May the Force Be with You A D’var Torah for Parshiyot Aharei Mot - Kedoshim By Rabbi Enid C. Lader (AJR '10) “The Eternal One spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the whole Israelite community and say to them – You shall be holy, for I, the Eternal your God, am holy.” (Lev. 19:1-2) How would you define “holy”? What does it mean to “BE holy”? These are questions I asked Gavriel as we prepared for his becoming a bar mitzvah last year. Upon hearing my questions, he looked at me with a blank expression, but I could tell that he was thinking… and thinking… and hesitantly answered, “Religious?” Years ago, I had learned about and then taught other Jewish educators and teachers about Interactive Family Homework; this seemed like Read More >

See Me A D’var Torah for Parshiyot Tazria-Mezorah By Rabbi Greg Schindler (AJR '09) “See Me Feel Me Touch Me Heal Me” “See Me, Feel Me” (The Who) There was once a fellow who was so forgetful that, when he got up in the morning, he could not remember where he had put his clothes. One evening he had a great idea: He took a pencil and paper and wrote down exactly where he placed each item of clothing. He placed the note on his nightstand and fell asleep. The next morning, he saw the note and read off each item in turn. “Pants – on chair”. And there they were. “Shirt – on bed post.” There was his shirt. “Hat – on hook behind door.” And there it was. Suddenly, a worried Read More >

Parashat Shemini doesn't lack for themes but the one which stood out for me as I began to prepare this D'var Torah is one that "speaks" to me every year when we read this parashah - namely, the theme of silence. Although Aaron's silence is of course in an almost inconceivably tragic context all its own, I've been recalling and searching for other instances of silence in the Bible and in contemporary literature as well as in the area of mourning practices. An example in the latter category is Chaim Potok's well-known book, The Chosen, which powerfully and poignantly explores the theme of silence between fathers and sons. Rabbi Harold Kushner also explores the concept of silence in his widely-read book, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. In it, he deals with Read More >

Normally I look forward to my trips to Israel with much anticipation and excitement. Even following the horrific attack of October 7, and with an ongoing war, I was still looking forward to being with my people.