Parashat Tetzavah forms the middle of a lengthy multiweek set of instructions given to the Israelites for the construction of God’s dwelling place. God speaks to Moses, and outlines in precise and sometimes difficult-to-follow language every possible...

After weeks of recounting stories of the miracles that God performs on behalf of the Israelites — from a small bush aflame but never consumed to plagues that continuously haunt the Egyptian people, the awe-filled phenomenon of the Exodus and the astonishing...

At my most recent checkup, my physician shared with me some of his family history. It was a particularly difficult time for his family, as only recently had the hospital that his father and two Jewish physicians founded closed its doors forever. As he...

Reb Moshe Leib loved his fellow Jews so much that he searched daily for lost souls. In one of his excursions, he found himself in a tavern and overheard the following exchange between two Russian peasants:  Declared the first: “I love you, my...

Part of my morning ritual is sitting down to a reheated bowl of overnight steel cut oatmeal, adorned with ancient grains and seasoned with toasted flax seeds. To the right of my bowl sits a mug of iced coffee and to my left is my trusty tablet reader...

Throughout my life, I’ve rarely been afraid of the dark. In fact, I often have been drawn to the darkness, particularly to find the beauty that can be seen only when it becomes dark. When we escape the “light pollution” of human origin, we can discover...

Parashat Vaera, which will be read this coming Shabbat in Jewish communities the world-over, opens with God preparing Moshe Rabbenu, Moses our great teacher, to encounter/confront the Pharaoh of Egypt, and ends with the graphic description of the Makkot,...

This week we begin the book of Shemot, Exodus. Our parashah, Shemot, meaning “names,” seems to be a misnomer. In the first few verses, we get a list of the names of Jacob’s sons who entered Egypt, and then “a new Pharaoh arose over Egypt who did...

There are certain things that some of us don’t discuss in polite conversation. Religion. Politics. Money. Maybe sickness. We certainly do not talk about death. However, at some point in our lives we become aware of our  mortality. To be human means...

By Rabbi James Stone GoodmanI had a conversation with a customs official one year while traveling to a foreign country. When he asked: occupation please, I said reading and writing. The man said, I mean what do you do for a living. I repeated: reading...

It is difficult to determine what is more fantastic: that our Torah is full of such dramatic stories of lies and deceit, or that the main characters in these stories are all the good guys.Jacob starts the cycle of duplicity. He tricks his father and his...

By Rabbi Jonah ZinnFinding meaning in the experiences of our biblical ancestors is an age-old struggle. With each weekly Torah reading, we seek to discern how these stories are relevant to our lives. These tales help us learn about ourselves. They provide...