D'var Torah

In Parashat Pinchas, we learn an important lesson through the story of a man named Zelophehad, the patriarch of a family with five daughters. When Zelophehad dies, his property is distributed to male relatives, skipping over his five daughters. Had these daughters been sons, they...Read more...

How do we carry forward the legacies of people we’ve loved, and lost, after they die? How do we find our own way forward, for ourselves?

These are two of the central questions of this week’s Torah portion, Chukat. In Chukat, we meet the Ancient Israelites in a time...Read more...

In the face of the unknown, how are we to navigate our own fears?

This is one of the central questions of our Torah portion this week, Shelach L’cha. As Shelach L’cha opens, that Israelites are standing on the edge of the Promised Land, and God commands...Read more...

In this week’s Torah portion, Naso (Numbers 4:21-7:89) we learn about the Nazirite – a person who volunteered to observe certain personal restrictions either in repentance for a past behavior, as an act of prayer for something in the future, or in gratitude for some...Read more...

This week’s Torah portion, Bechukotai, is a tricky one.

Bechukotai means “by My laws” (or literally, “in My laws”), and it contains a deceptively simple proposition: if we follow the laws given to the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai, a number of...Read more...

Parashat Emor contains 63 of the Torah ’s 613 mitzvot, many of which direct us on how to sanctify time. Chapter 23 and 24 of Leviticus deal with the laws of Shabbat, Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah.  In this chapter we learn about not only the when of the Jewish...Read more...

Since the second day of Passover, we have been in a period of counting the Omer, the seven-weeks between Pesach and Shavuot. Each day, we say a blessing...Read more...

Passover is one of my favorite holidays, and the seder is one of my favorite Jewish rituals. Each year, we have the opportunity to dramatically recreate our story- we ask big questions, eat crunchy dry Matzah, sing songs, and leave a door open for Elijah. In the Passover Haggadah, we read a phrase that has always inspired me to feel connected to my ancestors. 

בְּכָל־דּוֹר וָדוֹר חַיָּב אָדָם לִרְאוֹת אֶת־עַצְמוֹ כְּאִלּוּ הוּא יָצָא מִמִּצְרַיִםRead more...

We each mourn in different ways. Some get very emotional. Others are silent. And others find ways to occupy themselves through work or other activity. I’m not going to suggest that there is a right or wrong way to mourn. Psychologists may tell you one thing; clergy may tell you another. I believe that ritual...Read more...

In this week’s portion, the first in the book of Vayikra or Leviticus, the people have just completed construction of the Tabernacle, the portable sanctuary they will carry with them throughout their wanderings. Now God’s presence, which has already been manifest through the pillar of cloud that leads the...Read more...

In this week’s Torah portion the Israelites Vayakhel - gather to create their sacred physical space, the Tabernacle or Tent of Meeting which they carried through the desert on their way to Land of Israel. Just a short time ago, I returned from another experience of gathering for a...Read more...

This week we read in the Torah the instructions for the ordination of the priests, as well as the clothing they will wear when they perform their duties. The splendor of the clothing is striking, including a “breastplate of judgment” and a crown inscribed with the words, “Holy to the Lord,” both...Read more...

In our parashah this week, Mishpatim, we move from our narrative Exodus story to hearing about the laws that outline how the Israelites should live and create their community. Chapter 24, verse 3 of Exodus reads: “Moses went and repeated to the people all the commands of God and all the rules; and...Read more...

This Parasha takes its name from the second word of the Torah portion. B'shalach means "when he sent forth" and refers to Pharaoh's decision to free the Israelites. Led by Moses, they depart from Egypt, but Pharaoh changes his mind and decided to chase after them. When the Israelites see Pharaoh's armies...Read more...

Do I contradict myself?/ Very well then, I contradict myself./ (I am large, I contain multitudes.) — Walt Whitman, “Song of Myself”

This week’s Torah portion, Va’era (literally, “and I appeared”), opens with an auspicious act of self-revelation:

“God spoke to Moses and said...Read more...