וְיֵעָשׂוּ כֻלָּם אֲגֻדָּה אֶחָת לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹנְךָ בְּלֵבָב שָׁלֵם

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

וְיֵעָשׂוּ כֻלָּם אֲגֻדָּה אֶחָת לַעֲשׂוֹת רְצוֹנְךָ בְּלֵבָב שָׁלֵם

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

18 06, 2021

Parashat Hukkat 5781

By |2022-07-29T11:24:19-04:00June 18, 2021|

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

A D’var Torah for Parashat Hukkat
By Rabbi Cantor Sam Levine (’19)

Of all the noteworthy events and passages in parashat Hukkat – the impenetrable red heifer; the death of Miriam; the incident at the waters of Merivah and God’s pronouncement that Moshe and Aharon will not enter the land; the death of Aharon and the succession of his son Elazar; the plague of venomous snakes and the miraculous healing copper serpent; and the prelude to the conquest of Canaan – there is one event that is startling in its omission. Parashat Hukkat sees the passage of 38 years in the desert, never noted, only inferred. Moshe, at the beginning of the parasha, is 82 years old. At its conclusion, he is 120, in his last year of life.

As the previous several parshiyot reveal, it has not been an Read More >

11 06, 2021

Parashat Korah 5781

By |2022-07-29T11:24:19-04:00June 11, 2021|

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

A D’var Torah for Parashat Korah
By Rabbi Marc Rudolph (’04)

On the evening of Friday, April 6, 1962, Leonard Bernstein was to conduct the New York Philharmonic in a performance of Brahms D minor Concerto. The guest soloist was Glenn Gould, one of the most celebrated classical pianists of the 20th century. Before the concert began, Mr. Bernstein did something that initially surprised, puzzled and frightened the audience. He spoke to them. Mr. Bernstein was in the habit of speaking to the audience only at Thursday night previews, so many in the audience thought that he was going to announce that the soloist had become ill. Instead, Leonard Bernstein told the audience that they were about to hear an “unorthodox performance” of Brahms D Minor Concerto, a performance unlike he had ever heard, or even dreamt of. Mr. Gould was going Read More >

4 06, 2021

Parashat Shelah 5781

By |2022-07-29T11:24:19-04:00June 4, 2021|

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

The Arc of the Covenant
A D’var Torah for Parashat Shelah
By Rabbi Enid Lader (’10)

What does it mean to be holy? What does it mean to be in a covenant with God? It seems to me that the Children of Israel – we – have been on a trajectory of learning about holiness and covenant ever since we were brought out of Egypt, stood at Sinai’s foot and heard these words of God from Moses:

וּמֹשֶׁ֥ה עָלָ֖ה אֶל־הָאֱלֹהִ֑ים וַיִּקְרָ֨א אֵלָ֤יו ה’ מִן־הָהָ֣ר לֵאמֹ֔ר כֹּ֤ה תֹאמַר֙ לְבֵ֣ית יַעֲקֹ֔ב וְתַגֵּ֖יד לִבְנֵ֥י יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃

… and Moses went up to God. The LORD called to him from the mountain, saying, “Thus shall you say to the house of Jacob and declare to the children of Israel:

אַתֶּ֣ם רְאִיתֶ֔ם אֲשֶׁ֥ר עָשִׂ֖יתִי לְמִצְרָ֑יִם וָאֶשָּׂ֤א אֶתְכֶם֙ עַל־כַּנְפֵ֣י נְשָׁרִ֔ים וָאָבִ֥א אֶתְכֶ֖ם אֵלָֽי׃

‘You have Read More >

28 05, 2021

Parashat Beha’alotekha 5781

By |2022-07-29T11:24:19-04:00May 28, 2021|

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

A D’var Torah for Parashat Beha’alotekha
By Rabbi Jeffrey Segelman

Two stories appear at the end of the parasha this week, Beha’alotekha, which teach important lessons about life in general, but speak clearly to the ways in which our AJR pluralistic community survives and thrives.

The first story is that of Eldad and Meidad, two of the seventy leaders of the people on whom had been bestowed a level of prophecy so that they might assist Moses. When these two seemed to use their prophetic powers in excess, Joshua called upon Moses to punish them. Moses responded to Joshua saying, “Are you jealous for my sake? If only all the people could be prophets if Hashem would but place His spirit in them.” (Numbers 11:26-29)

We are witness here to a great quality of Moses and one for which we should all aspire: The “Ayin HaTovah Read More >

21 05, 2021

Parashat Naso 5781

By |2022-07-29T11:24:20-04:00May 21, 2021|

A D’var Torah for Parashat Naso
By Rabbi Matthew Goldstone

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

Our parasha this week, Naso, contains a passage recited daily as part of the traditional liturgy, which many parents also use to bless their children each Friday night: The priestly blessing (Num. 6:22-27):

The Lord spoke to Moses:

Speak to Aaron and his sons: Thus shall you bless the people of Israel. Say to them:

The Lord bless you and protect you!

The Lord deal kindly and graciously with you!

The Lord bestow God’s favor upon you and grant you peace!

Thus they shall link My name with the people of Israel, and I will bless them.

There is a lot to unpack in this text, but for the moment I want to focus in on the last line of the trifold blessing: “The Lord bestow God’s favor upon you and grant you peace!” In light of the recent events Read More >

14 05, 2021

Parashat Bemidbar 5781

By |2022-07-29T11:24:20-04:00May 14, 2021|

Click HERE for an audio recording of this D’var Torah
A D’var Torah for Parashat Bemidbar
By Rabbi Lizz Goldstein (’16)The summer is nearly here, more and more adults are vaccinated, and it seems new opportunities for gathering will become available. And yet, the language of “reopening” or “returning to normal” feels complicated for me. Setting aside for the moment all the issues that already existed in the old normal which were exacerbated and highlighted during the pandemic but largely ignored on the level of institutional change, the concept of “returning” now rings false when faced with the reality of how many people have been out and about right along. Some due to financial necessity, some due to youthful feelings of immortality, and some due to misinformation and the politicization of the virus. Now there are reports of variant strains of the coronavirus, that herd immunity may Read More >
17 07, 2020

Parashat Mattot & Ma’sey 5780

By |2022-07-29T11:24:26-04:00July 17, 2020|

 

A D’var Torah for Parashat Mattot
By Rabbi Matthew Goldstone

Our Torah portion this week teaches us not to promise what we cannot deliver: “If a person makes a vow to the Lord or takes an oath imposing an obligation upon themself, they shall not break the pledge; they must carry out all that crossed their lips” (Num. 30:3). Despite the warning, many people make commitments that they do not end up fulfilling or give assurances for things they never intend to uphold. No wonder there is a strong tradition against taking oaths. We find this attitude in the rabbinic legal tradition when the major 16th century code of law, the Shulhan Arukh, states “Do not be accustomed to making vows and whoever vows – even if they fulfill it – is called a wicked person and is called a sinner” (Yoreh Deah 203:1). And fulfilling an oath might be even Read More >

10 07, 2020

Parashat Pinhas 5780

By |2022-07-29T11:24:26-04:00July 10, 2020|

A D’var Torah for Parashat Pinhas
By Rabbi Jill Hammer

In Parashat Pinhas, five daughters, the daughters of one man, Tzelofhad, appear before Moshe, bringing a case. Their father has died. Each Israelite family is to be allotted land in Canaan when the people enter the land. However, because Tzelofhad has no son, he has not been allotted land. The women present the case that their father deserves a portion in the land: “Let not our father’s name be lost to his clan because he had no son! Give us a holding among our father’s kinsmen!” (Num. 27:4) Moshe brings this case before YHWH, and YHWH declares that “the plea of Tzelofhad’s daughters is just” and rules that if a man has no sons, his daughters may inherit, provided they marry men from within their own tribe (Num. 27:7-11). This caveat about the daughters’ marriage is put in place so that, when the women have Read More >

2 07, 2020

Parashat Hukkat – Balak 5780

By |2022-07-29T11:24:26-04:00July 2, 2020|

A D’var Torah for Parashat Hukkat – Balak
By Rabbi Len Levin

We are reading two parshiyot this week, each rich in lessons. We can only present a few hors d’oeuvres here; enjoy the rest at your leisure!

* * *

The ritual of the red heifer raised many puzzles for the rabbis, to the point that they said that the wise king Solomon, frustrated in trying to solve them, gave up in despair and said: “All this I tested with wisdom, I thought I could fathom it, but it eludes me.” (Ecclesiastes 7:23; Pesikta Rabbati 14:1) The central mystery arises from the fact that it is a ritual for purification from contact with death. We are still struggling to understand the causes of death, which even now are evolving and mutating as we try to cope with them. A favorite question was: How is it that the ashes of the heifer are the Read More >

26 06, 2020

Parashat Korah 5780

By |2022-07-29T11:24:26-04:00June 26, 2020|

A D’var Torah for Parashat Korah
By Rabbi Bruce Alpert (’11)

“The Torah of Adonai is perfect, reviving the soul,” reads the psalm (19:8). The word used here for perfection, temimah, implies completeness, but also simplicity, like a platonic ideal – something that exists in our minds but which can only be rendered in flawed representation here on earth. To change something that is perfect is to diminish it. Thus, the idea of perfection in revelation can lead one to a kind of fundamentalism that summarily rejects changes as thwarting, or at least diminishing, God’s will.

Yet, the Torah that is the Book of Numbers challenges this conception of perfection. In last week’s parashah, we learned that the Israelites did not know what to do with one who violated the Sabbath and needed Moses’s intervention to find out (Numbers 15:32-36). In the previous parashah, the Israelites challenged Moses over who was disqualified from offering the Pesach Read More >

Go to Top