Beshalach: Manna
In Parashat Beshalach, G-d begins to provide manna for the Israelites wandering in the desert. If you look carefully, with your heart, with the eyes of…
Read articleTwo Prayers for Matot-Masei 5777
Here are two prayers for this week’s double Torah reading: Matot-Masei. Matot stresses the sacredness of vows to God. They’re serious, solemn and binding. “Vows” portrays…
Read articleV’Zot HaBracha: Unseen Lands
As the Torah closes, Moses goes up from the steppes of Moab to Mount Nebo. G-d shows him the land. He sees from afar. So much…
Read articleHa’azinu: We Are Music
In this week’s parasha Ha’azinu (Deut. 22), Moses sings a majestic farewell song, beginning by calling on the heavens to hear. The Haftarah (II Sam. 22:1-51)…
Read articleAvraham, Waiting (Spoken Word Version)
This is half prayer prayer, half Torah drash written as spoken word poetry. In Tanach, ‘hineni’ — ‘here I am’ — is a response to a direct…
Read articleMetzora 5776: Take Me Apart
Parashat Metzora details a particular form of leprosy that afflicts the mortar of a home (Leviticus 14:33-53). The home itself gets a spiritual sickness. This home-leprosy…
Read articleBreisheit: Evidence of Holiness
In a patch of sky seen from the South Pole, researchers say they have glimpsed the beginning of time, a faint microwave glow of the Big…
Read articleKi Tavo: Be the Blessing
This week’s parasha, Ki Tavo, lists blessings and curses. “All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you, if you harken to the voice of…
Read articleKi Teitzei 5775: Amalek Within
Amalek is the arch-villain of Torah. This week’s portion, Ki Teitzei, refers to an incident in Exodus just after the people crossed the Red Sea. The…
Read articleShofetim: To the Streets
One of Torah’s famous instructions appears in this week’s parsha: “Justice, justice shalt thou pursue…” (Deut. 16:20) The context is establishing a legal system, but our ethos…
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