The Sages of Rabbinic Tradition posit that there are 613 Mitzvot (Commandments) and that each of these Divine Decrees finds its origin in a particular scriptural verse*1. And though generally speaking the proof-texts cited appear plausible, I never cease...

In her powerful book, “Kitchen Table Wisdom,” Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen writes: “I suspect that the most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen.  Just listen.  Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is...

Many years ago when I was a hospital chaplain providing pastoral care to Jewish patients and residents of all of the local hospitals and nursing homes in the Denver area, I met a young woman in a locked psychiatric unit who had attempted suicide.  I...

The 2012 Summer Olympics in London are something that I have been looking forward to for some time. The competition and sporting feats are intriguing and exciting to follow, but what also draws me to be a big fan is the “Olympic Spirit.” Every four...

Numbers ends in much the same way that it began: with a list of the princes of each tribe, standing on the plains of Moab, preparing to enter into the land promised to their ancestors. Numbers 34:17-19 states, “These are the names of the men who shall...

If peace is the absence of conflict, then there are at least two paths to peace.  In a conflict of winners and losers, violence and dominance is a path to peace. One “side” overcomes the other, and imposes terms. The winner enjoys peace, the loser...

Sage advice gives quiet strength in the midst of turmoil. Scholars of Torah are sometimes called sages. I might call the author Parker Palmer a sage. Palmer comes from the Quaker tradition — which like our own is committed to an abstract, indivisible...

Who among us hasn’t emerged from narrow straits? Is there anyone who hasn’t come through a fraught situation, maybe bruised but not beaten; blemished but not broken? Our Torah portion this week, Chukat, is famous for its enigmatic law of the Red Heifer....

Every so often, the people in the Torah pray. Maybe not as often as we might expect from such a holy text, but they pray, and sometimes with breathtaking intensity. Patriarchs and Matriarchs, lowly servants, great kings and humble shepherds, prophets...

In this week’s Torah portion, Shelach, the Jewish people have completed the short trek from Mount Sinai to the Land of Israel. God tells them to send the heads of each tribe as spies to spy out the Land of Israel. After 40 days the spies return. Ten...

As the fourth book of the Torah opens, God orders Moses and Aaron to take a census of the people, specifically those males who are of the age of conscription.  The Israelites still have many challenges to face, as they continue their journey from Mount...