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. Since they’re supposed to be...
Parashat Ki Tetze is one of my favorites–not because of the litany of seemingly unrelated, and in some cases, harsh laws, but because it contains the first topic I studied in my “Intro to Mishnah” class in rabbinical school. Through that, I learned about...
AHARE MOT AND YOM KIPPUR- THE BOOK OF LIFE AND THE BOOK OF DEATH By Rabbi Rifat Sonsino, Ph.D There is a popular belief that it is socially inappropriate to say bad things after a person dies in as much as the dead cannot justify themselves. This is expressed in Latin...
Waiting for the Second Marshmallow, Shabbat Vayikra by Rav Edmond H Weiss, Ph.D. It is still embarrassing, even after studying for so many decades, to remember that, until the destruction of the Second Temple, our principal channel of communication with Israel’s God...
Re-eh, anokhi notayn lifnaykhem hayom b’rakha u-k’lalah “Re-eh, I am placing before you today blessing and curse” This week’s Torah portion is all about vision; the open word, re-eh, can mean “See!” or “Look!” Some commentators translate it as “Behold!” or “Pay...
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