By Rabbi James Stone Goodman
• Published October 14, 2015
Come on back in, Noah. You had such a good start, a guy with promise. The way the Book refers to you, ish tzaddik (Gen.6:9), such a lofty description. A righteous man. Maybe that’s what held you back, too much opportunity. Maybe you had too much and...
The creation narrative at the beginning of the Torah presents the creative activity of God, punctuated with proclamations of goodness. But on the sixth day of creation, the day on which humanity is created, the Torah tells us that “God saw all that...
By Maharat Rori Picker Neiss
• Published September 30, 2015
The greatest joy often is found in the most uneventful moments. The Torah commands us to be especially joyful on the holiday of Sukkot. In the book of Leviticus, we read, “On the first day you shall take the product of hadar trees, branches of palm...
By Rabbi Roxanne J.S. Shapiro
• Published September 9, 2015
You stand this day, all of you, before the Eternal your God … to enter into the covenant of the Eternal your God. … I make this covenant … not with you alone, but both with those who are standing here with us this day before the Eternal our God...
By Rabbi Mark L. Shook
• Published September 2, 2015
26 When you have entered the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance and have taken possession of it and settled in it, 2 take some of the firstfruits of all that you produce from the soil of the land the Lord your God is giving you and...
By Rabbi Lane Steinger
• Published August 26, 2015
Laws of warfare presented in last week’s Torah portion are continued this week in Ki Teytzey. This parashah begins with the treatment of a woman captured in war (Deuteronomy 22:10-14), who must not be sold for money or enslaved — very different from...
By Rabbi Deana Sussman
• Published August 12, 2015
What does it mean to really see something? In many ways, the old adage “do mine eyes deceive me?” poses an unanswerable question. Our eyes play tricks on us; our senses may not tell us the entire truth.In Parshat Re’eh, God asks the Israelites to...
When watching the local news or reading the headlines, it can be depressing to learn about all of the suffering and hardship in our community and in the world. Stories about crime, shootings, war and other acts of violence often dominate the top stories....
By Maharat Rori Picker Neiss
• Published July 29, 2015
The emotion is palpable. Moses, the great leader of the Israelite people, has devoted his entire life to the Jewish people and to bringing them closer towards the fulfillment of God’s promise that they be God’s people in the Holy Land. He has...
Torah records ideas that represent hope for humankind. The Book of Numbers ends with an obligation for justice and a respect for boundaries. Deuteronomy, or D’varim in Hebrew, is the last of the five books of Torah. It represents a repetition and a...
By Rabbi Carnie Shalom Rose
• Published July 8, 2015
“If Your Torah was not my source of inspired delight, I would surely succumb to the afflictions and vicissitudes of life!” — Psalms 119:92I never cease to marvel at the profundity, relevance and contemporaneity of our Holy Torah’s teachings,...
A quiz. If someone offers you a suggestion for improvement in some area of your work or personal life, do you: A) ignore the advice; B) take the advice seriously; C) take the opportunity to give this person some “advice” you’ve been waiting for...
