious. Not a nation, for a nation is identified with its land and shared culture, and Jews have not had a land for most of their history and do not share...

The Book of Deuteronomy really could be called the Book of Departure, as the Israelites are about to cross into a new land. It is called D’varim in Hebrew. It means the Book of Words, or Things. It also is referred to as the Book of Admonishment because...

The parashah begins with the clue-word, va-et-cha-nan — and I entreated or I implored or I prayed — who implored? Moses implored God at that time, saying such and such.I perched on the text, just there, with the first word, because it’s about Moses,...

This week we begin the reading of the fifth book of the Torah, Devarim (“Words”), with the parashah of the same name. The format of this week’s parashah as well as the entire book of Devarim is that it is written in Moses’ words and not as if...

Each summer, I have the privilege of serving on the faculty at the Union for Reform Judaism’s Goldman Union Camp Institute (GUCI) in Zionsville, Ind. One day this summer, I was working with a cabin as campers  prepared to share reflections during...

What would you do if one day you were told: “It is your time to die, get your affairs in order.”  What would you be thinking about? What would you want to get done? Need to get done? Can you even imagine how you would feel?In this week’s parashah,...

When does passion turn to extremism? Sometimes it catches us by surprise. This week’s Torah portion, Balak, plays out this drama before our eyes. The narrative and poetry weave the tale of Balaam, a foreign prophet hired by Balak, the king of Moab,...

In Parashat Hukkat, our sages read the absence of water that follows Miriam’s death as alluding to the drying up of the well that traveled with the Israelites throughout their journeys, given as a gift in merit of Miriam (Bavli Talmud Ta’anit 9a).What...

“Stop,” I’ve said. “You’re climbing too high!” “Don’t play with that, it’s sharp!” “You could get lost in those woods!” I’ve even said, to my embarrassment, things the really boil down to, “Careful! Don’t try that, the...

The Israelites still are in the Wilderness. They still are preparing to inaugurate usage of the Mishkan/Dwelling-place, the portable wilderness Sanctuary or Tabernacle. Our Torah portion opens with these words: “The Eternal spoke to Moses as follows....

In Naso, we learn about the laws of the Nazirites, individuals who vow to live a certain portion of their lives with a heightened attention to holiness. I have long been fascinated by this phenomenon, most notably because as part of their vow, the Nazirites...

In our Torah portion, B’midbar, we find the Children of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. In fact, our Hebrew name for the portion has a different meaning than that of the English.  In Hebrew, B’midbar refers to the “Wilderness” (or desert),...