A major theme of this parsha is conduct and ethics reflecting the idea that we should be holy as Hashem is holy and we have been given the gift of creativity which is what Hashem does. Create. There are instructions about the growth and productivity and care of trees, and the story is told of…
Guilt and shame. We all suffer from them at times. How do we release ourselves from these negative feelings? We can make amends with those we have hurt. And symbolically as a community we can acknowledge our responsibilities. The ritual in this week’s parsha speaks of two goats who represent us. One is chosen to…
The three parshot that includes this one all talk of the crime of lashon hara – evil tongue. We all have been living in times of gossip and slander. For our sages this was equal to murder, and we have seen how so many young and old have been destroyed by words. One of the great Jewish sages, the…
This parsha initially speaks to birth. The Midrash speaks to the newborn having all the wisdom and knowledge of Torah and more, but as the child emerges an angel touches it above its lips – the philtrum – and with this new cleft, all this understanding is concealed and even forgotten. We have to relearn…
This story always jumps out when reading Torah. Here the sons of Aaron, Nadab and Abihu wanted to get as close to Hashem as possible. There is much commentary on what happened to them. We know their bodies died on approaching the Holy of Holies where the ark is kept, and which officially can only be approached…
Moses was given the responsibility to construct and prepare the Mishkan in the middle of the desert. He was to anoint his brother Aaron and his four sons to become the leading Kohanim. Part of the process was to immerse them in a mikveh submerging them completely with not a hair protruding above the water…
This parsha starts the next book of the Torah, called Leviticus in English. In it are enumerated many, for our times, obscure instruction regarding sacrifices. To get applicable guidance from these chapters takes some juggling. One theme may be humility. Another may be connection – connection to the past and all living creatures. As to…
Here Aaron who was the first Kohen Gadol wore the Urim Thummim – the first AI computer? When asked a question, letters on the jewels would light up as G-d’s answers. Here the question as to who would lead the people confronting the Canaanites it was Judah according to the lit-up letters to take on…
A time of miracles. Moses was shown on Mt. Sinai the objects that would be in the Mishkan, but the creation of these was given to a 13-year-old. Bezazel (whose name translates as in the shadow of G-d) was able to make the structures using the Hebrew letters which some sages say preceded all manifestations….
What do we believe? Who do we believe? The Hebrews had experienced the most profound revelation in our history. Then Moses had ascended the mountain saying he would return in 40 days. Now the angels had objected to humans receiving wisdom and Torah saying that they didn’t deserve it and one of them, sometimes called…