The AJR Center for Judaism and Science has an annual competition for the best student D’var Torah infused with science. Click here to view the entries that have won our לדעת חכמה (Lada’at Hokhmah) Award.
Parashat Balak – 5785
July 8, 2025
Rabbi Rob Scheinberg
“Listening to the Whole Story” A D’var Torah for Parashat Balak By Rabbi Rob Scheinberg “A man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest.” When Simon and Garfunkel sang these words more than 50 years ago, it was not in a political context, but this concept seems so relevant to contemporary politics. Whether with regard to American issues, Israeli issues, internal Jewish communal issues, or any other topic, many of us are so wedded to our preexisting assumptions that we pay deep attention to anything that supports what we already believe, and dismiss even reputable information if it challenges what we already believe. I often see this tendency in myself; I try to resist it, and I sometimes succeed. Balak, the king of the Moabites and the namesake of this week’s Torah portion, may be the Torah’s most outstanding exemplar of this tendency towards selective attention and confirmation bias. The Torah portion of Balak is...
Parashat Hukkat – 5785
June 30, 2025
Rabbi Marge Wise (AJR '21)
A D’var Torah for Parashat Hukkat By Rabbi Marge Wise (AJR ‘21) As someone who has struggled with understanding the concept of s’khar v’onesh, reward and punishment in Judaism, I find in parashat Hukkat perhaps a partial answer. Volumes have been written about what Moshe may have done wrong in this parashah, why God reacted as He did, whether it was Divine punishment and if it was, what can we learn from it. Although I’m tempted to discuss some other themes in this parashah – the parah ha-adumah, the red heifer, the effect on Moses of Miriam and Aaron’s death, the plague which killed 15,000 individuals and the copper serpent cure, I’m determined to remain faithful to the theme of Moses’ striking the rock – twice – and what follows, in the hope of gaining additional insights into the subject of reward and punishment. I searched through many commentaries because I was unhappy with the focus on punishment for Moses’ act of hitting...
Parashat Korah – 5785
June 24, 2025
Rabbi Greg Schindler (’09)
Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and The 250 Men A D’var Torah for Parashat Korah By Rabbi Greg Schindler (AJR ’09) Tom Stoppard’s 1966 play, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, brings to the forefront two minor players from Hamlet – the couriers, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. While they prepare for, and perform, their small parts in the play, unknown scenes occur “offstage” (in Shakespeare’s Hamlet) that have major impacts on their lives. This week’s Torah portion, Parashat Korah , is named for the insurrection led by Korah and his accomplices, Dathan and Aviram, against Moses. And – like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern – there are another 250 characters who play minor roles and whose lives are affected by “offstage” events beyond their knowing. וַיִּקַּ֣ח קֹ֔רַח בֶּן־יִצְהָ֥ר בֶּן־קְהָ֖ת בֶּן־לֵוִ֑י וְדָתָ֨ן וַאֲבִירָ֜ם בְּנֵ֧י אֱלִיאָ֛ב וְא֥וֹן בֶּן־פֶּ֖לֶת בְּנֵ֥י רְאוּבֵֽן׃ וַיָּקֻ֙מוּ֙ לִפְנֵ֣י מֹשֶׁ֔ה וַאֲנָשִׁ֥ים מִבְּנֵֽי־יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל חֲמִשִּׁ֣ים וּמָאתָ֑יִם נְשִׂיאֵ֥י עֵדָ֛ה קְרִאֵ֥י מוֹעֵ֖ד אַנְשֵׁי־שֵֽׁם׃ Took Korah, son of Izhar son of Kohath son of Levi, along with Dathan and Abiram sons...
Parashat Shelah – 5785
June 16, 2025
Rabbi Ḥazzan Luis Cattan
A D’var Torah for Parashat Shelah By Hazzan Rabbi Luis Cattan Nahbi and Geuel had grown up in the brickyards of Egypt, where children learned to whisper dreams only in the dark. They shared the same clay dust, the same lash, the same bitter herbs—but never friendship. Nahbi, son of Vophsi of the tribe of Naphtali, was careful and calculating, known for his smooth tongue and cautious mind. Geuel, son of Makhi from the tribe of Gad, was shrewd and ambitious, always watching from the shadows. They admired each other’s strengths in the way adversaries do—always measuring, never trusting. Now, with the miraculous Exodus behind them and the covenant of Sinai fresh in their memories, they were suddenly leaders—appointed chieftains of their respective tribes. And rivals once more. As the twelve chieftains stood before Moses, the air was thick with anticipation and uncertainty. His instructions were precise, devoid of sentiment: “When Moses sent them...
Parashat Beha’alotekha – 5785
June 9, 2025
Rabbi Cantor Inna Serebro-Litvak ('16)
A D’var Torah for Parashat Beha’alotekha By Rabbi Inna Serebro-Litvak (AJR ’16) When I was six years old, my father took me on a camping trip with his coworkers and their children. (In Russia this was considered to be a team building activity). My favorite memories of that time include sitting around the campfire, listening to the singing (someone would always bring a guitar), baking potatoes in the coals and watching the flames shooting up in the dark. I was fascinated by the beauty and the variety of shades of orange, the sound of the burning wood, the smell, and the smoke that rose up to the heavens. I thought that the campfire was a beautiful thing! A few years later I learned the hard way that a beautiful fire can also be very dangerous and bring horrific destruction. Here is how I learned the lesson about the power of...
