Bekhukotai: The God I Believe In
The yearly Torah-reading cycle is a beautiful thing. Every week, when I look at the parashah for the upcoming Shabbat, I see something I hadn’t noticed before. I also the same words year-after-year, but find different understandings of them, depending on what’s going in the world, the area, my life.
Behar: Our Bodies, Ourselves, Our Land
This Shabbat we read parashat Behar, “on the mountain,” and from that mountain–Sinai–God gave Moses the commandments regarding Shmita and Yovel, the sabbatical and jubilee years, where the land was to lie fallow, not being planted or harvested.
Kedoshim: How Are We Holy?
What does it mean to be kadosh, “holy,” or “sanctified”? I always used to think it meant “elevated,” or somehow, “better than” something or someone else.
Achare Mot: “I Can DO It Myself!”
Years ago Joan Collins did a commercial for Jack LaLane Fitness Centers. She asked her butler to bring her her shoes and gym bag. When he asked if perhaps he should exercise for her, she replied, “There are some things one must do for one’s self.”
Life: The Luck Of The Draw
The Talmud (28a) shares, “Rava said: Length of life, children, and sustenance do not depend on one’s merit, but rather they depend upon fate.
Vayechi: Spiritual Care For The Dying
What Jacob needs from Joseph isn’t physical or medical care; he has 11 sons and their families to take care of him. What he needs from his favored son is spiritual support.
Vayetze: 50 Years Later
This Shabbat marks 50 years since I read the haftarah for Vayetze at my Friday night bat mitzvah at B’nai Torah in Trumbull, CT. Where has the time gone? Who could have imagined that 50 years later I’d be a rabbi, have been married–and be a mother–more than half of my life?
Toldot: Because Labels Are For Cans
When our children are born, we have hopes, ideas and preconceived notions about how they’ll turn out based on our own families of origin, our lives and our environment.
Vayera: Putting God On Hold
This week’s Torah reading, Vayera, opens with: Vayera ay-lav Ado-nai bay-lonay Mamray v’hu yoshev petakh ha-ohel b’khom hayom, “And God appeared to him (Abraham) by the groves of Mamre; he was sitting at the entrance of the tent in the heat of the day.”
Ted Lasso’s Lech Lecha Moments
The second season of Ted Lasso, Apple TV’s award-winning TV show, finished last week, and I’m left with so many questions about what’s going to happen next season!
Noah: Because God Had to Grow Up Too
What does it mean to be righteous in one’s generation, and what’s the role of the Divine Creator in all of this?
The Shmita year, Rosh Hashanah 5782, Day 2
There are very few things in life that don’t seem better after a good night’s sleep, or even after a nap. While not everyone wakes up in the morning ready to bounce out of bed and start the day–and I so appreciate the invention of the snooze button–the scientific...
Mental Health, Rosh Hashanah Day 1, 5782
Comedian Jerry Seinfeld does a standup routine about the Olympic Games, and speaks about the silver medal, and how he’d almost rather come in last than win silver; “It’s like, congratulations, you almost won.” He points out in that in some of the contests, such as...
Nitzavim: What Difference Will We Make?
In this week’s Torah reading, Nitzavim, Moses speaks to the assembled Israelies, nitzavim hayom kul’chem lifnay Ado-nai elo-haychem… l’ov-r’kha biv’rit Ado-nai elo-hecha “standing here today, together, in front of the Lord your God, to enter into the covenant with the Lord your God.”
Ki Tavo: What Are We Really Afraid Of?
In this week’s Torah reading, Ki Tavo, we have what’s called the Tochecha, the curses or the rebukes; essentially, the terrible things that will happen if the Israelites, once settled in the Promised Land, don’t follow God’s commandments.
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