A D’var Torah for Parashat Bereisheet By Rabbi Michael Kohn (AJR 2009) There are numerous cycles embedded within a Jewish year – the daily cycle of prayer, the weekly cycle of ordinary days and Shabbat, the monthly cycle of new moons, and the annual cycle of holidays and festivals. This week we experience another yearly cycle, as we start to read the Torah once more from the beginning. Making our way through the first six days of Creation, we learn that the word “tov”, usually translated as “good”, appears seven times. The light on the first day was tov (Gen 1:4). The land and the seas were tov (Gen 1:10), as were the seed-bearing plants and trees of every kind bearing fruit (Gen 1:12). The Read More >

A D’var Torah for Parashat Ha’azinu By Rabbi Dr. Matthew Goldstone Prayer fills the season of repentance and it is at this point in the calendar when we read Moses’ final prayer, the last song before his demise: Ha’azinu. It is fitting that Ha’azinu aligns with this season as it includes praise for God, but also recognition of people’s mistakes – some of the main themes of the high holidays. One verse in particular calls out to us at this moment (Deut. 32:20): וַיֹּאמֶר אַסְתִּירָה פָנַי מֵהֶם אֶרְאֶה מָה אַחֲרִיתָם (I will hide My countenance from them, And see how they fare in the end…). Ibn Ezra points out two dramatically opposed ways of reading this verse. One way to understand this verse is that Read More >

Caring and Compassion A D’var Torah for Parshiyot Nitzavim-Vayeilekh By Cantor Sandy Horowitz For verse after verse Moses has been speaking to the Israelites in the form of commandments and exhortations, the threat of curse and the promise of blessing. Parashat Vayeilekh brings a different tone, somewhat softer, as we near the end of our annual Torah reading cycle.  (Spoiler alert – there will be more exhortations after this! But for now, let’s take a pause.) For forty years Moses has led the Israelites on their journey towards the promised land. He has reached the age of 120, and his life, like our Torah cycle, is coming to an end.  As the people prepare to cross the river Jordan, Moses has been told by God Read More >

The Ground of Choice A D’var Torah for Parashat Ki Tavo By Rabba Kaya Stern-Kaufman In this week’s Torah portion, Ki Tavo, we are witness to a grand ritual; a dramatization depicting the landscape of choices within which we all reside at all times.  One half of the Israelite tribes are told to stand on Mt. Gerizim while the other half of the tribes are to stand on Mt. Ebal. Between the two mountains lies a valley, a middle ground within which the tribe of Levi is to stand. From this middle ground of choice, the Levites call up to those on Mt. Ebal with a series of curses that will result from choices rooted in idolatry, dishonesty, greed and lust. The Levites then call Read More >