Divrei Torah Archives | Academy for Jewish Religion

9 03, 2026

Parshiyot Vayakhel-Pekudei 5786

By Marisa Amith|2026-03-09T10:23:39-04:00March 9, 2026|

A D’var Torah for Parshiyot Vayakhel-Pekudei

By Rabbi Dr. Matthew Goldstone

Parashat Vayakhel begins with a discussion of Shabbat that barely adds new information. Of the two verses that appear here about Shabbat, one of them (Exod. 35:2) reiterates information that we learned just a few chapters ago (i.e., Exod. 31:15) and the other seems to only provide a single example of what constitutes work – i.e., lighting fire. So why this emphasis on something that largely appears to repeat what we already know?

Starting with the verse that provides new information (Exod. 35:3), we can ask what is so special about kindling fire that the Torah singles this out as a key prohibition for Shabbat? In some ways fire is the quintessential catalyst for transformative work. Fire cooks food, tempers metal, and allows for a plethora of technologies. The modern equivalent is perhaps electricity (understood by some traditional posekim to be Read More >

2 03, 2026

Parashat Ki Tissa 5786

By Marisa Amith|2026-03-02T12:26:10-05:00March 2, 2026|

Found in Translation

A D’var Torah for Parashat Ki Tissa
Rabbi Wendy Love Anderson

The seven standard Shabbat morning aliyot of Parashat Ki Tissa are always unbalanced: the first and second aliyah are disproportionately long so that the second aliyah – traditionally assigned to a Levite – can encompass all 47 embarrassing verses of the Golden Calf incident, Israel’s greatest mistake at that point in its history, and a story in which only the Levites come out looking good. But the Golden Calf story was creating problems for Torah readers long before the standardization of an annual Torah-reading cycle. Mishnah Megillah 4:10 includes it in a list of shameful or confusing Biblical passages, some of which are read aloud in Hebrew and translated into Aramaic for general comprehension, some of which are read but not translated, and some of which are neither read nor translated. The Golden Calf incident is unique in that the Read More >

23 02, 2026

Parashat Tetzaveh 5786

By Marisa Amith|2026-02-23T14:21:08-05:00February 23, 2026|

Gemstones and Judgements

A D’var Torah for Parashat Tetzaveh

By Rabbi Dorit Edut

Although the expression “Carrying the weight of the world on your shoulders” is attributed to the Greek god Atlas, I want to propose that it has a much earlier source: the wearing of the gemstone-studded breastplate by the Kohen Gadol, the High Priest, in the biblical Temple and Tabernacle. It was a physically weighty garment, but that was intentional since the High Priest wore this when turning to God in prayer for the whole Israelite community – a weighty responsibility indeed. It was made also to hold the Urim and Thummim, the special rods which would be used to receive a Divine answer to difficult problems or situations where human decision-making was stuck. But the Hebrew name for this breastplate – Hoshen Mishpat- refers to not only the importance of making clear decisions but also to atoning for the sin of perverting Read More >

16 02, 2026

Parashat Terumah -5786

By Marisa Amith|2026-02-16T11:56:43-05:00February 16, 2026|

Facing Each Other

A D’var Torah for Parashat Terumah

Rabbi Dr. Rachel Posner (AJR ’25)

This week the Israelites are given instructions for a monumental building project:

וְעָ֥שׂוּ לִ֖י מִקְדָּ֑שׁ וְשָׁכַנְתִּ֖י בְּתוֹכָֽם׃

And let them make Me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them. (Exodus 25:8)

The story of the Mishkan – our portable container for holiness – is told twice in the Bible: first as a set of instructions, a kind of how-to guide, and later as a description of how the Israelites carried the instructions out. This building project is the key element to becoming a community, not a disparate group of people but A People that beats with one heart.

What makes a project sacred? Sure, assembling those Kallax shelves or Kivik sofa might bring you closer together (or result in filing for divorce) – but is it holy work? Some building projects are ordinary. A few are holy. And some turn out to Read More >

9 02, 2026

Parashat Mishpatim – Shabbat Shekalim – 5786

By Marisa Amith|2026-02-09T13:46:34-05:00February 9, 2026|

A D’var Torah for Parashat Mishpatim – Shabbat Shekalim

By Rabbi Anat Katzir

Reading the laws presented in the parashah this week was an opening to struggle with some of the discomfort caused by what feels like a gap of values between my world and the biblical one. It is through grappling with the reality of ancient history, and with the input from generations of Rabbinic leadership that followed, that I can see how behind the laws there are similar values and shared truths that needed to be redefined and amended through time and space. It is a lesson in context and adaptation of values over eras and cultures, and also a struggle with finding ways to overcome the gaps between Jewish communities of different interpretations, when it comes to understanding communal responsibilities and sharing the burdens of sustaining a modern-day state while finding guidance in ancient law.

When working with b-mitzvah students, the question Read More >

2 02, 2026

Parashat Yitro 5786

By Marisa Amith|2026-02-02T13:59:31-05:00February 2, 2026|

K’Ish Ehad: Organizational Infrastructure as a Path to Unity

A D’var Torah for Parashat Yitro

By Rabbi Scott “Shalom” Klein

Parashat Yitro stands as the essential fulcrum of the Book of Exodus, marking the transition from a newly liberated population to a covenanted nation at the foot of Sinai. This portion offers a profound exploration of the nature of communal leadership, the ethics of delegation, and the radical openness required to receive the Divine law. By examining the structural wisdom of an outsider and the communal unity required for the Aseret HaDibrot, we find a timeless blueprint for the rabbinate, particularly for those serving in the pluralistic environments of the military or the intimate settings of small-town pulpits.

The Parashah begins with a singular focus on an outsider through the words “וַיִּשְׁמַע יִתְרוֹ”—”And Yitro heard” (Exodus 18:1). While the entire world heard of the Exodus, the Midrash in Zevahim 116a asks what specifically Yitro Read More >

26 01, 2026

Parashat Beshallah 5786

By Marisa Amith|2026-01-26T17:50:30-05:00January 26, 2026|

Lighting the Way

A D’var Torah for Parashat Beshallah

By Cantor Sandy Horowitz (’14)

In our busy, often digital-driven lives, we tend to forget to pause and take note of the wonders of creation around us and above us. Yet, opportunities abound: when we pray the words from the morning liturgy “yotzer or u’vorei hoshekh” (“Creator of light and Fashioner of darkness”), we might pause and look out the window; when we are out at night, we could look up and take note of the phase of the moon, reflecting on its connection to the Hebrew month. Taking the time to watch the sun set can be a wondrous and profound experience – the sky slowly changing color as the sun gradually sets behind the horizon and disappears, and the colors continue to change until it is finally fully dark.

Often, we’re too involved in the business of our daily life to stop and take note. Read More >

2 05, 2023

Parashat Emor 5783

By Linda Ripps|2023-05-03T15:42:32-04:00May 2, 2023|

Lo tehal’lelu
You shall not
profane
pollute
desecrate.
Do not.

You and I
and each of us,
holy leaders
great and small,
let us think twice
about what we do,
let us remember
and pay attention,
that we do not
profane
pollute
desecrate…

…ourselves
or others (Lev.21:9) —
precious
are you
are they
am I,
beloved
by one or more,
sacred;

…our children, (Lev. 21:15)
mine
yours
theirs
ours,
the future they are;
we will not be here
one day
but they will,
they will only
if we remember
and if we restrain
and if we transform
our baser
instincts;

…the Name; (Lev. 21:6)
you
are not the center
of the Universe
nor am I
nor he nor she
nor they nor them —
much is beyond us
greater
more important,
critical on every level
to functionality
to wellbeing;

…the sanctuary of the Oneness (Lev. 21:12)
the Breathe
the All-Encompassing
the Mystery—
minuscule though we are,
you hold
and I hold,
the power
to wreak havoc;

…any place sacred to the One— (Lev. 21:23)
is there a place not cherished
by the Initiator
of all
holding that hallowedness?
what does it take
for us to notice the sanctity
feel it
respect it
care Read More >

24 04, 2023

Parshiyot Aharei Mot-Kedoshim 5783

By Linda Ripps|2023-05-03T22:22:28-04:00April 24, 2023|

“Hokheiah tokhiah et amitekha.” “You shall surely reprove your fellow.” (Leviticus 19:17) Giving critical feedback, or tokhehah (often translated as “reproof” or “rebuke”), is a positive mitzvah in the Torah.

Perhaps this shouldn’t surprise us, as constructive critique and feedback is a primary way that we learn and grow. And yet, already in the time of the Talmud, two of the greatest sages of their generation indicated that almost everyone who attempts to fulfill this mitzvah is doing it wrong.

In the Babylonian Talmud, Arakhin 16b, Rabbi Tarfon and Rabbi Elazar ben Azariah differ about why the system of tokhehah seems to be broken. According to Rabbi Tarfon, “I would be surprised if there is anyone in this generation who can receive rebuke. If the one rebuking says ‘Remove the splinter from between your eyes,’ the other responds: ‘Remove the beam from between your eyes!’” In other words, the experience of receiving criticism, even when generously offered, tends to activate Read More >

17 04, 2023

Parshiyot Tazria-Metzorah 5783

By Linda Ripps|2023-05-03T12:07:38-04:00April 17, 2023|

Click here for an audio recording of this D’var Torah

A D’var Torah for Parshiyot Tazria-Metzorah
By Rabbi Matthew Goldstone

Reading Parshiyot Tazria-Metzorah this year I can’t help but think about bodily autonomy and the conversations taking place across the United States about the legality of abortion and related procedures. The Torah establishes a system in which those in power, the priests, are tasked with looking at a part of a person’s body to dictate their ritual status. Based upon their determination, the person may be socially isolated and required to shave portions of their body. The voyeurism coupled with a religiously-imposed obligation to do something with, or to, one’s body, grates against modern notions of personal autonomy.

And yet, at the same time, I realize that I actually do subscribe to certain bodily limitations and restrictions imposed by governing powers. להבדיל,[1] I endorse vaccination requirements for people to enter certain spaces. Even beyond Covid-19, I expect public schools to mandate Read More >

All shall unite to do God's will with an open heart.

All shall unite to do God's will with an open heart.

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